My sister Marni and her husband Paris just bought a house in Richmond (north of Berkeley for those of you not familiar with the Bay Area) and are going to vacate the 1 bedroom apartment near the Civic Center in San Francisco. Paris has been living there for years (more than 10, I think) and paying rent way, way below market. I'm sure everyone is thrilled. Marni and Paris to move into a larger place to raise their newborn son who is on the way and the landlords who have been renting the place at a huge discount to the market forever.

This week I found out from Marni that if I want to, I can rent the place for $1100 a month. That's far more than she and Paris were paying, but far less than market in the city, which its astronomical rental prices even after the dotcom bust and 9/11 drove heaps of unemployed workers back from whenst they came.

Now, $1100 is still a lot of money. I could probably rent a comparable place over here in the East Bay for $900 or less. But I have always wanted to live in the city. The commute to Emeryville might be a pain if the bridge backs up, but I'm willing to live with that. Plus I can always take BART.

My main consideration, as always these days is the cats. Living in the city, they will not be able to go outside and will be housebound for however long I decide to live there. They have been doing reasonably well in house arrest in Walnut Creek, but I know both would prefer to be able to run around the neighborhood.

Marni and Paris won't be moving out until the middle of next month so I have some time to look around and make the right decision. I'm kind of hoping that I find a perfect place on this side of the bay and the decision is made for me.