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We received a tip from a fellow camper at Kennedy Meadows to bypass our original camping destination (which, at that point had fluctuated between several campgrounds randomly chosen from a guidebook) and instead head to Bishop Park Campground, along the Bishop Creek. I don't claim to be a genius, but there is one thing I've learned from my travels: if someone gives you a tip or recommendation while on the road, it's usually a good idea to take it. Things like word-of-mouth fishing holes, hole-in-the-wall diners, and secluded campgrounds all fall under the category of: it would be stupid to at least not go and have a look. With Lake Isabella still lingering in our minds, we figured we had nothing to lose--a benefit of having no plans/agendas/or reservations. But first, we had to drive through desert terrain on Highway 395
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"Our first date with our real estate agent coincidentally will be on our typical ""date night"" -- next thursday. the more i think about it, the more im getting excited. never thought I could afford a house here EVER, but now, its kind of seeming like a possibility. we found some other interesting places: We have an oakland agent we found thru yelp (so typical). True sf fashion she has fancy piercings, horn-rimmed glasses, and donates a portion of her commission to the environment. We hope its a good fit.
Another thing I forgot to mention about the area: several amtrak lines run right through.Out of sight/mind I have never even considered riding the amtrak to commute (less for me, more for NG), for short weekend trips, or even for long trips up the coast. Oddly enough, we had been talking about a train trip to Vancouver as a future trip we wanted to plan... Gulp. Kinda nervous, kind of excited. The other day, while standing in line outside of a union square ramen house in SF, surrounded by happy tourists, I turned to NG and said, "sometimes I wish I didn't live here so I could remember what it was like to love and be excited about SF again the way these tourists probably do." For the 7 years I've lived in SF, I've pretty much hated on Oakland. Except for my brief consideration of living in the East Bay my first year out here (desperate to find any job and any living arrangement that would work), I've despised going to the East Bay, and have been there like maybe 10 times (airport pickups/dropoffs not included) since moving here.10 times in 7 years to visit a place less than 10 miles away. Reasons for hating Oakland: First - when you watch the news in SF, pretty much every night there is footage on some cars burning in an arson fire in oakland. Literally like at least once a night. Second - ive gotten lost in oakland. there are some hardcore scary areas out there. busted does not begin to describe these areas. In SF, the 'bad' part of town is childs play. Its sketchy, and there are druggies and prostitutes and knife fights, but its still like within walking distance of a ritzy area so you have a strange sense of safety Third - Unlike in Texas, the way it works out here is much like NYC - you hang out in close proximity to where you live. If you live in East Bay, you stay in East Bay (nobody from SF will commute out there and nobody from East Bay will come into the city unless its for work). Knowing this, I haven't been sold on thinking of Oakland as my home. Fourth - There are nice areas in Oakland, but these are the million dollar properties, not close to public transportation. There are affordable houses in up-and-coming neighborhoods, but some of those neighborhoods are SKETCHY -- like nice house, nice house, nice house, crack house, nice house, crack house, crack house, crack house. Its too mix n match shady. Fifth -- one of the reasons i wanted to move to sf from texas is that i liked the idea of living close to shops, restaurants, bars -- having a real neighborhood that you can walk to and do stuff in, not suburban sprawl where you drive everywhere. In SF, this is obviously the case. In Oak --the only places where you can do this are the chi chi areas. Much like many major cities, the downtown in Oak is a barren wasteland after 5pm. Or so I thought... NG and I went to Oakland this past weekend to attend the Eat Real Fest--an outdoor festival of street vendors and street carts gathered together in Jack London Square. We took the BART all the way, and walked several blocks to the waterfront. As we walked through the semi-revitalized downtown (not quite fully revitalized, but reminds me of Houston's attempts--in the same stage-- of trying to get living/working/retail back into the downtown), we were kind of taken back. The streets were wide and lined with trees. Interesting restaurants and stores had popped up left and right. Chinatown (this is the real thing, not fakey like SF tourist chinatown) was in close proximity. Chicken n Waffles, BBQ, Dim Sum, Starbucks...wtf? when did this happen? We spent the day near th water, and it was *surprisingly* enjoyable. Even in a crowded fest-like atmosphere with frantic, frazzly people, it was actually -- not too bad. Compare that to the prior weekend's similar festival in SF which was miserable -- crowded, pretentious, full of hipsters, bogus food, outrageous prices. Both festivals kind of served as microcosims of their respective city and the people who inhabit those cities. SF -- filled with frantic, frazzley dbags all trying to impress one another, all trying to be scenesters, all trying to say they went to this or that so they can be the first to yelp/twitter about it, all scrambling to do the same exact thing regardless of whether that thing/event is good or not. OAK -- more diverse mix of people, affordable food, friendlier people, more organized/more space, relaxed, completely unpretentious, in fact, borderline 'uncool', normal. Upon walking the streets, I said to NG, "It's like we are in a different city." He laughed, "uh, we are?" Then it kind of clicked -- things that had been obvious and overlooked. Maybe the things I hate about SF (cramped and stuffed with annoying people, outrageous cost of living), could be avoided by moving to a new city that wasn't thousands of miles away (Denver), but one right across the bay. Could this be possible? Can I actually love a city I have disliked - despised even - for so long? Maybe the solution has (to be cliche) always been right in my own backyard. NG and I have always talked about moving to a loft as our first place. Given that we are young, don't have children, and both love that minimalistic loft look/feel. In SF, as we were house-hunting, many of the lofts were more expensive than houses, with additional $700/mo HOA fees and limited outdoor space (ideally we'd like a deck or patio). In Oakland, for literally a third of the price, you can get this: ![]() ![]() or this ![]() ![]() (this one is in a converted cannery) or this ![]() ![]() or this ![]() (also in a historic old factory) or this ![]() ![]() or my favorite one--tho less lofty and more beach house-y: ![]() needless to say, where I was opposed to moving to the east bay before (esp okland), the idea has now become very intriguing. Some things we still have to consider: - need to live next to BART so we have the option of going into the city easily - need to figure out commute (more for NG than me -- i could take the BART or Ferry) - is this a neighborhood we will enjoy? - how sketchy is the neighborhood around the loft? - places and extremely cheap right now -- a 15 yr mortgage is quite a bit less than what we currently pay in rent, even w/HOA fees - HOA fees -- cost of the fees, as well as the (low) occupancy of the bldg potentially driving up the cost of individual HOAs - Resale value -- these lofts were forecasted to sell originally at 2x the amt. The offer prices have been way lower than the listing prices, as sellers are motivated. Is this a result of the economy or inflated/unrealistic expectations during the building phase? In other words, I want a good deal, but I don't want to never be able to resell the property if needed. I'm not looking to flip the house and make tons of money, i just want a place I can afford that has resale potential in the future. - Once in Oakland, always in Oakland. I need to know that I can live on the other side of the bay knowing that most likely, I will spend little time in the city A lot to think about. Add to that the tax break we'd get if we purchased a house by end of year, and things really start to get interesting. something we've been thinking of - but have told only a few people - we've been thinking of moving. to denver. I dont know where the idea generated--I think we were trying to find a place that combined outdoorsy stuff with some semblance of city life. we started researching real estate, cost of living, schools, things to do, where to live. we started dreaming of a life we could potentially live away from the madness and douchiness of the city.
and then ng randomly was talking to his navy buddy one sunday afternoon. the topic of jobs came up, and his friend told him about a job out in denver -- his boss would be some retired navy admiral -- its something he has been curious about doing, pay would be really good -- combined with the reduced cost of living i essentially wouldn't need to work, although i probably would. we were all gung-ho on this idea for several weeks. but the more time passed, the more san francisco wrapped here viney fingers around us more and more, pulling us away from this idea, and making us second-guess ourselves. my reservations: will moving to colorado be too small town? if we move, shouldnt we move closer to family? am i going to be bored there? what will i do for a living? what if his job doesnt pay as well as he thinks or he can't support me things that could be exciting: owning a house being able to go outside and be surrounded by nature laid back, relaxed life that we have talked about access to so many national parks, new things to do i'm waivering back and forth. talks with ng's job contacts have been going well, so the opportunity could be there. I'm kind of freaked out by the thought of moving. When we dreamed about a place like denver, i meant for the dream to take place in the future, not tomorrow, or the next week, or even the next month. last night, ng came home frustrated with all the things people are frustrated with: work, his boss, the commute, etc. he brought up denver again, and I said i dont want to discuss denver as an escape for him bc if we uproot and go there, im the one that is going to have to figure it out. he asked me about our dreams, asked me if they were all talk. I said, no, but i want to make a logical decision for both of us, when the time is right -- not bc he had a bad day at work. he said we weren't getting any younger, that ive talked about kids and needing a slower lifestyle. and i said, why are we talking about kids -- we arent even married. pause. "so that's what's holding us back then" um. thats a pretty big thing to hold us back. i can feel change on the horizon, i can taste it in the air. if theres something i know, have known, is that something will change in my life this year, whether its me changing careers, ng changing jobs, or us changing our relationship. im ready to make one of those changes, but not like all 5 at once in the span of several months. if we move to denver, i think id do it if i was married for the sake of benefits and legalities, esp if im not going to be working for a while. gulp. am i saying this? but i dont want to rush through that. there are things that we still need to work out as far as that is concerned. i dont care about having a wedding and all that, but that is the first major step before I can think about all the others. when he mentioned that last night, i half expected him to propose right then and there. and i think that really freaked us both out. earlier this week, we were looking at lofts in sf to buy. and now, denver is back as a topic. spin the wheel, i guess. see where it lands. |
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