The San Francisco/Bay Area Megathread

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tourism & Travel > The San Francisco/Bay Area Megathread

asdf.: Feb 25, 2005

quote:

DramaLlama came out of the closet to say:
Which area do you guys consider better- Palo Alto, San Jose, Berkeley or Stanford? I'm trying to figure out stuff for work next summer and all of these places are on my short list.

I disagree with the previous poster who answered these questions, so I'll give my opinion on the matter.

Palo Alto and Stanford are right next to each other, and the school owns loving half of the city anyway, so I'll refer to them as the same thing. It's a really expensive neighborhood, but the people are laid back, it's a wealthy and likeable community, and it's a great place for kids, but I doubt you're interested in that. If you can afford it (which you can't), try staying in Palo Alto. Just stay away from East Palo Alto, that place is a loving ghetto.

Berkeley is an insane asylum, and is only worth visiting if you are a commie, a vegan, plain batshit crazy, or a combination of any of those. It's a real 'cool' town, but I'm not sure the ridiculous political slant is worth it.

San Jose is a huge city (now 10th largest in the U.S.), and many people are surprised by how urban and metropolitan it seems. There are places for inexpensive housing, it's in the middle of everything, and there's a humongous geek community in the city. San Jose can be a great place to live provided you hunker down in one of the nicer parts.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2005 21:58

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# ¿ May 19, 2024 16:25

asdf.: Feb 25, 2005

quote:

Thufir came out of the closet to say:
My girlfriend wants us to move to the Bay area after we graduate college in the spring. I've never been to SF but I have no other plans so I'm down for an adventure. We live in Virginia and would probably be throwing as much stuff as we could into a car and driving across country. A friend of ours did this last year and had his car stolen pretty much immediatly upon arrival (in Oakland), but stuck it out and apparently loves it out there now.

I guess what I want to know is first, how hard will it be for two young people with bachelor's degrees from a good school to find jobs in the area. I saw someone above said that jobs in the 30k range were relatively easy to get so I guess that partially answers that one but have other people shared that experience?

Second, where should we be looking to live for reasonable levels of cheapness and fun? Also, what kind of living situation should we expect/ look for? Is it pretty much required that you live with a gaggle of roommates or could we get by with just the two of us?

Thanks for any info.

edit: I would also appreciate suggestions on "Things I should know before I throw my stuff in a car and move 3000 miles away without a job or a place to live or much money."

1) Good jobs are pretty hard to come by these days, and you'll need a relatively good-paying job if you want to survive in the area (everything is very expensive, especially housing). Jobs shouldn't be a problem though, especially if you're as educated as you say you are.

2) Cupertino is a neighborhood on the rise; housing prices are rapidly increasing, and you could get a great deal if you found a house there before things get too expensive. San Jose is (relatively) inexpensive, but I guess that's in the eye of the beholder considering price ranges for houses outside of the Bay Area. Palo Alto is a real nice community, if you can afford it, as are certain parts of Mountain View. Sunnyvale has better housing prices than most and is a fairly good neighborhood, so you should definitely check that city out. You could survive with just the two of you, but it really depends on your salary and house price. Hopefully you'll get lucky.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2005 05:06

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Tourism & Travel > The San Francisco/Bay Area Megathread