stanford / san francisco (Palo Alto, Bloomington: transferring to, law school, college)

[XmarcoX]

Hey, moving to Stanford to complete my ph.d.
Since I spent my recent life on campus I'd rather avoid campus residence.
Rents in Palo Alto doesn't seem much cheaper than in SF. How hilarious would you consider looking for a room in, say, Potrero Hill and commute with Caltrain to Stanford daily? Monthly ticket is just 150 $...

Marco

[buckeyenative01]

If you can afford it...

I have a friend who was a law student at Hastings for a year before transferring to UCLA. He said he had to barricade himself in his room in order to concentrate on studying and to minimize the risk of going outside and being enticed by all that San Francisco offers since law school (and any other form of graduate studies, for that matter) leave you with very little time for a social life.

[mdwstrnkid]

I wouldn't do it. The commute that you would have (MUNI to Caltrain, Caltrain from SF to PA, Caltrain to campus) would probably take at least 90 minutes each way, unless you timed each connection perfectly. Also, note that after the 7:21pm departure from the Palo Alto station, trains will only run once an hour. Muni routes also have limited buses in the evenings.

I would guess that most grad students live pretty close to campus so if you are looking to hang out with your classmates and peers, you'd probably also want to live close to campus.

[Sandpointian]

Are you ABD in a field which permits distance? If not, then living in SF would be a logistical nightmare. This is not Europe! If you need to be in the lab or in close contact with your advisor, you will regret the distance and hassle.

[sonarrat]

Caltrain only stops at Stanford during football games. Otherwise you'll need to transfer to the shuttle at Palo Alto. Not a big deal but it'll add an extra half-hour a day.

[Sandpointian]

transport Potrero Hill to SF train 20 min (incl wait time)
Train: 30 min
Wait for Stan Shuttle 10 min
Stan Shuttle 10 min
On a good day: 70 minutes....Add 15 minutes for the return as trains are often a bit late on way back home. Total time 2:35 hrs.
Location: Portero Hill...a dump and not without danger, esp if returning at night.

Bike ride from PA to Stanford? 10 minutes each way.
Location: gorgeous.

Beside: you are a PhD student. Save your urban adventure for your post-doc. Now is your time to interact with your peers and mentors And take full advantage of campus life!

[mdwstrnkid]

Originally Posted by Sandpointian

transport Potrero Hill to SF train 20 min (incl wait time)
Train: 30 min
Wait for Stan Shuttle 10 min
Stan Shuttle 10 min
On a good day: 70 minutes....Add 15 minutes for the return as trains are often a bit late on way back home. Total time 2:35 hrs.
Location: Portero Hill...a dump and not without danger, esp if returning at night.

Bike ride from PA to Stanford? 10 minutes each way.
Location: gorgeous.

Beside: you are a PhD student. Save your urban adventure for your post-doc. Now is your time to interact with your peers and mentors And take full advantage of campus life!

Just also wanted to point out that the time above is for a baby bullet train. On a non-express train, you're looking at 50 minute or so ride.

[XmarcoX]

Guys, thanks! I kinda thought it was irrealistic, but I just reckoned I would ask. And as to transportation, having lived in Bloomington IN for two years I kinda noticed it's not Europe :-)
Thanks again,

Marco

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by Sandpointian

transport Potrero Hill to SF train 20 min (incl wait time)
Train: 30 min
Wait for Stan Shuttle 10 min
Stan Shuttle 10 min
On a good day: 70 minutes....Add 15 minutes for the return as trains are often a bit late on way back home. Total time 2:35 hrs.
Location: Portero Hill...a dump and not without danger, esp if returning at night.

Bike ride from PA to Stanford? 10 minutes each way.
Location: gorgeous.

Beside: you are a PhD student. Save your urban adventure for your post-doc. Now is your time to interact with your peers and mentors And take full advantage of campus life!

Presumably if the person lives in Protero hill they would not leave from the SF station, but from 22nd station, which is right next to Protero hill. The Baby Bullet from there would take 32 minutes to get to Palo Alto. Overall it doesn't make much difference, I would assume it would take 10-15 minutes to walk to the station. As for the shuttle, if you're lucky you will just need to go some building near the main quad, and in which case you can take the Palm Dr express which stops at the station every 9 minutes, and takes only 9 minutes. That would be more like 60 minutes on a good day, but still one hour is one hour.

In theory you could also just take your bike, and that might cut out some 10 more minutes from that commute, but bike space is tight on the Baby Bullets, and 22nd St is the second stop.

As for the commute times from PA to Stanford. Unless you live right at downtown Palo Alto, college terrace, Stanford West or some other areas right outside of campus, I don't think you can get from PA to Stanford in 10 minutes. It takes 8-10 minutes to ride a bike from E.V. to many parts of on the west side of campus. 15-20 minutes seems more reasonable for most of Palo Alto.

[Sandpointian]

XmarcoX,
Stick with my PH numbers for realistic travel and with Card07's 20 min estimate for biking from most of PA--I lived on Calif ave and had the benefit of a traffic free short-cut. My numbers hold for West of the tracks. Once on the other side of the tracks, 20 min would be more accurate. And if further out, it can be as much as 40 minutes (drive rather than bike?), although I knew no grad student who lived terribly far away.

More options when you are ABD.
Lucky you...I can use a few more years of the Farm to catch up on relaxation...