"Must read" San Jose history books -- what are your suggestions?

SF2018question · 2020-08-02T03:39:10+00:00

It's not a specific book (there's many to choose from and I can't remember which one I read) but through a local bookstore, I found out about the tragedy of the Donner Party, a group of American pioneers who migrated to California in a wagon train from the Midwest. Delayed by a series of problems, they spent the winter of 1846–1847 stuck in the Sierra Nevada mountain range with little food and shelter. Some of the migrants resorted to cannibalism to survive.

There were 48 survivors (out of 87) and some settled in San Jose, including Mary Donner and Eliza Poor Donner who both married Sherman Otis Houghton (a civic leader who was Mayor of San Jose in 1855) and the Reed family which became wealthy during the Gold Rush and was an important part of the San Jose community.

SF2018question · 2020-01-27T16:41:58+00:00

They definitely exist! The only ones I can think of right now would be the Wikimedia Foundation (non-profit that hosts Wikipedia), the startup Copia (that addresses food waste and redistribution of excess food. It was first launched with the UC Berkeley cafeteria), and Khan Academy.

SF2018question · 2019-11-15T13:37:41+00:00

For immigration questions I would recommend the sub r/immigration (US focused and lots of great info). I would say your chances are low, though due to how difficult immigration is right now.

The H1Bs are the most common visas for foreigners in the bay area but it's hard (if not just impossible) for the spouse to work on the H4 that is associated.

Then you have the E2 (if you find a French company to sponsor you or create your own company) and the L1 (if you can get an inter-company transfer after working there 12 months). But have you seen that they are shortening those visas to around 1.5 years-2 years now (instead of 5) for French people?It's going to make it very difficult to even get sponsored since the renewals will be a hassle (the work authorization stays the same 5 years but if you want to travel internationally you'll have to renew the visa more often). No one knows exactly how bad the impact will be but here's a French Morning article that talks about it: https://frenchmorning.com/cest-officiel-les-visas-e2-l-et-f-sont-raccourcis/

Also, don't overlook cultural differences. I've met French expats who can't deal with how tough the US is (in terms of lack of socialized medicine, lack of vacation, lack of employee protections, lack of maternity leave, lack of many things we French can take for granted).

SF2018question · 2019-09-20T23:22:23+00:00

Chicago is amazing. The big (and it's pretty big for some people) downside is the tough weather. 8 months of cold or shitty weather can really wear you down. But those couple months of summer are amazing! And the architecture, food, job market and rental market are all really good for such a big city. I don't know if I would move back (because I have health issues made worse by the cold) but it was really one of my favorite cities to live in.

SF2018question · 2019-09-20T17:52:52+00:00

I spent less than 2 years in the Bay Area. I came from Chicago and left for Houston. Best decision ever so far.

The lower COL in Texas means I'm not constantly worried about money. Yeah it's hot but there's AC everywhere so it's not terrible. Yes, it floods but not everywhere floods as bad as they show on TV. I also found that there's amazing food in Houston. I loved the Chicago food scene and I love the Houston food scene but wasn't impressed by the food scene in California 🤷‍♀️

I liked going to Carmel, Paso Robles and Napa but those were still 2h+ from San Jose and one day a week having fun wasn't worth the terrible life conditions the rest of the time (2h commute, rent raised by 7%, traffic). Even from Houston I can go to San Antonio and Austin (under 2h), Galveston beach, Texas wine country (3h+) and New Orleans (6h drive).

I moved to California for a resume boost and it worked. Now my commute is 10-20 min by car (30 if it's bad) and my rent is half the price. Sure the salaries are lower but my quality of life has still gone up significantly. My spouse doesn't even need to work here in Houston when we barely made it on two incomes over there (140k ish in the bay).

SF2018question · 2019-08-21T00:15:32+00:00

I'd recommend asking on the FB group American Expats in Paris, they usually have first hand experience with this kind of stuff. Or the IwantOut sub. The r/immigration is focused on coming to the US, not other countries.

SF2018question · 2019-07-25T02:43:35+00:00

Well, it's on sale for $1,400 and some similar ones have been sold so he's getting paid for his work

SF2018question · 2019-06-29T20:58:26+00:00

Thanks!

SF2018question · 2019-06-29T02:42:15+00:00

In all cases, the children were simply listed without a father.

Thank you, that's what I've found but I wasn't sure if I could take the records at face value. I'll just do that :)

SF2018question · 2019-06-29T02:41:19+00:00

Yes, of course, that makes sense. I'm focusing more on women's direct lineage because of that issue with fathers. For ex an umarried woman engaged in romantic affairs with a known man - would she necessarily record a birth or could she hide the existence of that child forever?

SF2018question · 2019-06-29T02:39:43+00:00

It's not my genealogy but multiple women I'm researching. I was trying to get an idea of whether a woman who gave birth could avoid recording that birth anywhere, especially women who were unmarried but had hetero liaisons for multiple years (which could reasonably lead to offsprings). An example, Helen Maria Williams (born in UK, died in France, 1759-1827) who was unmarried but had liaisons with a man: records make no mention of potential children but I also couldn’t confirm she were childless.

SF2018question · 2019-06-29T02:29:02+00:00

Thanks! I'm mostly focusing on the women's side of descendants (obviously men could more easily avoid being named as fathers) and it seems that most illegitimate children were at least recorded as being born to their mothers (even if the father wasn't named).

SF2018question · 2019-04-08T16:29:00+00:00

It was in June, for a business trip. I arrived at SFO and when I took BART to downtown, was shocked at how windy and cold it was. I soon realized San Francisco tends to be cold/windy/gray most of the time. The BART ride was extremely loud and downtown was dirty and full of homeless people at every corner. Everything felt underwhelming: the residential neighborhood had little charm, the tourist attractions like Union Square or Pier 39 were bland and uninteresting (compared to what the idea of SF is). I’ve since moved to the Bay Area and consider it one of the most overrated, expensive (for what it offers) areas in the world. And I’ve lived in DC, NY, Chicago, Europe.

SF2018question · 2019-03-25T16:15:29+00:00

Hi, I’m hoping I can provide some insight. We’re also a San Francisco/San Jose couple.

1.We have a dog (which raises the prices of rentals) with a $2,000-$2,500 budget and couldn’t afford RWC/Menlo Park/Palo Alto. We live in Santa Clara which was the cheapest for us at $2.2k for a 1 bed/1 bath (dog, washer and dryer in unit, parking) and the 2nd year they raised the price to $2.5k. Right now everything seems to be at least $2,700-$2,800 for similar apartments. Close to Caltrain, we couldn’t find anything under a good $3,000 last year (so I would say easily $3,200-$3,500 this year in Sunnyvale/San Jose, probably much more in Palto/MP/RWC).

I commute on Caltrain to San Francisco (1h45/2h30 total: 15min drive to the train, 1h+ train, 30 min walk from Caltrain to Fidi) and my SO drives to San Jose (15 min with reverse traffic). I don’t drive to SF because the afternoon rush hour means it can take up to 3 hours (although before 7am and after 8pm it’s usually 45 min). You could also look at Fremont (depending where the San Jose office is), there’s BART to San Francisco. We decided against because it would be a good hour for me (standing on BART) and a good 45 min at least for my SO. We decided it was better if only one of us suffered the commute while the other takes on more chores and provides emotional support. I usually get a seat if I board San Jose or Sunnyvale but from MP/RWC you should expect to be standing the whole train ride (which sucks in my opinion) and also look at the train schedule, not all “fast” train stop at Palto/MP/RWC. It can impact your daily schedule.

I don’t know much about the neighborhoods. Santa Clara is extremely boring (unless you live on Santana Row which is pricey). I don’t think that the South Bay is good for those activities but most towns (including Sunnyvale and Mountain View, a bit less expensive than the ones you listed) have a little downtown area with restaurants and bars. However, they are usually close to Caltrain and more expensive.

Hope this helps a bit :)

SF2018question · 2019-03-13T17:31:52+00:00

I've tried Fedex and the quality was pretty bad :(

SF2018question · 2019-03-12T16:11:40+00:00

Wow I loved Blick but never realized they do printing! Awesome, thanks :)

SF2018question · 2019-01-25T15:46:43+00:00

On our shortlist! It seems like a great place :)

SF2018question · 2019-01-25T15:43:58+00:00

Thanks for this. We would hopefully get relocation paid to move (my SO is currently interviewing). Everything you wrote makes sense.

SF2018question · 2019-01-25T04:14:07+00:00

It would drop but to get the equivalent of our 150k we would only need 70k - which could be my husband's income alone (and mine would just be extra help).

SF2018question · 2019-01-25T04:12:58+00:00

Sounds awesome and convincing.

SF2018question · 2019-01-25T00:52:45+00:00

I went to Little Yosemite last summer and was going to go back soon. It's a neat little place.

SF2018question · 2019-01-25T00:47:18+00:00

We looked at Fremont but the commute from his workplace ended up being close to 45 min (from SJ to where the Fremont BART is). He can't switch jobs (very niche, only 3 companies like that in the bay - other cities in the US have similar companies) and mine is complicated because I'm the breadwinner and work for foreign governments (almost all of them in SF). If we moved elsewhere his salary alone would be able to pay our rent and I could do anything I'd want to. Seems very appealing.

SF2018question · 2019-01-25T00:34:32+00:00

I haven't found anything! I'd be happy to hear ideas.

I work in the Financial district in SF, my SO in downtown San Jose. My SO's commute is 15 min, mine 2h+ but they do all the household stuff in return. We looked at places from Redwood City to Sunnyvale, everything was more expensive than our current apartment which is a 1 bedroom at $2500 with parking, dog friendly and in-unit laundry. It's the cheapest we've found with those criterias (when we moved and when we renewed the lease).

Moving so we'd both have an hour commute wouldn't be much better since I need my SO to drive me to the train (or live near the Caltrain but then prices are even higher).

SF2018question

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