How big a place are you looking for? The thing is, it s quite expensive here. There s nowhere within an easy commute of San Francisco where under $1000/month is the norm... there are some places, such as Dublin, parts of San Jose, Hayward, Gilroy (which can be quite cheap, but trains only run during rush hour), etc... that are more prone to exceptions than others, but none where you d have tons of choices for that amount. Likewise, when there is something under $1000 you kinda have to fight tooth and nail to get it (as everyone else is looking for the rare gem under $1000, too). It s not impossible, mind... but not that easy, either.Your best bet would be to live with a roommate in either San Francisco (cheapest/safest neighborhoods are the Sunset and the Richmond - not to be confused with Richmond, the city, across the bay... which is relatively cheap but not safe) or somewhere an easy commute, such as Daly City or Berkeley (both are slightly cheaper than SF and easily accessible by BART). Again, not impossible to find your own place for under $1000, but it could be difficult and take a while. But as a roommate, you could get a place in SF itself for $600-800 pretty easily.
$1,000 per month for a one-bedroom? That s really stretching it anywhere in the Bay Area, unless you want to live in the ghetto.Maybe try Oakland. Look near the BART station so you have easy access to the city.
the sunset and richmond is both safe and affordable, and has a pretty good amount of parking and public transit to all parts of the city. outside SF probably daly city or south san francisco
check out westlake, daly city, south city, etc