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Old 11-12-2011, 03:35 PM
 
Location: Northern California
3,721 posts, read 14,686,999 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mayorhaggar View Post
Mountain View has a decent little downtown, I think it's on Castro Street. Lots of Chinese restaurants and Chinese groceries but there's other stuff too. Palo Alto is busier but is expensive and dominated by students but it could work for you. Check out Saratoga and Los Gatos, they're both ritzy towns up in the hills but I know Los Gatos sometimes has decently-priced apartments.
Also look at San Mateo and San Carlos, both of which have nice, walkable downtowns near the train station. Downtown San Mateo has newer apt buildings and there are restaurants, bars, new multiplex theater and a nice upscale supermarket (Dreager's).

Downtown Mountain View isn't much. It's small and full of Asian restaurants.

At any rate, this is suburbia and you won't find the urban vibe your husband wants in San Francisco, but SF is about 35 minutes from San Mateo (car or train).
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Old 11-12-2011, 04:12 PM
 
3,229 posts, read 6,267,145 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by humboldtrat View Post
Also look at San Mateo and San Carlos, both of which have nice, walkable downtowns near the train station. Downtown San Mateo has newer apt buildings and there are restaurants, bars, new multiplex theater and a nice upscale supermarket (Dreager's).

Downtown Mountain View isn't much. It's small and full of Asian restaurants.
Downtown Mountain View is far more intersting than San Carlos. It has a wide variety of restaurants and many of their Asian restaurants are catering to Americans,not the super authentic kind. It also has one of the best used bookstores in the Bay area.

Mountain View Downtown Guide: restaurants and dining

San Mateo is actually one of the best places for authentic Asian dining. For example, Champagne Seafood Restaurant and Causeway Bay Restaurant have authentic Cantonese food like you would find in the best Chinatown restaurants.

Downtown San Carlos has an insidiuous faux upscale yuppie vibe that I really can't stand. Also San Carlos is far from the 280 freeway and the traffic in San Carlos going to the 101 is horrible(especially on Holly St.)
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Old 11-12-2011, 05:50 PM
 
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Thanks again. All of this info is really helping us plan our trip to find housing.

We will def look into Mountain View and San Mateo. I'm finding that rentals are cheaper in MV. San Mateo has prices matching SF, but probably has more to offer.

How about San Jose (maybe downtown area? Other neighborhood suggestions?) We've never been, but some research shows it's a city in it's own right.

Thanks again! You've been so helpful!
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Old 11-13-2011, 02:38 PM
 
Location: Northern California
3,721 posts, read 14,686,999 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scaxter View Post
Thanks again. All of this info is really helping us plan our trip to find housing.

We will def look into Mountain View and San Mateo. I'm finding that rentals are cheaper in MV. San Mateo has prices matching SF, but probably has more to offer.

How about San Jose (maybe downtown area? Other neighborhood suggestions?) We've never been, but some research shows it's a city in it's own right.

Thanks again! You've been so helpful!
You might like downtown San Jose which has an urban core surrounded by suburban sprawl with its high rise buildings, light rail transit, lots of restaurants, clubs, etc.
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Old 11-13-2011, 02:47 PM
 
Location: Northern California
3,721 posts, read 14,686,999 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by capoeira View Post
Downtown Mountain View is far more intersting than San Carlos. It has a wide variety of restaurants and many of their Asian restaurants are catering to Americans,not the super authentic kind. It also has one of the best used bookstores in the Bay area.
Hate to disagree but Mountain View has way too many Asian restaurants which is not bad if you like Asian food alot. The Tied House and Stufts Pizza (now replaced by another pizza restaurant which I haven't tried) are good.

But you're right about downtown San Carlos which has become sort of an yuppie ghetto in recent years. Too many restaurants with to many tables and chairs clogging the sidewalks. I don't get how so many restaurants in such a small area can attract so many customers and stay in business especially in this economy, but they do.
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Old 11-13-2011, 05:59 PM
 
1,569 posts, read 2,038,660 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Scaxter View Post
It seems like Mountain View and San Mateo are great options for a compromise. Any type of walkable town is still better than where we are living now.

You mention Santa Clara County...any suggestions for towns?

Fortunately, my husband is a "business man" not a tech person. He already knows that his work day will be nothing like the typical IT type position. But, I'm sure there will still be some long days. This is why I think SF is too far to commute!
Ohhhhh, my wife is on the business side of things in tech, there are still long hours.

A 2 hour commute comes out to about 20 days a year. Is San Francisco really worth that?

Downtown San Jose is nice, has new condo developments, opera, orchestra, nice modern art museum, decent theater productions, etc.

I would suggest that your husband think long and hard about what S.F offers that makes it worth while to commute such a great distance.
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Old 11-13-2011, 06:38 PM
 
Location: Oakland, CA
28,226 posts, read 36,750,520 times
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There is a second big commercial district in Mountain View on California Street (more restaurants/shops/etc)
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Old 11-14-2011, 06:12 AM
 
21 posts, read 178,806 times
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Thanks again. My husband is in your area this week, so hopefully he will have time to check out some of the suggested cities.

Although I've never been, I think I'm beginning to like what I hear about Mountain View. It may be small, but it has a walkable downtown. Landlords are very pet friendly From what I've read, the Apple shuttle will pick him up at the train station. We're currently a 1 car family and it would be nice to not have to buy another car! And on the express Cal Train (bullet?) we can be in SF in 40 mins. Also, we are very close to San Jose. Seems like a great place to be during the week and we could be with friends in SF or exploring San Jose on the weekends easily by driving or train.

I've been on YELP and MV definitely has more to offer than where we currently live. Although we are 75 min from both NYC and Philly, it is VERY suburban with only major highways. No such thing as walking anywhere. Only large box stores, etc. It sucks!

We're hoping to start a family in the next year or so. I think I'd be a much happier mom with a dishwasher, laundry in our apt, a parking space, an enjoyable "downtown," and a husband who will be around to enjoy it!

Anyone raising/starting a family in Mountain View? Thoughts?

It seems like we've narrowed it down to MV, San Mateo and San Jose. Of course, once I get out there this could all change....ha

Thanks for all of your knowledge. You've saved us so much time!
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Old 11-14-2011, 06:31 AM
 
21 posts, read 178,806 times
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Also, why is the rent in San Jose so much cheaper than other areas. I'm seeing 2 bedrooms for about $2k vs. $2,500-3K. Crime? Further distance from SF? Makes me a little suspicious....

Thanks!
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Old 11-14-2011, 11:15 AM
 
Location: Pleasanton, CA
2,406 posts, read 6,017,544 times
Reputation: 4246
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scaxter View Post
Also, why is the rent in San Jose so much cheaper than other areas. I'm seeing 2 bedrooms for about $2k vs. $2,500-3K. Crime? Further distance from SF? Makes me a little suspicious....

Thanks!

Typically, the closer you get toward SF, the more expensive rent gets. It's also possible that some of the apartment ads you've seen for SJ places could be in bad areas. If you post some of the zip codes/addresses where the SJ apartments are located that you've seen, I can tell you if those are bad areas or not.
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