The (Bay Area) Bay Bridge never bothered me (even driving on it fairly soon after the Loma Prieta earthquake) in the visceral way driving over the (Chesapeake) Bay Bridge does. It seems more protected. Less like you could just, you know, drive over the edge. Even though, I'm pretty sure, nobody has actually gone over the edge of the MD Bay Bridge. Even in bad accidents. It's irrational!
I don't think anyone that hasn't driven west on the CBB bridge can quite understand it. Basically, there are no sides to the bridge in that direction, just two railings. The other direction has Jersey dividers. Since the bridge curves, there are places where, on the curve, it looks so easy to just drive straight off. I drove over that bridge every two weeks for the last two years. I thought about driving off every time. Every time.
The Bay Area housing market is guaranteed to pay off, they say.
It's very likely to pay off, but not guaranteed. Check some property prices in areas you'd like to live (on craigslist or in classifieds) and use some of those free calculators (quicken.com has some, but there are many all over the place) to see what kind of mortgage payment you'd be looking at and compare that to your rent. And use those "should I rent or buy" calculators - I'd use a conservative appreciation estimate for the Bay Area right now, prices are either dropping or increasing more slowly than they have in a long time. And don't forget that with a condo you'll have fees, those could make a difference to the financial picture.
That said, it probably would be a good investment and provide you with a place to live, and if prices aren't good when you want to move you can hold onto it and rent it out and still come out okay tax-wise.
And if you can afford a condo in Emeryville I will be freaking jealous, because my husband and I can't afford anything bigger than a studio there.
I don't think anyone that hasn't driven west on the CBB bridge can quite understand it. Basically, there are no sides to the bridge in that direction, just two railings.
AND I always end up in the "fast" lane, ie the lane that's going against oncoming East-bound traffic.
P-C, if you can afford buying a place (including maintenance, insurance, taxes, etc. in addition to mortgage), real estate is a good option. You are just about guaranteed to make money on it. I wish I could have bought something at your age. Hell, I wish I could buy something now.
In less scary and more happy news, I had my first appointment with my new midwife this morning and heard the baby's heartbeat!
The midwives that I met were totally awesome! The hospital was scary and seemed very third-world like. At a minimum, though, I've found supportive pre-natal care, somthing that had been very difficult until now.
Oh, hooray for that good news post, Stephanie! Heartbeats and midwives, yay!
Can someone Nilly for me?
No official announcement, but I'm buying this: [link] today.
flappy hands
I had my first appointment with my new midwife this morning and heard the baby's heartbeat!
SWEET! And I'm so glad your people are okay, Stephanie. I had forgotten that you had people left in MN (I thought that they had all moved away?).
