Discussion Topic |
|
This thread has been locked |
| Messages 1 - 8 of total 8 in this topic |
artmusicsouth
climber
VA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 28, 2007 - 11:18am PT
|
What do you guys think of Palo Alto. I am talking with some folks about a job there and wanted to get some feedback from all of you who live there.
Mark
|
|
bluering
Trad climber
Santa Clara, Ca.
|
|
|
Nov 28, 2007 - 11:36am PT
|
Well, I work in Palo Alto. It's a really nice place. The price of housing is outrageous but other than that it's nice. It's got a small town feel to it.
|
|
mojede
Trad climber
Butte, America
|
|
|
Nov 28, 2007 - 11:43am PT
|
Bluey, what is East PA like these days? During my short stint in Sunnyvale, I noticed a great disparity between PA and EPA.
It WAS cool to see the Dumbarton Bridge being demolished, on a side note.
|
|
Misha
Trad climber
Woodside, CA
|
|
|
Nov 28, 2007 - 11:45am PT
|
I work in Los Altos which is right next to Palo Alto. It is a great little town and an epicenter of Silicon Valley wheeling and dealing. If you get a high-paying job and can afford living there, you should love it!
|
|
durban
climber
|
|
|
Nov 28, 2007 - 12:28pm PT
|
i live in PA, too. EPA is much improved, with some newer housing developments and less crime, but there still is a tremendous disparity between the two. if you're just looking for a place to hang your hat, it's a good location and you're never too far from running trails, great rides, or any of the modern conveniences. if you're looking for a town to provide cultural and community experience, though, it would not top the list. i've loved it because it's where my best friends are, but i'm not sure i'd love it if that weren't the case.
|
|
valygrl
climber
Boulder, CO
|
|
|
Nov 28, 2007 - 12:31pm PT
|
Some of the best road biking in the country. Great weather. Access to climbing is difficult, as you have to cross a bridge to escape the bay area. Plan to spend friday night sitting in traffic. There are a couple of gyms in the area, but nothing (that I know of) right there in PA.
Very expensive. It's slightly more affordable to live in some surrounding areas. There's light-rail, bike routes, and buses that traverse the peninsula, but you want to avoid a long freeway commute, traffic is heinous. I'm serious about this, it could mean the difference between enjoying your life and not enjoying it.
EPA is a whole 'nother thang.
|
|
kev
climber
CA
|
|
|
Nov 28, 2007 - 01:55pm PT
|
As far as working in PA you'll prolly dig it. You needn't live there to work there. The cost of renting a place (depending on where in VA your comming from) will seem CRAZY. I've lived Menlo Park about 1 mile from PA. Generally a decent to nice 1 bdr will run you from 1400-2200 in the menlo/PA area depending on location and your definition of Decent/nice. An eh to 'ok' 1bdr might run 1000 to 1400. Check craiglist to get a better idea.
Think of PA as an upscale college town crossbreed with an upscale high tech employment area. This translates into lots of nice but expensive restaurants and shops. PA cops have a little bit of a reputation of being over zealous (think college town cops).
Some people call palo alto "shallow alto" and some people think it's rather pretentious. If you're willing to have a 15-30 minute commute (by car or by train) there are a fair number of more 'affordable' (I use the word affordable loosely) areas to live in.
There are a lot of outdoor benefits of living in this area most of which have been mentioned such as biking, climbing, and hiking all within 10-60 minutes away. You've got 3 climbing gyms in the area (20-40 minute drive), 2 large ones (planet granite in belmont and sunnyvale) and one small one (twisters in mountain view). Additionally there is incredible climbing 3-5 hours away, and an ocean less than an hour away. You can ski, climb, dive, surf, bike, hike, plus much more on any weekend so if you dig the outdoors this is a great place.
I moved out here from Ohio about 7 yrs ago and love it but am still a little butt hurt about the cost of rent and buying a 'home.' If you're considering staying here long term you should prolly consider salary and home buying issues if you think you may want to buy a home here (in PA 1bdr condos START in the 450k-600k range).
Overall the ara is very ethnically and culturally diverse. The population is generally well educated and pretty outdoorsy. They are also VERY liberal when compared to the rest of the US (not making a judgement on if that's good or bad).
EPA (East Palo Alto-it's another city) isn't horrific but I doubt you'd want to live there and work some high tech job in PA. It's not the safest place (I'm sure there are pockets that are ok). It has drive by shootings and I'm sure you don't want your cams damaged but bullets. I know someone who lives there and has a hard time getting pizza delivered even though he is in one of the nicer parts of EPA.
Hope this was helpful!
Oh yeah one more thing-for what it's worth this area typically follows a boom/bust economic/employment cycle.
What type of work are you looking at???
|
|
artmusicsouth
climber
VA
|
|
|
Topic Author's Reply - Nov 28, 2007 - 02:11pm PT
|
These are all great insights into the area. Kev, your comments are great, too. Very helpful.
The job I am looking at has nothing to do with the tech industry. I'd rather not say what the job is right now as the internet is a small world after all and climber circles are even smaller. I'll let you know what happens. I am still in the initial stages of talking and $$$ have not even been brought up yet. I anticipate though not ever being able to own something out there given my field unless I win the lottery. I am sure if it gets to that point we'll fly out and have a look around.
Thanks all,
mark
|
|
| Messages 1 - 8 of total 8 in this topic |
|
SuperTopo on the Web
|
Let us know!