Anonymous wrote:Palo Alto native here. Went to college here in DC, moved back to SF as that’s where a job took me. Lived in SF for 16 years, then when we started a family moved down to Palo Alto. Moved to Chevy Chase about 4 years ago as my wife is from the area. I’m a supercommuter to SF nearly every week, but not quite.

If you have a family and can do Palo Alto, do it. Try to live as close to University Ave as you can as it will be easy walking distance to Caltrain to get into the City and Palo Alto has a vibrant downtown that is VERY walkable. The trade off is that it is wildly expensive. But if you can swing it, do it. The weather is incredible, and there’s no shortage of things to do. The schools are phenomenal as well. I could be accused of wearing rose colored glasses as that’s where I grew up, but I do like living here as well.

I find that the Bethesda/Chevy Chase area is an insanely insular bubble of people who think they are somehow worldly or sophisticated (or whatever the right word is) but aren’t even remotely close by comparison. The old adage of people here will ask you what you do for a living where people there ask what you’re doing this weekend has rung true for me. Now, all that is a little harsh and absolutely a generalization, but where there’s smoke…

Happy to answer any specific questions you have and will check back here.

Omgoodness. Exactly! Didn't know the term for it either, but widely different from some parts of west coast. What is this obsession with what do you do? None of your f business" or where did you go to school?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just moved there from DC. Sacramento to be exact. Also lived in Pacifica and San Diego. PP above is correct in that it is sooooo much better! People are happier and therefore friendlier. I noticed this instantly after returning each trip. I disagree that it's crazy expensive. I was always complaining about how expensive everything was in the DC area, so if you're used to those prices, you'll find it's quite affordable here. Any specific questions?

Big difference between Sac and Bay Area or Silicon Valley!

Some days I think the worst parts of Cal (Bakersfield, for instance) are better than the DC area.

If you don't have a place like Bakersfield, where will our fellow neighbors get their beef and so much else of the food they consume? Everyone should visit areas near Bakersfield in their lifetime.

I was born in the Bay Area. I lived in DMV. Don't live in either place anymore.

I like to talk about job stuff. Unless somebody is my personal friend or I'm seeking to become friends with them, I don't care about their weekend hobbies. I mostly interact with people who have interesting jobs that they like. So that makes for an interesting conversation. Better than talking about recreations which require little explanation: kid stuff, sports, outdoor stuff, etc.

I grew up in a San Francisco suburb a long time ago. Things seem objectively worse. Traffic is worse. House prices are worse. School infrastructure is worse. There's a big outlet mall in what used to be a sleepy science-oriented white-collar town with a bit of a ranch-country flair (we had a rodeo, which still exists). It's lost a lot of the charm it had.

PP here - I forgot to mention that yes, I have lots of friends and colleagues in Marin. Mill Valley, Sausalito, etc. Some do take the Ferry in. While it’s certainly closer as the crow flies, the public transportation options are a degree more limited (eg Caltrain runs more frequently than the Ferry). That being said Marin is beautiful and another good option.

Palo Alto native here. Went to college here in DC, moved back to SF as that’s where a job took me. Lived in SF for 16 years, then when we started a family moved down to Palo Alto. Moved to Chevy Chase about 4 years ago as my wife is from the area. I’m a supercommuter to SF nearly every week, but not quite.

If you have a family and can do Palo Alto, do it. Try to live as close to University Ave as you can as it will be easy walking distance to Caltrain to get into the City and Palo Alto has a vibrant downtown that is VERY walkable. The trade off is that it is wildly expensive. But if you can swing it, do it. The weather is incredible, and there’s no shortage of things to do. The schools are phenomenal as well. I could be accused of wearing rose colored glasses as that’s where I grew up, but I do like living here as well.

I find that the Bethesda/Chevy Chase area is an insanely insular bubble of people who think they are somehow worldly or sophisticated (or whatever the right word is) but aren’t even remotely close by comparison. The old adage of people here will ask you what you do for a living where people there ask what you’re doing this weekend has rung true for me. Now, all that is a little harsh and absolutely a generalization, but where there’s smoke…

Happy to answer any specific questions you have and will check back here.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this 14 year-old thread in advance of our move to the Bay Area. My husband will be working in the Financial District. How is the commute from Palo Alto? What about Marin County? Some of his colleagues live in Marin and take a ferry to work every day. Does anyone have experience with this?

You’re better off starting a new thread and also specifying your budget. That changes everything.

Also add if you have kids and ages and if you work.

If it was just the two of you I would rent an apartment walking distance from his office for a year to get a feel for the city. Draw a 2 mile circle and pick a neighborhood. He can walk everyday bc the weather is always perfect for walking. If you had kids…. Hum… probably do what everyone else does and move to the east bay for the schools. Anything above San Francisco (Marin, etc…) is a PIA to get to work. Anything down the peninsula is a PIA unless you can take the cal train or bart and you can afford $7-8m for a house. You do not want to actually rely on the ferry for a 5 day in the office job. SF is booming again with the AI cash. You will have a great time!

If it is a one or two day in the office job I would move to Santa Cruz, Capitola, or Aptos and live at the beach.

Minimize your commute, maximize your time off to get to the lovely places in the state. If you are ever going to need to travel Marin to SFO is a haul. East bay is not so bad and you have Oakland airport.

Lived in the city for 20 years. Always felt bad for the people in their cars. Everyone always complained about the ferry.

Use the regional forum.

If you go to the Forum Index you will always find it.

There are only a few Californians and DMV transplants on this site.

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/forums/show/72.page

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this 14 year-old thread in advance of our move to the Bay Area. My husband will be working in the Financial District. How is the commute from Palo Alto? What about Marin County? Some of his colleagues live in Marin and take a ferry to work every day. Does anyone have experience with this?

You’re better off starting a new thread and also specifying your budget. That changes everything.

Never say Cali.

Also, that is WHACK to say that Bakersfield is better than DC.

--Native Californian, spent summers in Bakersfield with grandparents

Anonymous wrote:Bumping this 14 year-old thread in advance of our move to the Bay Area. My husband will be working in the Financial District. How is the commute from Palo Alto? What about Marin County? Some of his colleagues live in Marin and take a ferry to work every day. Does anyone have experience with this?

Take caltrain from SF to Palo Alto. The traffic around the peninsula is insane.

Can't speak to the Ferry.

Bumping this 14 year-old thread in advance of our move to the Bay Area. My husband will be working in the Financial District. How is the commute from Palo Alto? What about Marin County? Some of his colleagues live in Marin and take a ferry to work every day. Does anyone have experience with this?

8:07 - OP here. Precisely! The D.C. thing gets so very old after, well not that long - but it happens to have been many, many years. We have more than paid our dues! Won't it be nice to not be around such nosy people?

If we work in the SF area, where is the most reasonable and pleasant place to live - I suppose that should have been my original question. Our factors are walkability, child friendly (elementary age), parks and school quality, happy, educated, accomplished people (they can't all be in the NE), quality of life in general. Thanks.