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Ask HN: Tips for an Argeninian 24year-old dev arriving to the valley in 2 weeks?

1 points by lucianogp ↗ HN
Title says all pretty much. My employer's office is in Mountain View, relatively close to the Caltrain station. I won't have a car (will have to get license and insurance first anyways), but I will be staying in a hotel close to the office during the first month. During that time I'll have to find a place to rent/share (so if anyone's looking for a roommate, you can ping me :)).

So far I understand that my best bet in order to have something close to a social life is to live in Palo Alto or SF. That means Caltrain commute, which from what I could find out, it (usually?) works fine and should be ~1h of commute.

Apartment: I've been looking at Craiglist for both room shares and renting apt. Any other good sources? Credit score: I understand the best thing I can do to build my credit score is to get a mobile on my name and a secured credit card. Does that work? Any other tips?

Also, I found this to be a good resource of information: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=128872 - Not sure how accurate it is now though. I think rent/food/utilities are more or less clear, but any estimates in costs for going out a couple of days a week/weekend would help too :)

Tks!

6 comments

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steventruong
Check out http://www.padmapper.com/. Google Maps mashup that includes craigslist listings and others.

As for social, if you want city living, hands down SF is the best but the commute is killer. Palo Alto is not bad. Personally I lived in SF for 3.5 years and found myself not really doing a whole lot of stuff in the city and decided to move further south to get closer to all the startup action (but that's just me). It might be good for you to feel things out for the first week you're here before deciding on either city. Most will probably argue in favor of SF but I've done that commute and it's not fun.

That said, rent in Mountain View is cheaper than in SF and PA. Cost of going out varies obviously but it's probably not a whole lot more than if you were going out in some other city. Just depends on what you're doing.

lucianogp
Thanks Steven. I actually noticed many meetups (GitHub, Ruby and others) are held usually in SF? That's another point I'd be looking at for choosing a city.
steventruong
Outside of large conferences and technical meetups, I find if you compare sheer volume of events/meetups, the valley wins hands down every time. In a given month, I might find 5 events that interests me in SF, maybe more if I really tried. In the valley, you can easily find 5 a week. To be fair, the city has better technical meetups and if you have specific ones you prefer in one location or the other, that's mostly what will matter most.
lucianogp
(Typo: "Argeninian" => "Argentinian")
Mz
The Bay Area has much better public transit than most of the rest of the US. So living without a car is very do-able. I currently live without a car someplace that doesn't have great public transit. Don't worry so much about your commute to your work. You do need to get there, but you also need groceries, the ability to shop for generally, and the ability to go out to eat -- at least if you live anything like I do. When looking for a place to live, consider how accessible grocery stores, eateries and other essentials are. For me, my commute to work is the longest trip I routinely make and it's no big deal. It would be a much bigger problem if I were not close to two shopping centers.

It's been a few years since I lived in the Bay Area, so that's about the limit of what I can tell you. Best of luck.

tiponaaa
The wine is ridiculously overpriced here and not that great. Stick to local beers.

On the other hand, weed in the US is much better than what you're used to in Argentina. Take it easy with it, though. It's also much more potent.

The social scene in SF, while not NY or LA, is pretty good, and huge compared to what's happening on the peninsula. If I were single I wouldn't want to live on the peninsula. Once you have a gf, it might be cool. It's a bit suburban for me. By the way, making out in public and other public displays of affection are mostly taboo. Californians are laid back and not much bothers them, but people are still a bit uptight in that regard. Go figure.

Good luck finding yerba. Some of the latino supermarkets must carry it.

The steak will be a major disappointment. Just forget about it. Otherwise the food's fantastic. You have a lot more options than you do in, say, BsAs, even on the peninsula. People eat dinner super early. 8 o'clock is normal. You're pretty much expected to tip at least 15%, unless the waiter really screws something up. There are tip jars everywhere. Ignore them if you're not a regular. Otherwise, you're kind of obligated. You will not believe the tipping.

If you live in SF you don't need a car. If you live in Mt. View it's going to be harder to get by without one, but keep in mind that, in California, bicycling is socially acceptable, and a cheap and effective means of transportation. The climate permits cycling year-round. I did it for a year in Palo Alto. Don't take cabs in SF unless you can share one or it's some kind of emergency. They're ridiculously expensive, and mostly serve rich people and tourists. If you do take a cab, you're expected to tip 15% on top of the already-ridiculous fare. Caltrain is a fine way to get up and down the peninsula, though here in yanquilandia you're not allowed to hang off the side. Dumb rule.

Suerte.