Moving to SF Bay Area

[crewmatt]

Hey everyone! So long story short, I've gotten an awesome job in California and am going to be moving from Houston to somewhere around Silicon Valley in the next couple weeks. So I'm excited but a little scared of course. My new job is getting me an apartment in San Jose for a few months, but obviously I need to find a more permanent place to live - going to be interesting downsizing from my current place in TX haha.

So I was wondering if any of us live out that way, and know different areas out there. I'm joining the Los Gatos rowing club, and obviously would want to find a running/triathlon club of some kind as well . So I guess if anyone has any fun advice about the area - different places to look to live, restaurants to try, places to go run/expore, things that you wish you knew before you moved there - the kind of things only a local would know - I would appreciate the help . Thanks!

 

[kim3339]

Hi Matt!

Running stores that I know of in SJ area ~ there is the Road Runners chain on Hamilton and Bascom in Campbell and about 1/2 mile away also in Campbell is Running Revolution. They're on Campbell Ave and a small independent store, but they know a lot and have a decent selection. I don't know how often, but I they've done group runs on Saturday mornings before.

Next to Running Revolution is an area called the Par Course. It's a park and they have paved/nonpaved trail that will take you from Campbell into Los Gatos, but not sure how far out it goes, but at least 4/5 miles out. In Los Altos off 280 (freeway), about 5 miles north of SJ there are trails called Rancho San Antonio. There are a lot of paths, all train and a really good hill for hill training. I haven't gone yet, but want to, is a place called Communication Hill in SJ. I believe it's off 85 and if you google it you can easily fnd info on it. It's a residential area, but there is one hill and a lot of people go out there for training runs. If you're feeling adventurous, you could always drive up to San Francisco early in the morning on the weekends for a run. I do that sometimes. If you go close to the water, there's an area called Marina Green and there is parking there and you pretty much follow the water and can go all the to the bridge and back. If you go the opposite way you can run a good distance on the Embarcadero out to AT&T Park.

Oh! Nice part about being out here is if you need to fly anywhere, we have 3 airports you can play w/ for cheap prices and times. (Definitely helps when planning WDW runs ) SFO will have the most delays of the 3 b/c of the fog, but you can fly out/in out of there the latest.

For food, you pretty much can find everything and anything in ways of cuisine. Downtown SJ has a lot of restuarants and bars/clubs. Another popular area is Santana Row. It's an outdoor shopping area, but there are good restuarants and bars and it's always packed at night.

Sportswise, the Sharks Arena (hockey) is downtown, Raiders/A's/Warriors are at the Coliseum about 45-50 minutes away, Giants are 45-1 hour depending on traffic, but their minor league team in in SJ and tickets are really cheap and games are fun, 49ers new stadium opens in Santa Clara this year and the Earthquakes (soccer) are opening a new stadium soon near the SJ airport.

That's all I can think of for now, but if I think of anything or you have any questions ask away!

 

[bekkiz]

First you need to figure out your housing budget and that will make all the difference about where you live!

I loved living in Los Gatos, but it is very much a suburban, younger family kind of area. It also is very expensive (We got lucky on a rental house through a friend).

Campbell is more affordable, has a nice little downtown and is pretty centrally located. My husband commuted from Campbell to downtown San Jose for many years, and it really isn't too horrible, especially if you can be flexible about your daily hours.

I would personally avoid downtown San Jose. It is just not a great place to live. However, nearby Santa Clara has some nicer areas.

Now, I haven't lived in Northern CA in about 8 years, so but we travel down there often. I really like downtown Mt. View for food. There are a ton of international restaurants and it's a bit of a happening place.

 

[bekkiz]

First you need to figure out your housing budget and that will make all the difference about where you live!

I loved living in Los Gatos, but it is very much a suburban, younger family kind of area. It also is very expensive (We got lucky on a rental house through a friend).

Campbell is more affordable, has a nice little downtown and is pretty centrally located. My husband commuted from Campbell to downtown San Jose for many years, and it really isn't too horrible, especially if you can be flexible about your daily hours.

I would personally avoid downtown San Jose. It is just not a great place to live. However, nearby Santa Clara has some nicer areas.

Now, I haven't lived in Northern CA in about 8 years, so but we travel down there often. I really like downtown Mt. View for food. There are a ton of international restaurants and it's a bit of a happening place.

 

[crewmatt]

Haha, yes housing budget is a bit of a kick because of coming from the Houston housing market where I currently have a massive house and yard in a very nice community. Yup that all goes away. So let's say for round numbers sake I'm looking in the 600K range for purchasing, or somewhere around 2800/month for renting. I'm going to be working in Mountain View and there's a shuttle so that should help with the actual commute some

 

[bekkiz]

Looking in Santa Clara or Sunnyvale would be good commute wise. Pricing wise, eh, you might have a bit of a rough time buying, unless you're ok with a condo or townhouse. If so, you should have a number of options.

We left the Bay Area for the Seattle area specifically because of the housing market. Just be prepared to pare down your living space or commute really far!