Mountain View / SF , CA Questions

[englandmj7]

........

[ultra_V]

whats up man, i live in SF and i commute to redwood city not on a daily, but frequently. Redwood city is basically right by mountain view. My style is more street you would call it? mostly associated with the hypebeast look?

but lets get to this geographic break down

mountain view.. near by you got the stanford shopping center, they have pretty high end labels... nieman marcus status. there is also a north face store in that area.. and downtown palo alto is crackin, across from stanford, there restraunts carry a pretty ill night life. might wanna check out nolia, little new orleans styled joint, gots a crazy bar.. and great food.

but in regards to hitting up the SCO the sucka free.. frisco.. san fran.. you got cal trains, there is a sstop in mountain view. So take cal train northbound, its like a 45 minute train ride? ticket is like 3.50 i believe one way, you can take that to the milbrea stop and jump on the bart(the bart will take you to the east bay along with downtown SF. you can get off at the montgomery stop for miss sixty.) if you do transfer, there is a IN N OUT not to far, the best fast food joint if your into that shit but there everywhere.. soo dont worrie.) if you choose not to transfer, the cal train will take you to the ball park area of SF, SPC park.. that would be a nice sunday afternoon place to go with your wife, its basically the none tourist area of the embaraderro. new architecture.. i like it personally, i do production with a factory out there** just a side not... but if you do decide to take cal train all the way, you can jump on the N line i believe? and thatll take you to haight street, downtown.. fishermans warf, uhhh castro, juddha.. pssh everywhere..

but downtown SF has the basic stores you can find anywhere.. with a few minor exceptions..

haight street is always a new experiance.. north beach has recon if your into that and double punch if your into toys.. aand also a slew of restraunts.. laurel village has a few restraunts and boutiques.. same with union street and chestnut.. uhhh shit this could go on forever.. i guess just PM me if you want more detailed information directed more towards your walk of life.. but mountain view kinda sucks to be quite honest..

[Persia]

WELCOME TO THE BAY

I live in the city but work in Santa Clara which is 10 minutes south of Mountain View.

Driving ain't that bad, about an hour an twenty minutes each way. I drive but I hear CalTrain is pretty nice way to get around. I don't find it to be a problem.

Mountain View is a small place and pretty suburban but it has a good skate shop (SKATWORKS).I would suggest staying in a hotel for a week just to check out the area. Once you get stuck in the burbs its pretty hard to get out. I would suggest living in the city and dealing with the commute. The city is great. You can hit me up with any questions.

My wife and I also run a little clothing line out of the city (mama) and I don't think it would be possible to stay current on things while living in the burbs. It all depends on what you're into though.

If you're a city kid, you're going to hate mountain view.

Don't let Mama slap you.

www.mamaclothing.com

[englandmj7]

Shit guys, thanks alot for the long responses, very, very helpful.

Quote: If you're a city kid, you're going to hate mountain view.

.......... miles in 2 hrs.....

[ultra_V]

yooo im sooo heated from that stupid thread... but lemme calm down with a bit of talkin towards my beloved city..

its not tooo bad, the traffic that is. there are two freeways that run parallel. And the direct one is the 101.. and it is hit and go with traffic, but normally clear except normal traffic hours.. specially going into downtown SF.. but im from so cal.. SD to be exact.. and its no where as bad as the 5 or 15..

the 280 freeway is usually always clear.. but the 101, the more direct freeway can be the fastest and also the longest depending on traffic.

ive gone from menlo.. which is right by mountain view.. to SF in like 30 minutes before.. but that was at night.. but normally itll take on average 45 minutes, but in traffic.. prolly 2 hours max..

and like I said the 280 on average will take around 50 minutes even in peak traffic hours.

sorry if that doesnt make sense, i got a lot going through my head right now..

but regards SF living..

Near haight street would be cool... umm the richmond area of SF.. the inner and outter(of the richmond), both are cool.

but your best bet is the sunset.. its where i currently live.. its basically by the ocean, and still san francisco, and the muni runs right into downtown if you live off a muni line IE: TARAVEL, IRVING/JUDDAh. its west of the downtown heart.. you can get basically a house for a resonable monthly price.. renting of course.

Daly city is cool but there is a lot of filipinos, i have no problems with them.. but THERE IS A LOT

check out www.craigslist.org for SF living

thats where i found all my apts.

now regarding just mountain view area

but if you ever come up here you need to check the stanford area. stanford shopping center.. like i said neiman marcus, also bloomingdales.. and those type of places.. and downtown palo alto.. im not super dupe familiar.. but i know its more upscale.. FUN NIGHT TIME PLACE!!!

any questions, feel free to hit me up..

[samsikle]

i live in san jose which is like 15 minutes from mountain view and 45ish from san francisco. mountain view is hella suburbs but it's a nice little city for the most part. i don't know of any shops like you would wish for, but for anything else, it's not much of a travel to great places ie: stanford like ultra_v said, the city, valley fair westfield mall. downtown mountain view is a really neat place to sit down and have coffee or get pearl tea at tapioca express. my cousin works at the starbucks over there not far off are some cities like Sunnyvale (which down El Camino Real is like mini korea, if you like korean food, you're in luck) and also Santa Clara. the area has its variety.

as far as commuting back and fourth, as long as you're used to driving in busy cities you won't have a problem. you might get used to it. but i personally would hate having to face busy streets day after day. but it might not be as bad as i say it is.

Quote: Daly city is cool but there is a lot of filipinos, i have no problems with them.. but THERE IS A LOT

LOL. that hecka made me giggle. it's true.

there's a lot of little shops around SF, you could probably find some neat stuff at ROLO on howard st. and maybe some junk down Hayes Valley. definitely on hayes there's a good gourmet hamburger place my friend and i went to called Flippers.

and definitely, Haight is the place to check out. upper haight, anyways. they sell a lot of designer stuff along the street, especially at Villains Vault. you can get a lot of sneaker pick ups at any of those shoe stores on haight (shoe biz, shoe biz 2, true..). a lot of 2nd hand shops like crossroads.

it's hard to narrow it down. superfuture map it ;D haha yeah, if you have any questions don't be shy. i don't know if i'll be much help but it's worth a try.

[Guest]

Alright man, let me hook you up.

1. I grew up in LA (West Covina/La Puenta), plus I go down to LA multiple times a year, but I have to say SF traffic is nothing like LA traffic. LA is crazy. The 101 is alright but the 280 is a breeze. If I were you, I would base my decision more on local spots and environment rather than traffic.

2. There are a bunch of OK places in SF, but I would start with the weather. SF is in between the ocean and the bay so the weather differs a great deal based on location. I live in North Beach three blocks from Recon and Double Punch. The weather is the second best in SF. Lots of places to eat and pretty central.

3. The Mission has the best weather. Its known as the hispanic area but there are a lot of vintage looking hipsters out there. Great food, night life, some good shops and very central.

There are some areas in the Mission that can be pretty dirty. Mission street has some heroin and crack spots so Iwould take a look at the area during the day and night before I dropped rent.

4. The Marina looks nice but has a high level of prepsters.

5. I would avoid southern SF, Hunters Points for grime and areas like the Richmond and Sunset for weather. I would also avoid the Haight because of weather. I'm not a big fame of fog so I would avoid anything on the Pacific coast line.

5. I think it all comes down to City vs. Suburb. I think its a waste to live anywhere in the middle.

6. Take a look at Craigslist.com for SF apartments for an idea on rents.

7. At the end of all of this, you have to ask yourself what do you want to be doing on your free time. If you chill and don't get out much, I would say live in MV, but if you like checking shit out I would say hit up the city.

good luck.

[englandmj7]

I really appreciate all the info. Thanks again!

[Guest]

alright, let me break it down.

Here are the rules for SF:

1. Be aware of the weather. SF has the pacific on one side and the bay on the other. ALthough SF is known as Fog Town. There tends to me more fog in areas next to the pacific coast line. I would avoid the Richmond and Sunset based on Fog and cold weather (even in summer). I would also avoid Haight for the same reason. The best weather is in the mission and then, I would say North Beach. The weather in Mountain View will be about 10 to 15 degrees warmer.

2. Be honest with yourself. Your going to hate Mountain View if you like going out at night or shopping at boutiques. Mountain View is a slow town and you will have to drive to at least 20 minutes to get anywhere "cool". Of course, it depends on you. If you like staying at home and chillin, Mountain View will be fine.

3. Traffic ain't that bad. Do you like commuting during the week or on your weekends? It takes my an hour and ten to get home, but when I'm home I have a whole city around me. I prefer that then taking 20 minutes to get home but being bored once I get there. Keep in mind that Bay traffic is nothing like LA traffic.

4. SF has a bunch of cool areas to live but it depends on what you're into. The mission is cool but has some sketchy areas, SOMA is kinda isolated, Hayes Valley is cool, I would need to know a little more about your expectations in order to give you better advice. If you're a prepster, you would love the Marina.

I tired now. Good luck.

sorry for any spelling issues.

[Persia]

alright, let me break it down.

Here are the rules for SF:

1. Be aware of the weather. SF has the pacific on one side and the bay on the other. ALthough SF is known as Fog Town. There tends to me more fog in areas next to the pacific coast line. I would avoid the Richmond and Sunset based on Fog and cold weather (even in summer). I would also avoid Haight for the same reason. The best weather is in the mission and then, I would say North Beach. The weather in Mountain View will be about 10 to 15 degrees warmer.

2. Be honest with yourself. Your going to hate Mountain View if you like going out at night or shopping at boutiques. Mountain View is a slow town and you will have to drive to at least 20 minutes to get anywhere "cool". Of course, it depends on you. If you like staying at home and chillin, Mountain View will be fine.

3. Traffic ain't that bad. Do you like commuting during the week or on your weekends? It takes my an hour and ten to get home, but when I'm home I have a whole city around me. I prefer that then taking 20 minutes to get home but being bored once I get there. Keep in mind that Bay traffic is nothing like LA traffic.

4. SF has a bunch of cool areas to live but it depends on what you're into. The mission is cool but has some sketchy areas, SOMA is kinda isolated, Hayes Valley is cool, I would need to know a little more about your expectations in order to give you better advice. If you're a prepster, you would love the Marina.

I tired now. Good luck.

sorry for any spelling issues.

MAMA is watching

www.mamaclothing.com

[englandmj7]

^^

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[Persia]

$1500 should be fine. Checkout www.craigslist.com for apartments. I don't know what Venice is like now but I remember it being pretty dirty. I would say that the Marina is kinda like West Hollywood? I would say you should check out:

1. The Mission area right up against the Castro border.

2. Marina.

3. North Beach.

MAMA is watching

www.mamaclothing.com

[englandmj7]

^^ I will check them out. Thanks again.

[daryl]

Persia is pretty much on point with bay area living. The only thing I would add is to look into the South Beach/Soma area.

Its:

-the most modern part of the city with tons of new development in the horizon hence its pretty clean and relatively safe.

-right next to the freeways/bay bridge so commuting in and out of the city to get to MV should be cake. I often drive down to the peninsula and I have no issues. If you lived in the Marina or out in the Richmond, it would add another 15-30 min to your already 1hr commute.

-easily accessible to union square/downtown for all your shopping needs. Also if your wife works for Miss Sixty, I believe the retail branch is downtown/union square which is a quick 10 min train ride.

-not really as isolated if you have a car to get around the city.

The only gripe I have is that you don't get that neighborhood feel that most areas of San Francisco have. Its filled with uber-modern apartment/condo/loft buildings with a few enclaves or retail/old industrial buildings sprinkled about but with all this new development going in, it should get better. I used to live by the upper haight but recently moved to south beach and I miss being able to walk out my door and go a couple of blocks for some cheap eats. But I have a parking space and a car so I guess I can drive if i have a craving.

good luck.

[englandmj7]

^^ Wow, that pretty much sounds exactly like what I am looking for.

[gamma888]

i just moved into richmond area from nyc and i am loving it very much even thoughit has been raining like 90 percent of time in the whole month of march.

i'd go to mtn view often lately because that's where my parents' fave eats is along castro st. plenty of asian restaurants, bars, and cafes along the street.

when it comes to shopping, you're better off at valley fair in san jose (i think it might have the sixty shop there), stanford shopping center in palo alto, or many independent shops in SF.

yeah, i have to agree with persia that caltrain is the best to go for commuting to mt. view from san francisco during rush hour. if you're gonna live in SOMA, then caltrain station isn't that far away. SOMA is filled with many nightclubs, and i had a friend get mugged after an outing at a club in soma recently.

if you're very homey, then living in mt. view will suit you just fine. you got plenty of places to go within 40 miles range.

[samsikle]

^ oh yeah, right next to valley fair is Santan Row which has a whole bunch of designer shops. an even better place to chill and have coffee.. and play chess on the big chess board