New in Fremont: Looking for Doctors, Pediatrician, Fitness Activities, etc. (Scotts Valley: insurance, theater)

[SilentAllTheseYears]

Hello Everyone,

I started writing all these questions in another post... but thought that I should probably just start a new thread here.

We just moved to Fremont - in the Irvington area.

As of yet, we don't have a good family doctor. Anyone from Fremont have any suggestions? We also are looking for a good pediatrician for our 15 month old.

I was considering joining the YMCA nearby too (the one near the corner of Blacow & Grimmer) - but it seems kinda run down maybe and not worth the price of admission - the sign up fee or monthly fee. I had a better gym in Scotts Valley! But I was still considering it because I thought I could go there temporarily, just for some of their classes... But I don't know if that would be worthwhile. Anyone have any two cents about that?

I also rather enjoy ice skating. I visited the local Sharks ice skating rink, but I was wondering what other ice skating might be available in the area - and if there was a way I could sign up for a class somewhere, like at a nearby community college or something of the like - so I don't end up paying the price of admission every time I want a little exercise and a spin around the rink. I'm not that good... I only know how to ice skate, from my roller skating days as a kid. So a class might be nice in any case. I know the Sharks ice skating rink offers a class for adults that will be coming up in January. But I was hoping to start sooner than that.

And finally - I'm looking for a decent place to swim - preferably an indoor pool, since I burn rather easily. I wouldn't mind taking a class in water aerobics and/or adult swimming if it gets me into somewhere without having to pay a huge monthly fee or have use of a gym that I'll never actually use... Are swim classes available at nearby community colleges that are available to those who are not currently enrolled in the college itself?

Oh - and one more thing... I'm a bit of a food fanatic and I've noticed the large number of chain restaurants in the area - which I try to avoid. I've come across a tiny number of just-okay non-chain restaurants locally, but if anyone has any favorites they care to share - I would appreciate it! I'm also on the lookout for non-Starbucks (independent) coffee shops, art galleries, theaters and independent book stores (I already know about the local Borders and Barnes & Noble).

Thanks!

[blofeld9999]

Yelp.com is extremely popular in the Bay Area. If you're unfamiliar with it, people can go on there and review restaurants and gyms and so forth. I've discovered tons of local places that way.

This isn't spam, I don't work for them. But I am a happy user of the site and it's helped me discover restaurants, my doctor, etc.

sf.eater.com is another good one for restaurants only, although I don't know if they have any coverage of South/East Bay.

[SilentAllTheseYears]

Yes - I use Yelp too!

I found it really helpful for restaurants as well... though there are a few places that are interesting that fellow Yelpers haven't reviewed yet.

I didn't find it so helpful for gyms though. I only found a handful of reviews for gyms or anything involving fitness activities and there are probably hundreds of options available in the East Bay area - the number of options is almost overwhelming... which is why I was hoping to glean more information from others who might know more.

Yelp is sort of hit and miss for finding doctors... Sometimes Yelpers take the time to put in a good word for their good doctor, but not always... So I'm still in need of a referral for a great pediatrician, as well as a decent doctor for our family. There are so many options available for that in the phone book that our insurance covers. I would hate just picking someone at random without hearing *something* good from someone about them.

Sometimes, I do just pick up the phone book - but for a lot of these things, it's far better to get word-of-mouth referrals from people who have had good experiences. I know that usually works out *way* better when I can find someone who is happy with their doctor, rather than my just choosing someone randomly from the long list of doctors who my insurance covers (I have fairly good insurance - they seem to cover almost everyone - except for Kaiser).

Thanks for the lead on sf.eater.com. I hadn't heard of that one - I'll definitely check it out!