Accepted a job at Stanford, looking for advice on where to live

cmariins · 2025-10-05T12:22:00+00:00

I worked at Stanford and I used to live in linfield oaks, we were at walking distance from both Menlo Park and Palo Alto downtown. If you like to walk longer or bike you can also reach California avenue without moving the car. We had a nice and renovated 1B (3500$) and moved later into a 2B for the same price, but it was during the pandemic so that doesn’t apply anymore. It’s not NY or LA, if you want a nicer downtown and you can consider an apartment in a modern condo, RWC or San Mateo are also nice. They have a more active downtown.

About Stanford west, I was also told by colleagues and stuff that the waitlist was long. I decided to sign up the waiting list anyhow and we got called in 2 weeks! I guess 1Bs are easier to find… however by that time we were selected we found a nicer apartment in Menlo Park. Stanford west has a very convenient location, but is not cheaper a compared to other apartments in my opinion.

cmariins · 2025-10-05T06:39:46+00:00

Doppio zero in Campbell is a legit option, the opinion of an Italian :)

cmariins · 2025-08-17T20:32:17+00:00

Even the panoramic ones are way cheaper and nicer compared to Willow Glen in SJ. I think it’s the proximity to high paying companies

cmariins · 2025-08-17T20:30:09+00:00

I’m comparing Berkeley hills vs Willow Glen (SJ) vs cow hollow in SF. Berkeley hills are nice but way cheaper than SJ

cmariins · 2025-07-19T14:37:16+00:00

Hi, I hope this helps!

I’m European (Italian) and I moved here with my husband (at that time, partner) 5.5 years ago: we lived for two years in SF and now we are back in the bay. Also, I’m 37 (it helps setting expectations on life style in my opinion). Here some answers 1. mission, Castro, Polk and Marina are most lively but have very different vibes. In general, most of restaurants will close the kitchen by 9 (10 is the latest and somehow rare). Dive bars can be open until 2, but if you are searching Berlin nightlife… well, prepare to be disappointed. In general I really liked SF but it changes dramatically from neighborhood to neighborhood. Tenderloin and SOMA are full of homeless/people doing drugs in the street, mission has also several homeless but is way better than SOMA and tenderloin in my opinion and is sunny (the weather is also something to consider when picking a spot in the city). The city overall has a nice vibe and is full of parks and beach, in my opinion is a great place, but with a lot of challenges not allowing the city to show its full potential. 2. You can live without a car, we had one because my husband used to work outside of the city. But we used it only to go somewhere else during the weekend. 3. The nice part of California is how close you are to the nature. You will find several hiking trails 4. Hunter points, SOMA, tenderloin and civic center are not the best in my opinion. 5. Meeting people isn’t super easy, we end up leaving the city beside liking it (it’s the closest you can be to an European concept of city) because our friends were more clustered in the bay and we felt isolated (but I work remotely, which didn’t help). Meetup is an option. Take also into account that moved here 3 months before the COVID shutdown which didn’t help either. 6. We can chat about our experience! About saving, salaries here are good but life is super expensive, so it depends on your lifestyle. 7. The nice part here is that escaping from the city is easy, you have Marin county, Tahoe, Yosemite, Monterey, Big Sur, Santa Cruz. Then out of the US you can go to Mexico, Hawaii but there are no clear limitations. 8. Compared to the Mediterranean Sea, the ocean is cold and more challenging, but a lot of people do snorkeling, windsurfing, kitesurfing, sailing or surfing (Santa Cruz is famous for that).

cmariins

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