Help me decide where to live

Post date: 2019-11-12 10:00:14

I'm moving out of my apartment next month and trying to decide between three different places I could potentially move to, each with their pros and cons. I have to make a decision in the next day or two - help!

I'm moving out because I want: a) to be closer to work, and b) more space for my hobbies and projects. This necessitates moving out of the city into the suburbs, which I'm not totally thrilled about (perhaps why this decision is so difficult) I've included some SF Bay Area-specific location details but also tried to keep it general enough to be universal. The options are:

Option A: The utilitarian - in Sunnyvale
+ Space: 2b/1ba duplex with a small front yard. Pretty average in all respects, but an extra room (storage/guest room?) for the same price.
+ Closest to work: ~5 miles, 30 minute bike ride (mildly stressful streets) or 15 minute walk + 10 minute bus.
- Location: more "sprawly suburbia" than the others (close to "downtown Sunnyvale", but those who've been to Sunnyvale know there's not much there), bikeability/walkability lower than the other options.

Option B: Nicer, with drawbacks - in Palo Alto (near Cal Ave)
~ Space: 1b/1ba duplex in Palo Alto (near Cal Ave). Older, but has really nice vaulted ceilings, small front + backyard.
- Distance to work: ~11 miles, 1 hour bike ride (mostly trails/low-stress streets, but still 11 miles) or 10 minute caltrain + 20 minute bus
+ Location: PA is a posher suburb (more trees and parks, fewer cars). Getting around with a bike is pretty easy.
- Other: The rental directly faces the train tracks. My noise tolerance is medium-high (I sleep through garbage/recycling trucks backing in and dumping things at 5am every weekday morning) Caltrain noise was OK but I'm slightly concerned about the Union Pacific freighter that runs at midnight-ish.

Option C: The shared option - in Mountain View (near San Antonio)
+ Space: Sharing a 2b/2.5ba house with a work friend. Since this is a full house the living space is the largest. It is also the newest (better insulation, central heat/cooling)
- Distance to work: ~10 miles, 5 minute caltrain + 20 minute bus or 20 minute walk + 20 minute bus
~ Location: Fairly new built community, mostly young families. Convenient for necessities (groceries, etc are within a 10 minute walk) but otherwise pretty boring. OK walk/bikeability.
+ Cost: ~25% cheaper than the others due to the shared element
~ Other: Obviously living with a roommate is different than living alone. I like my solitude but I've found this past year living alone in a new city to be quite isolating and it would be nice to have some low-key interaction in the evenings/weekends. Potential roomie works longer hours than me and rarely cooks, so I should still have some quiet time to myself. (Plus, selfishly: potential roomie has a car which some house-errands much simpler)

Honestly, any of these options would probably be "okay" - so how do I decide? Any advice on making the decision, or other factors I could consider also welcome. Thanks!

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