Feedback on moving back to the Bay Area from Sacramento (San Jose: college, living in)

[jade408]

Originally Posted by sav858

Transit in Silicon Valley is terrible:

"A quarter of a century ago, Santa Clara County's first light-rail train left the station as excited supporters heralded a new wave of state-of-the-art transportation to match the region's burgeoning high-tech industry.

But there was no grand celebration this month as Silicon Valley marked 25 years of light rail.

The near-empty trolleys that often shuttle by at barely faster than jogging speeds serve as a constant reminder that the car is still king in Silicon Valley -- and that the Valley Transportation Authority's trains are among the least successful in the nation by any metric. Today, fewer than 1 percent of the county's residents ride the trains daily, while it costs the rest of the region -- taxpayers at large -- about $10 to subsidize every rider's round trip."

25 years later, VTA light rail among the nation's worst - Mercury News

I remember when it opened. We had a field trip to ride the light rail. The initial line didn't even go to downtown San Jose. It did go to Great America. So for a pre-teen it was amazing. The light rail stop was one block from my house and went straight to Great America.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by neutrino78x

Says a guy who never uses it.

I love laughing at the losers sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, GOING THE SAME ROUTE AS ME, as I blow past them at 55 mph on Light Rail in the median of highway 87.

Half the people in New York City don't own a car. The other half claim that the subway is terrible. Except it isn't.

NYC subway coverage is pretty extensive in Manhattan and is faster then the surface options. Transit in the Bay is limited and takes longer than most other modes. BART from most of the east bay to downtown SF during the commute hours is an exception that it is faster than driving. Our transit is rarely more efficient than driving and as a result usage is low. Secondly densities are too low to provide frequent transit. A bus that runs once an hour and takes an hour to go 3-4 miles is not effective transit.

[neutrino78x]

I ride light rail nearly every day. Like BART, CalTrain or the New York City Subway, it is far from perfect. But if you use it well it works great. People are just not familiar with where transit goes or how it can benefit them.

For example, people will say "I want to go from my job at Cisco to my house in south San Jose." And the only solution they consider is driving...but light rail goes that exact same route. And it has Wi-Fi. I see that kind of discussion on here all the time.

[neutrino78x]

Originally Posted by jade408

NYC subway coverage is pretty extensive in Manhattan and is faster then the surface options.

People in NYC who drive would disagree, though. I'm sure people who actually ride the subway would agree with you, and I think it's probably true. But a lot of people just think transit is beneath them.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by sav858

Personally if it wasn't for family and friends I wouldn't live here. Too expensive for what you get and a congested rat race overall.

^^^ This ^^^

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by sav858

Look at my edit, San Jose isn't even on Denver's level lol.

Apple isn't even based in San Jose either! Maybe bland Cupertino should be a beta city instead.

Ah, yes. Cupertino is so bland, as you put it, that no one wants to live there. That's why housing prices cratered over the course of the last 20 years.

[/sarcasm]

[sav858]

Originally Posted by neutrino78x

I did already.

https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content...San_Jose-3.pdf

https://hbr.org/2014/12/what-still-m...ley-so-special

Empire of the geeks | The Economist

Concentrated Economic Power and Silicon Valley

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-s...er-john-mathon

Silicon Valley has a chance to influence cyber security policy: column

I guess if you're not familiar with world politics and finance you might think that Silicon Valley is some backwater place that has no influence, but most who know anything about the subject would disagree.

No you didn't. I asked for RANKINGS, as in showing how Silicon Valley ranks in comparison to other cities. Since you seem to think San Jose is up there with London, Tokyo, NYC, etc... then provide a LIST of RANKINGS showing that.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by neutrino78x

Says a guy who never uses it.

I love laughing at the losers sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, GOING THE SAME ROUTE AS ME, as I blow past them at 55 mph on Light Rail in the median of highway 87.

Half the people in New York City don't own a car. The other half claim that the subway is terrible. Except it isn't.

Neither do 99% of the residents of Silicon Valley.


I do use transit daily for work though FYI.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

Ah, yes. Cupertino is so bland, as you put it, that no one wants to live there. That's why housing prices cratered over the course of the last 20 years.

[/sarcasm]

I never suggested no one wants to live there. There are good paying jobs nearby so of course people want, or need to, live close to where they work. Doesn't make it any less bland though.

[neutrino78x]

Originally Posted by sav858

No you didn't. I asked for RANKINGS, as in showing how Silicon Valley ranks in comparison to other cities. Since you seem to think San Jose is up there with London, Tokyo, NYC, etc... then provide a LIST of RANKINGS showing that.

So you would say that the Brookings Institute is not credible? The Economist is not credible? Harvard Business Review is not credible?