Moving from Finland to South Bay area (San Jose, Sunnyvale: apartments, renters)

[Juuso]

Hi All,

I will be moving from Helsinki, Finland to South Bay area in October. I'm a 29y, single, white guy. My work will be located in Santa Clara, near 101.

I'm looking place to live where I can meet people around my age. I prefer place where I can walk to nearby bars/cafes. Also, walking distance to Caltrain would be nice - so I can visit bars/clubs in the SF. My rental budget is around $1500 - but if the place is worth it, I can throw in some extra.

Any recommendations where should I live? I've been looking San Jose , Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain view, or Palo Alto. Any notable differences between downtown areas of these cities? Should I consider some other city nearby?

[irby]

I haven't been in this area all that long, so I'll rely on other posters to fill in some details. But here's some initial advice.

Downtown Sunnyvale's not a big nightlife spot, but it has a Macy's department store and a Target (which sells general supplies and some groceries) that you could walk to. There is also a block or two with some popular restaurants. There are bars there, too, though I don't know what kind of a crowd they draw. Sunnyvale will be generally cheaper than Mountain View or Palo Alto and possibly cheaper than downtown San Jose. You can probably find a "non-luxury" apartment in Sunnyvale for less than $1500, meaning the apt will be a little older and you won't have an in-unit washer/dryer. Downtown Sunnyvale's not far from where you say you'll work, and there are some decent non-101 ways to get to work. There is Caltrain in downtown Sunnyvale.

San Jose's downtown may be be the biggest of the places you mention, just because San Jose's a city and not a town. There are some good restaurants and bars downtown and there is a Safeway grocery store there as well. Not sure about the rents. You can probably walk to the Caltrain from a lot of apartments, but if you live a little further away there is light rail in downtown San Jose which goes to the Caltrain station. You'd probably be 6 or 7 miles from work in downtown San Jose, and I really don't know much about the traffic between the two spots.

Downtown Mountain View is very nice and is a popular weekend spot. There are restaurants, coffee shops, etc. There is also a Caltrain station downtown. There's not a grocery store in downtown MV as far as I know but there is a drugstore, so you could walk to pick up basic needs like milk, beer, etc. MV is going to be a little more expensive, but I think there may be some older apartments there a little closer to your price range. MV's probably 5-6 miles from your work, but you may be able to avoid 101 and some bad traffic by taking 237.

Downtown Palo Alto's my favorite of the places you mention, but it will definitely be the most expensive. It's also not close to your work (11-12 miles) and would probably mean using 101 to get to work. Tons of restaurants, cafes, movies, etc. Great town, but you'll pay more for a not-as-nice apartment there.

There's no real downtown Santa Clara. There's the Rivermark area in Santa Clara, though, that tends to draw professional people in their 20s/30s because it's so close to some major employers. If you lived in an apartment near Rivermark you'd be close to work and could walk to some restaurants, a grocery store, etc. But it's got a much more suburban feel. You would be very close to work, though. It's not on Caltrain but it's not far from light rail, which you can take to the Mountain View or downtown San Jose Caltrain.

Hope this helps!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by irby

I haven't been in this area all that long, so I'll rely on other posters to fill in some details. But here's some initial advice.

Downtown Sunnyvale's not a big nightlife spot, but it has a Macy's department store and a Target (which sells general supplies and some groceries) that you could walk to. There is also a block or two with some popular restaurants. There are bars there, too, though I don't know what kind of a crowd they draw. Sunnyvale will be generally cheaper than Mountain View or Palo Alto and possibly cheaper than downtown San Jose. You can probably find a "non-luxury" apartment in Sunnyvale for less than $1500, meaning the apt will be a little older and you won't have an in-unit washer/dryer. Downtown Sunnyvale's not far from where you say you'll work, and there are some decent non-101 ways to get to work. There is Caltrain in downtown Sunnyvale.

San Jose's downtown may be be the biggest of the places you mention, just because San Jose's a city and not a town. There are some good restaurants and bars downtown and there is a Safeway grocery store there as well. Not sure about the rents. You can probably walk to the Caltrain from a lot of apartments, but if you live a little further away there is light rail in downtown San Jose which goes to the Caltrain station. You'd probably be 6 or 7 miles from work in downtown San Jose, and I really don't know much about the traffic between the two spots.

Downtown Mountain View is very nice and is a popular weekend spot. There are restaurants, coffee shops, etc. There is also a Caltrain station downtown. There's not a grocery store in downtown MV as far as I know but there is a drugstore, so you could walk to pick up basic needs like milk, beer, etc. MV is going to be a little more expensive, but I think there may be some older apartments there a little closer to your price range. MV's probably 5-6 miles from your work, but you may be able to avoid 101 and some bad traffic by taking 237.

Downtown Palo Alto's my favorite of the places you mention, but it will definitely be the most expensive. It's also not close to your work (11-12 miles) and would probably mean using 101 to get to work. Tons of restaurants, cafes, movies, etc. Great town, but you'll pay more for a not-as-nice apartment there.

There's no real downtown Santa Clara. There's the Rivermark area in Santa Clara, though, that tends to draw professional people in their 20s/30s because it's so close to some major employers. If you lived in an apartment near Rivermark you'd be close to work and could walk to some restaurants, a grocery store, etc. But it's got a much more suburban feel. You would be very close to work, though. It's not on Caltrain but it's not far from light rail, which you can take to the Mountain View or downtown San Jose Caltrain.

Hope this helps!

I think this description covers it. The only thing I would add is that Silicon Valley, and most of the US is very car oriented. You'll effectively be forced into buying a car. I live in downtown San Jose and walk to work every day, yet I still have a car because I simply wouldn't be able to do anything fun or run errands on nights and weekends if I didn't have one.

I wish we had good public transportation here, but we really don't.

[Juuso]

Thank you for the tips!

I will be definitely buying car for commuting. I'm planning to use Caltrain mostly for those SF visits.

My plan is to get hotel room for the first one or two weeks, and then try to find apartment on Craigslist. I hope that I won't run into any major issues when renting due to my non-existing credit score in the US.

-Juuso

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Juuso

I hope that I won't run into any major issues when renting due to my non-existing credit score in the US.

Might have to get a room in a house, or be prepared to pony up a big deposit w/o a good credit rating. Once you get a place, it can help to get your name on a monthly bill to build up credit. Paying on time, anyway (that helps).

[SportyandMisty]

Welcome. I just returned from a trip to Helsinki - you have a wonderful home country.

You will incur substantial startup costs. When it is time to rent an apartment, bring with you a photocopy of a document from your employer stating how much money you will make, and that will help.

Plan on substantial start-up costs. You might not think of all these, so I'll try to start a list & others may chime in on things I missed.

• Probably 2 months rent as a deposit on an apartment
• Probably $500 to $1000 "cleaning deposit", some of which you may get back at the end of your rental period, based on how clean you leave the apartment
• A cash deposit (maybe $100 each) for various utilities such as Electricity, Natural Gas, TV/Internet supplier
• You *will* need a car. Plan on a down-payment of a few thousand dollars on a car loan, even for a used car. Lack of a credit rating may affect your ability to finance the car.
• A local cell phone; depending on the plan, you can spend $60 to $100/month
• You *must* purchase automobile insurance for your car
• You *should* purchase renters insurance
• Unless it is offered through your employer, you *should* purchase health care insurance, and it is very very expensive. I'm guessing your employer will offer health care insurance to you - but it still is not free; you will have deductions from your paycheck to pay your portion of it (your employer may pay a large percentage on your behalf)
• Income taxes (Federal and separately State) are far lower than in Finland. So you will have more "take home pay".
• other stuff I haven't thought of

[Juuso]

SportyandMisty,

Thanks for the info and nice to hear you liked Finland. This summer has been exceptionally warm and sunny over here.

I will definitely get some kind of document from my employer stating my salary. Maybe I also try to get some letters of recommendation from the local credit card companies in Finland - not sure if this is any help but I guess it cannot hurt.

I have one question about paying bills such as utilities and rent. Are these bills generally paid using checks? Can I pay such bills also in cash, with credit card, or via bank transfer?

I will open savings and checking accounts as soon as possible when I get in the US. However, as far as I have read, I may have to wait until I have been issued a social security number before I can open banking accounts. Getting SSN may take something around a month or two.

[onik]

Moi Juuso ja trevetuloa minä olit Suomessa tämä summer. Olen puhun vahan suomi. In regards to paying bills, cash isn't accepted plus make sure when you rent a room, pay with money order you can get that from most stores and the bank. You can pay utilities by paying online via credit cards or bank transfer. If you're going to live in SJ, I would suggest west SJ, San Jose-Santa Clara border. Not Sunnyvale, unless you like your apt building smelling of spicy foods. Mountain view on or any of the cities on the peninsula that is going to be close to the el camino and real street. Stay away from CL. You can rent an apt from Finland online and have ready. I did that. Look at apts.com, rentapartments,com, apt finder. I would suggest look for a studio cause it expensive there and for $1500 that's what you're going to get unless you want the getto.
Is this helpful?

P.s. I'm living in walnut creek and don't have a car. It's challenging to get to the city or South Bay.
Contact me when you get here. 4159372304
Onika

[marcopolo666]

Originally Posted by onik

Moi Juuso ja trevetuloa minä olit Suomessa tämä summer. Olen puhun vahan suomi. In regards to paying bills, cash isn't accepted plus make sure when you rent a room, pay with money order you can get that from most stores and the bank. You can pay utilities by paying online via credit cards or bank transfer. If you're going to live in SJ, I would suggest west SJ, San Jose-Santa Clara border. Not Sunnyvale, unless you like your apt building smelling of spicy foods. Mountain view on or any of the cities on the peninsula that is going to be close to the el camino and real street. Stay away from CL. You can rent an apt from Finland online and have ready. I did that. Look at apts.com, rentapartments,com, apt finder. I would suggest look for a studio cause it expensive there and for $1500 that's what you're going to get unless you want the getto.
Is this helpful?

P.s. I'm living in walnut creek and don't have a car. It's challenging to get to the city or South Bay.
Contact me when you get here. 4159372304
Onika

Onika might have smoked too much medical marijuana.

"In regards to paying bills, cash isn't accepted". I have often paid bills using cash, including for the gas/electric company. But it is true that for most 'on-going' payments (rent, gas, telephone) the businesses prefer other types of payment (or you have to go down in person to pay with cash and get a receipt). Get a checking account at the bank, and you can set up recurring payments via electronic transfer.

Walnut Creek is an hour's drive from San Jose. Via public transportation it is much, much longer.

[high density]

lol she left her number online