I've lived in Boston, Dallas, Atherton, Mountain View and Palo Alto. Rent is a lot higher the closer you get to Stanford. I live a block away from Stanford in Palo Alto, so rent is pretty high--$3,500 per month for a 3-bedroom house. Utilities vary a lot depending upon where you live; they're typically handled by the municipality. Gas is $3.69 per gallon around the corner from my house. Car insurance depends upon your car and your insurance company.
I have to disagree about public transportation, having come from the East Coast. It's godawful. There are five discrete transit systems (BART, Caltrain, MUNI, SamTrans, VTA) that are actually more expensive to use than driving. You really need a car out here.
It's double what I paid in Dallas, but I think it's worth it.
While it sucks that the transit systems are disconnected, it is still most definitely cheaper to take public transit than to drive.
To connect them all, use google transit. The bummer about Bay Area transit isn't the cost, it is inexpensive in relation to driving. The bummer is coverage. If you want to get somewhere in San Jose from Berkeley, it'll take you 3 hours, as opposed to 1.5 hours driving.
But yea, I don't own a car, and Google Transit has changed my life. It's soooo much easier to get around now!
I have to disagree about public transportation, having come from the East Coast. It's godawful. There are five discrete transit systems (BART, Caltrain, MUNI, SamTrans, VTA) that are actually more expensive to use than driving. You really need a car out here.
It's double what I paid in Dallas, but I think it's worth it.