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Comment by veemjeem | Hacker News Reader

Pretty cheap in mountain view. I pay around $600 for rent (2 bedroom with roommate). Food prices are actually comparable/cheaper than other places in the US. If you shop at those asian grocery stores, you can get similar produce at about half the cost that Safeway/Kroger would normally sell at. Price for a normal cheap dinner on Castro St is around $8-12.

If you're renting, Silicon Valley is actually comparable to the rest of the USA. When I lived in Atlanta, I paid around $500 for rent, but I had to drive a lot further to access public transportation.

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That is a crazy price for anywhere in the valley. San Jose (not really SV) and further down have some cheap options, but I have yet to see anything at $1200.

Silicon Valley is actually comparable to the rest of the USA

Except anywhere in Palo Alto, and Atherton. The PA are is ridiculously expensive atm, because there are so many startups here again (both office space and living space).

PA is very nice but it is definitely an area where funded startups are over-paying for office space and accommodation. You can save a lot of money by going a bit south or north.

Which is why those suburbs - MV, Burlingame, San Mateo, etc. have seen a spike in prices as well. Last time I looked for office space SOMA was less expensive than almost anywhere on the peninsula.

You only play $1200 for a 2bdrm? I swear you must live in a different MV than I looked at. I'm paying more for a 1bdrm in Sunnyvale, and I moved there to save money.

1200 usually gets you something without much amenities. No dishwasher, counterspace, updated appliances, etc.

This isn't credible at all. Two-bedroom in Mountain View for $1200? Please name the apartment complex you are living in. A one-bedroom in Mountain View is already on the extremely ghetto side. Decent places start at about $1400 for a one-bedroom.

Ditto.

For 1 bedder I pay $1.5K per month at Central Park Whisman (A Promethus Complex) in MV. Downtown MV off Castro 1 bedders at another Promethus complex rents start at $1.7K. Avalon Community in MV is also around $1.5K but not recommended - too close to Caltrain. I learnt the hard way lol

When I was looking for an apartment to live in I came across plenty of run down joints in bad streets around the $1.1K so it's possible but not recommended.

Finally, MV is great for the tech culture, food and location! :-)

I moved to Mountain View about 2 months ago and paying $1400 for a two-bedroom as well.

A quick look at craigslist will tell you that there are indeed two beds in MV between $1200-1500

In my experience usually those are in complexes and they give a price range, but the $1200 is actually for the one bedrooms.

Anyone who thinks there is a ghetto part of mountain view is, uh, way more wealthy and has much higher standards than I do. I mean, there are "less good" parts of mountain view, but there isn't anything even close to ghetto.

I agree California st is sketchy, but i would never call it ghetto,I think someone needs a ride to EPA.

$1200 for a 2BR seems a little on the low side, but $600/month is very doable with roommates. When I first moved out here, I found a bunch of places in the $650-month range. They were usually on California St in MTV or somewhere in Sunnyvale.

I think the problem is that different people have very different definitions of "decent". I'm paying just over $1400/month now for what I consider a very nice apartment. If you don't mind living with working-class immigrants, there're lots of places that start at around $900/month for a 1BR or $600/month with a roommate along Easy St, Walker Dr, or California St.

i pay 1250 in MV for a 2 bedroom thats walking distance from Castro St. Nothing's been updated in decades though (old oven, old stove, little counterspace, washer/dryer downstairs)

It depends on your situation. I pay $1850 (could have been $1700 but we changed rooms) for a 3 bedroom fully furnished house in Mountain View, with our landlord staying about 1 week per month in the guest bedroom (third bedroom is a study). Mountain Shadows complex, if you must know.

It's cheap because we're house sitting for her for a year while she's away, so not sustainable, but a great find for us coming in from overseas without a stick of furniture to our names.

I pay $800 for rent a month, have two roommates. But our apt complex is pretty good, with pool and BBQ area.

Food is not bad at all, esp if you stay away from frozen/processed foods and cook yourself. If you eat out, there's a couple cheap places on Castro that are about $8-15. However, that adds up quickly.

I've gotten by without a car, but it's a pain. What you save in money, you lose in time, so I just end up not going anywhere. When the caltrain is running, it's not too bad for getting up and down the peninsula, and having a bike helps.

From what you say living in Mo. View isnt' more expensive than living in Buenos Aires, Argentina where I am currently living.

Thanks

It is, definitely. Getting your own apartment in MV is $1200 minimum if you want something you can actually call an apartment.

Roommates can make it cheaper, ya, but it's not that cheap.

Gets cheaper if you go further south, though. In Santa Clara / San Jose you can rent an entire (small) house for $1500.

It looks to be cheaper than London, too. And salaries, of course, are much higher.

You must have pretty high standards. Padmapper shows places in the $1050 range. I personally live 2 blocks from the Mt View border and am paying $1900 for a nice 3 bedroom.

There are a few places around $1050, but those are the cheapest places available. Perhaps my standards are high, but I like a place to be in a decent neighborhood, with appliances from the last two decades at least, etc. Perhaps by bay area standards thats picky, I don't know.

It depends. If you are in "economy mode" life can be relatively cheap in MV. On the other hand, in Buenos Aires you can survive on much, much less because the basics are much cheaper. A yuppie lifestyle costs about the same in both places (housing costs aside). Eating out is not that different, clothing and electronics are more expensive in Buenos Aires and transportation is a wash (cars are more expensive, public transportation is cheaper).

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