| Author | Message | ||
     Buellgirlie |
considering the possibility of relocating to silicon valley....would love to get the inside scoop on: where to live (have pretty much decided i wont be able to buy for a while, but what can i rent for 1000-2000/month? it'd be just me, and a black lab dog) what to expect - lifestyle, work/life, nightlife? how to store my fleet of vehicles (and how hard it is to get them registered in CA) lookin' for vibrant downtown scene, young professionals, educated, single, interesting people, etc. NOT into family, suburbia, strip malls, lots of kids, big box retailers, etc. considering these cities (starred ones are preferred) *Mountain View *Palo Alto *Los Gatos Santa Clara San Jose Saratoga Sunnyvale Cupertino Milpitas thank you badweb  D (Message edited by BuellGirlie on September 07, 2006) | ||
| Crashm1 |
Dora, My wifes family lives in Palo Alto. Not so much to do at night. Santa Cruz was really cool, seemed to be your typical university town, seemed a lot like MPLS only nicer weather. San Jose all I've really seen is the airport but it looks huge. The roads are amazing in California on the other hand so are the housing costs, the rest of Cost of Living stuff is pretty par for any urban area but boy howdy the house prices and rent are nuts. If I ever become rich and famous it would be high on my list of places to live but since the chances of that are pretty slim, I think if we move someplace warm I would prefer Georgia or Oregon, maybe Texas. The other thing is I prefer my state government to have a little more of a libritarian bent than CA seems to. | ||
| Bomber |
Dora -- I'm in Sunnyvale/San Jose every 7/8 weeks or so -- it's not cheap by any manner of means -- you amy be paying as much to store your fleet as to store your self -- the job market is booming(ish) and mostly recovered from the Dot Com bust (though, thankfully, it'll never get back to where it was) -- most companies allow a great deal of flexibility wrt work/life balance (much more than in the mid-west, for instance), and the joint is PACKED with smart interesting people -- it's also, though you didn't ask, incredibly diverse -- when I go to the Puzzle Palace(AKA, Corp HQ), as a grey-haired, middle aged white guy, I am definately a minority (grin) -- folks from all round the world work and play pretty much nicely there I think you're rent expectations may be a bit low -- the further you go east, the cheaper housing seems to be (unless you consider some student-like housing in/near Santa Cruz) -- drop a line to FMJ nad EZBalst, both of whom are much closer, and will have more specific data and data sources | ||
| Jlnance |
Dora - I also travel to San Jose and the area semi-regularly. It's a fun place to visit, I'm not sure if it would be as fun a place to live. It's very expensive, even if you get a fat raise to live there, you may be wose off financially. I just called a friend of mine who lives in Fremont. He rents a 3 bed/2 bath house for $2000/month. He was in a 2 room apartment a few years ago and that was $1200/month. I sometimes visit EZBlast when I'm out there. He is a great host. If you get a chance to go out there before you have to decide, go visit him in San Francisco. He can tell you the good and bad of the area. | ||
| Buellgirlie |
crash, bomber, JL - who knows - maybe you'll be adding me to the list of people to visit when you go out west i've sent FMJ and EZ notes. thx D | ||
| Interest |
Stay in the Midwest girlie! We need to keep the better looking Buellers out here! Representing Midwest! Cali's not for you,....trust me. I know. Your Buells told me. | ||
| Bomber |
Dora -- I'll buy dinner when I visit! | ||
| Jima4media |
Dora, If you are into racing, San Jose is in the middle of Racing Mecca. Sears Point, 80 miles to the north, and Laguna Seca, 80 miles to the south in Monterey. There are a lot of other tracks a bit further away. The riding in the Santa Cruz mountains, Napa Valley and the eastern hills, is the best in the country. Bar none. And you can do it 365 days a year. I've lived here for 26 years now, after living or visiting all 50 states, and it is by far the best, except for the price of housing, and the traffic. (lane splitting and riding in the HOV lanes, makes that problem disappear). Palo Alto and Los Gatos are some of the most expensive places in the country, although you can find bargains here and there. The nice thing about the bay area is that you can be anywhere else in an hour. If I can be of any help, let me know. Jim Armstrong P.S. American Sport Bike Night is the best motorcyclist group in the country too.  | ||
| Ezblast |
SJ is less than an hour by bike from SF and so many fun ways to get there! the cities all pretty much blends one into the other - Jim is totally right about all else - be prepaired for sticker/price shock - lol - the Bay area rocks though for riding and there will be no end to your adventures if you live here - see pashnt.com to get an idea of what I mean. Me - I would look for the least expensive place to live near where I plan to work, then enjoy the rest! GT - JBOTDS! EZ  | ||
| Jlnance |
D - May I ask who you might be working for? | ||
| Jlnance |
young professionals, educated, single lol - The place is full of engineers. Lot's of young educated men. All single cause they're too shy to talk to girls.  | ||
| Buellgirlie |
Interest - you've been talking to my buells? did you tell you that they feel neglected and are mad at me? Bomber - you're on! Jim - racing mecca - i like it already you make it sound very nice. i'm thinking that i'm going to be looking in mountain view, palo alto, EZ - that site doesnt work... JL - i'm staying quiet on "who" til its a done deal. do you really think all those shy boys will be able to deal with me....? HA HA HA! D | ||
| Glitch |
Dora, that would be www.pashnit.com | ||
| Jlnance |
do you really think all those shy boys will be able to deal with me....? That was my point.   | ||
| Steve_mackay |
Interest, I'll just hold her Ducati hostage, so she has to stay here | ||
| Jon |
Dora, If you can swing Palo Alto, that would be best IMO. You might also consider Redwood City. Jim was right about ASBN. The best anywhere. I'm in Castro Valley, which has recently been voted the best town in the universe. It's even better than Obi Wan Kenobi. In fact, it's been said to be better than the force itself and the emporer and Darth Vader combined. That's pretty good. | ||
| Buellgirlie |
steve - not nice.......! (thank you so much for your help storing it though ) jon - castro valley is a little too far, but i'll definitely have to come check out the "best town in the universe" so...mountain view or palo alto - any live in those towns that can advise on addresses and neighborhoods? D | ||
| Bomber |
Dora many companies' have assistance for re-locating employees -- if the gig goes through, ask em -- | ||
| Buellgirlie |
and is there something else to look on besides craigslist - like the website of a local weekly paper (like the chicago reader for those familiar with it) to find places to rent? or a good brokerage firm that specializes in these areas (like formant realty for capitol hill wash DC rentals)? thx D | ||
| Jima4media |
Dora, The weekly you are looking for is the Metro. http://www.metroactive.com/metro/ It is like the Chicago Reader or Madison's Isthmus. Did I mention earthquakes? Where you live should take fault zones into account. Some of the cheaper living areas are right on the San Andreas or Hayward fault lines. There are also the mud slides, and hill fires to watch out for. The hills are beautiful, but sometimes dangerous to live in. I've had worse luck with freezing weather in Wisconsin, and hurricanes in Florida and South Carolina, and hot humid days in Virginia, so every place has its strengths and weaknesses. You have to weigh them all. | ||
| Interest |
You've got to make the best of what you have when you have it. Your Buells did sound a little lonely. I think my 50-150 miles per day made them jealous. | ||
| Buellgirlie |
jim - looked at metro's site. not a lot in the housing rentals stuff, is craigslist the way to go in the area then? bomber - yes i know there's relo, and thats definitely included - but they dont work with you til the deal is signed and done. i'm trying to do some advance work so i know my negotiation strategy for what i really "need" (like transport of 2 vehicles and 4-5 bikes)  interest - sssshhh. stop making my fleet angry! i've been injured!  D | ||
| Tattoodnscrewd |
hmmmm .... I may have to assist Steve in keeping the Duc in captivity ... I saw it last weekend ... know just where it's at and how to get at it !!! Seriously, sucks that you may leave though ... who ya gonna have to take care of keeping that fleet looking purdy ?!?! (if you do go, there is actually a former trainee of mine in the Bay area, closer to the mountains I believe, who'd be capable) | ||
| Ezblast |
yes CL is a good tool | ||
| Tattoodnscrewd |
OH ... young professionals, educated, single Forbes had an article recently that named Milwaukee the best city in the country to be in if you were single - even comparing to Vegas, LA, and many others that you would think would be better .... So stay put ! ....although, they did also name us the DRUNKEST city in the country more recently ....  | ||
| Jon |
Dora, I didn't mean to suggest Castro Valley to you as an option. Your coolness emmissions would blow all the street lights in this little hamlet...stray dogs would burst into flames, etc. Housing prices are going down right now in the Bay Area for median priced homes. You might find a cool loft deal that might be appealing to you. Lots of those out here too. When do you jump? | ||
| Mikemax |
Craig's list is tops in the Bay Area for most things, haven't used it for housing though. You've picked two pricey towns to live in, near Stanford, HP, and all. East Bay (Milpitas) will be cheaper. I live north of SF and commute to Fremont, traffic sucks but is much better on a bike (Buell). Too bad they don't have 24 X 7 carpool lanes like LA up here and the carpool hours for free bridge use end earlier than the normal lanes. You might want to make up your mind based on lifestyle in the Bay Area: Palo Alto, Berekeley, and Santa Cruz being waaay liberal (carpool lanes clogged with single driver Priuses), moving north on the peninsula trending more conservative, SF (and maybe SJ) for nightlife, etc. Highway 9 and Skyline Blvd are riding places, as is Page Mill (Palo Alto, going up to Skyline). La Honda up Woodside Road out of Redwood City used to be the biker hang out but I haven't been out that way in years so... All the Italian two-wheeled hardware toting guys at work seem to hit Thunder Hill for track days from what I hear (not my bag, although I love to watch others race). As a Californian born here, moved to LA as a kid, went to school on the Central Coast, and ended up back here to work, I prefer LA, Orange, and San Diego (year round riding without heaters) but the tech jobs are here. One bonus up here: Yosemite, incredible and it would be a good summer ride. | ||
| Hoax |
A couple of thoughts. 1. Try to live near where you work. Traffic can get nasty in the Bay Area. If you really want a vibrant downtown scene, you can't beat San Fransisco. But regardless of where you are in the Bay Area, you'll only be you'll only be a few minutes from some sort of a nightlife spot. Personally I live in South San Jose. It's suburbia, but only a 5 min drive to the light rail station and then a 15 min ride into downtown SJ. 2. Check out craigslist.org for an idea how much rent is going to run you. 3. Ask on www.bayarearidersforum.com for more information. | ||
| Buellgirlie |
well....i may be making a decision tomorrow. stay tuned and wish me luck!  D (Message edited by buellgirlie on September 10, 2006) | ||
| Jon |
Let us know about it, Dora. Hope it happens. |
