Where to live? Mid twenties Male working in Cupertino new to the Bay Area (San Jose: apartments, movie theater)

[talkersw]

I am moving to the Bay Area and working for a large company in Cupertino. I lived in Downtown Portland for the past year so be mindful that I am used to a really lively, unique, downtown scene. I am a 26 year old male, single, and like to let loose on the weekends. I don't know anyone, so it is very important for me to be in a place where I can meet new people and branch out. I don't need to party every night but Fridays and Saturdays will be my nights.

I am hearing all kinds of different feedback on where to live. Some say move to Palo Alto (near Stanford), Mt. View (near downtown), downtown San Jose....and I am also getting a lot of recommendations to make the wifi bus commute from San Francisco. I am torn between doing this and limiting myself to the South Bay area. If not SF, where could I be around a lot of young people and have opportunities to meet people? Although it is very tempting to make the 1 hour commute for the sake of the city, I am not exactly sure this will sit well with me when I am actually doing it.

I am very focused on my work but then again if I end up choosing a poor social scene, I will be pissed. I want to hear from young people (and those who were once young people) in these areas and get a feel for your thoughts. What regrets did you have in your decision of where to live? Recommendations welcome.

[nagleepark]

I say wifi bus commute from San Francisco. It's common knowledge that Palo Alto, Mt. View and San Jose have weak social scenes so, if that's important to you, you need to live in San Francisco. If you can make do with a weak social scene then you will avoid a long commute.

Of course, you can always try it one way and move later. Or get a new job in S.F.

[bobby_guz_man]

If you're only partying on the weekends and Friday night, I would stay close to your workplace, and then drive up to SF for your "super-social" partying needs. If you're out for more casual "normally-social" partying needs, then you can hit up the numerous spots in the South Bay.

The commute from SF to your workplace will be brutal, regardless of taking bus, Caltrain, or cars.

I am from the South Bay. When I was younger I would party-up EVERY DAY. Partying on the weekends are for weaklings.

If you're young and the money's good, do yourself a favor and PARTY EVERYDAY. Just make sure you make it to work on time the next day and sober and always remain professional on the job.

On the weekdays I usually stay around the South Bay for my shenanigans but would still go to SF or Oakland/Berkeley on any weeknights if I wanted to, and I do that quite often. On the weekends I would split 50/50 between going north and staying south.

Remember, it's barely 50 minutes driving to SF and less than 45 minutes to Oakland.

Like I said, if I have not stressed it enough already, the CAR is your best friend. With a car, everything is accessible. And when it's party time, that's usually 9PM and up, there are no traffic around the Bay anyway as the work traffic has cleared up.

[bobby_guz_man]

And people who told you that you're "limiting" yourself to the South Bay area are mostly old people, or people who don't have nice cars and hate driving them.

Get yourself a nice car, like I did when I was young, and you'll love driving. There're no "limits" here, the entire Bay Area is at your grasp.

You're not in Portland anymore, kid. THINK BIG You're in your mid-20's, this is the start of your PRIME years. GO BIG BABY!!!!! DON'T LIMIT YOURSELF.

[Billy Millennium]

I'd personally look at apartments on the Peninsula. Somewhere in San Mateo County. Reasonable enough commute to San Francisco and your workplace but out of the bustle and headache of living in the city. And the extra time heading to work.

Also, BART is a tremendous resource for getting into the city. Utilize it; I certainly should have when I lived in the Bay Area. I've only ridden it a couple times and it's a hassle free and cheap way to get into SF. Pro Tip: If you're going to a club/bar; you can pre-game (discreetly, of course as I'm sure it's not allowed. I.E. vodka pre-mixed with juice) on BART. Since you're not driving at all; might as well get a little buzz and save money on drinks before meeting friends/girls for a night out.

[talkersw]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

And people who told you that you're "limiting" yourself to the South Bay area are mostly old people, or people who don't have nice cars and hate driving them.

Get yourself a nice car, like I did when I was young, and you'll love driving. There're no "limits" here, the entire Bay Area is at your grasp.

You're not in Portland anymore, kid. THINK BIG You're in your mid-20's, this is the start of your PRIME years. GO BIG BABY!!!!! DON'T LIMIT YOURSELF.

Thanks for the response. So if staying in South Bay, where would be a good place to live?

[talkersw]

Originally Posted by Billy Millennium

I'd personally look at apartments on the Peninsula. Somewhere in San Mateo County. Reasonable enough commute to San Francisco and your workplace but out of the bustle and headache of living in the city. And the extra time heading to work.

Also, BART is a tremendous resource for getting into the city. Utilize it; I certainly should have when I lived in the Bay Area. I've only ridden it a couple times and it's a hassle free and cheap way to get into SF. Pro Tip: If you're going to a club/bar; you can pre-game (discreetly, of course as I'm sure it's not allowed. I.E. vodka pre-mixed with juice) on BART. Since you're not driving at all; might as well get a little buzz and save money on drinks before meeting friends/girls for a night out.

Do you have a spot in San Mateo county you would recommend. From what I understand, Palo Alto and Mt. View. I am seeing if there is a pro San Fran person out there because some guy I know who was in a similar situation said SF all the way.

[bobby_guz_man]

Dude, you're in the San Jose forum. If you want SF/San Mateo answers, go to the SF-Oakland forum. You're going to find much better, more precise answers there

If you're looking for South Bay locations to live, search this forum. This question has been answered to the death.

[cardinal2007]

Originally Posted by talkersw

Do you have a spot in San Mateo county you would recommend. From what I understand, Palo Alto and Mt. View. I am seeing if there is a pro San Fran person out there because some guy I know who was in a similar situation said SF all the way.

Palo Alto and Mt. View are both in Santa Clara county. When I lived on the mid-peninsula my favorite place to go was downtown San Mateo, it is somewhat economically diverse, but does have more Japanese restaurants than most downtown areas, it is still my favorite area on the peninsula. Further south, you have downtown San Carlos, but it is not as big. Further south from there is downtown Redwood City, it is a poorer city than those more to the north, but it is not that bad, I don't know how it is now, but it used to be called deadwood city because of how empty downtown was on weekdays after work, weekends are busier, especially the movie theater. Menlo Park is the southern most city with a downtown in SMCo, it is not as big as the others, but still have some places, my favorite bar in the peninsula is there.

Going north of San Mateo is Burlingame, it is more upscale than the other cities though, but still has plenty of restaurants, and it does have some bars, Burlingame is split between its downtown and the Broadway street area though.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by talkersw

Do you have a spot in San Mateo county you would recommend. From what I understand, Palo Alto and Mt. View. I am seeing if there is a pro San Fran person out there because some guy I know who was in a similar situation said SF all the way.

Palo Alto and Mountain View are in Santa Clara County, they're at the northern edge of the South Bay. San Mateo is county directly to the south of SF. There is a 15 miles distance between the borders of the two counties.

You should not find any pro-SF person in this forum. They're over in the SF-Oakland forum, where they belong. If you find any pro-SF person in this forum, they're just trolling.

Most people in here are pro-Bay Area, the ENTIRE region We're generally not as self-centered as the hardcore, holier-than-thou, pro-SF-only folks...