Strongly recommend you guys check out Oakland. Specifically, these neighborhoods: Produce &#38; Waterfront // Jack London Square, Old Town, Down Town, Uptown, Temesecal, Piedmont Ave, Grand Lake, Rockridge. Things are very affordable, lots of cool warehousey//industrial//unique workspaces to inspire creative working, interesting (and amazing) restaurants, bars &#38; nightlife, well connected by public transit and freeways.<p>Emeryville has a couple neat pockets, but those areas are in high demand and command a higher price. Berkeley can be especially great for the fresh-out-of-college type, but it's expensive. SF is generally expensive &#38; overrated to live in.<p>I've never lived in the south bay, but from my experience it's somewhat its own world and not as inter-connected as SF &#38; the East Bay are.