To the OP: If you want something affordable, go to Daly City, San Bruno, or South San Francisco. These are working class neighborhoods, so living there won't be especially posh, but these are the most affordable cities near where you will be working.
It's true. Plus, condominiums, rentals, etc. are not allowed in Hillsborough. Everyone who lives there owns.
Thanks to everybody for the help. I'm excited by the move and am going to exhaust as many options as I can. Also, when I saw Dumbarton Bridge, I was nearly overcome.
If you have any hiccups on your credit report, make sure you do anything you can to fix them before moving here. It's a lot more competitive rental market and if you don't have good credit, they'll rent it to the next guy. If I was going to work in San Mateo, I would look at Half Moon Bay, Pacifica, Belmont, and Woodside. But, it depends on what you plan on doing with your time when you aren't working.
Thought that would catch your eye. It crosses the southern part of San Francisco Bay, connecting Fremont on the east with Menlo Park on the east. An older version of that bridge was a draw bridge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dumbarton_Bridge_(California)
If you are a single guy, make sure you bring a woman with you. It is a bad decision to come to SF, expecting to meet women. The ratio at lounges/clubs/bars is often 3:1, Male:Female.
One out of those 3 guys is gay and the other is bi. So if he's not either of those he should be okay.
