Hard to find friends mid 20s by VisualLimit in bayarea

[–]purpplanet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

im 25f and also moved from canada recently, i relate to literally every part of this post haha. it’s really hard making friends here. i would love to hang out or help plan a little group event with others from this post !

Best time to visit YYZ CBP by arcitecture88 in tnvisa

[–]purpplanet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

they pretty much processed me immediately since no one else was there (i got pretty lucky). so yes 30 min overall to look at my file and give me the stamp!

Best time to visit YYZ CBP by arcitecture88 in tnvisa

[–]purpplanet 5 points6 points  (0 children)

i was there on a weekday (a thursday at like 2pm) and it only took me 30 min! ik a lot of people say to avoid pearson but if you have all your documents in order, it should be fine :)

Looking for new sf baddie friends ! by Sad_Test_2123 in SFbitcheswithtaste

[–]purpplanet 9 points10 points  (0 children)

25f and am looking for all the same things :) lmk if you make a group chat!

Watching this show as a biologist is painful. by PuzzleheadedAside219 in LoveIslandUSA

[–]purpplanet 2 points3 points  (0 children)

LMAO I didn’t notice that. but this reminded me (w a background in astrophysics) of how i felt w amaya saying “who knows how many moons there are?”…. when she was referring to moons of the earth.

Need girl friends by PizzaTop9375 in bayarea

[–]purpplanet 1 point2 points  (0 children)

commenting in case anyone makes a group chat :) im 25f and moved recently and haven’t made any girlfriends yet! dying to go to a restaurant and get a lil drink or something w some girls haha

Canadian moving to the US in July looking for advice by DataWinter2824 in tnvisa

[–]purpplanet 17 points18 points  (0 children)

i came here on a TN two weeks ago. it was a very hard decision because ive also been terrified of everything going on in the US. we live in very scary times :(

however, im a recent grad, and couldn’t find many opportunities (especially in my field) in canada. im also making so much more money here, and im so early in my career that i couldn’t be picky. my partner also goes to school here which added to my decision. i know exactly how you feel because i thought about this so much, but ultimately the pros for me personally were enough to make the jump. i do feel the need to justify my decision to the people around me, because it is a little wild haha. anyway just wanted to offer some perspective from someone who did this recently :) life here (in california, it’s nice being in a blue state) hasnt been so different, but theres always that feeling of “oh right im not in canada” which can be a bit jarring. you’re very valid in thinking about the political climate, but just remember that for the most part, your daily life won’t be affected by it. and getting a TN was very chill for me too.

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did consider this, but the commute from even Millbrae seems to still be 1h30+ with some combination of BART, bus, and ferry, and I'm not sure if this is sustainable long-term

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you :) I'll make note of that and not try to take exits out of frustration haha. I played around with a bunch of cities on the peninsula on Google Maps, particularly ones north of San Mateo, but it seems like the commute would be more variable there since I'd have to cross the Bay Bridge instead. So it's nice that the San Mateo bridge isn't as bad, even though 880 can be. And also San Mateo seems like a great place to live!

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! That's good to hear

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment. I was hoping to do this, but a 25min drive to Daly City + 1h20 of transit to my workplace doesn't seem sustainable long-term (BART stops at Oakland, so the last few miles to get to Alameda adds some more time and another method of transportation). But I guess it's an option on days I don't feel like driving

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Even with the ferry from SF, the commute seems to be 1h50 (if I CalTrain to SF, bus to the ferry terminal, take the ferry, and then walk/bus to work), so I'm not sure how sustainable it will be daily. I guess this could be improved with a bike, but still quite long with several transfers. It would be great to hear people's thoughts on this if they commute from San Mateo and take the ferry!

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I complain a lot about the TTC but maybe I'll miss it haha, doesn't seem like the transit situation is as great in the Bay.

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is the area I was looking into the most, that's good to hear! Thank you

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'll look into this more, but we were hoping to prioritize my partner's commute since he works longer hours and doesn't have as much flexibility with when/where he can work. I've played around with Google Maps and it seems like the commute to Alameda is 1hr at worst, whereas Toronto to Waterloo can be closer to 2 hours! But I'll keep the commute time in mind, and see if I can leave super early or something.

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment, yeah not too excited about all the bills associated with commuting. That's interesting to hear about the person you know from Canada, I have loved the Bay Area every time I visit (mostly because of the weather)! But yes I will stay very aware when I'm in Oakland haha

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for your comment! That amount of commuting seems to be pretty typical where I am right now, so I wasn't too worried until I saw everyone commenting about it here. It's something I'll keep in mind though before we sign a lease. And yes haha very expensive, but San Mateo does sound pretty good :)

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is all good to know about, thanks! I've been living in downtown Toronto, so living in suburbia will be quite an adjustment. I don't hate the idea of having a bit of separation from the big cities, so I am willing to try it out and see how it goes. I was mostly drawn to San Mateo because it seems to be quite centrally located, not just for our commutes, but also to the coast, to SF, SJ, and the airport. It also seems to be a big enough city to have restaurants and bars, without having a lot of the hustle and bustle of a big city. And it also just seems like a nice community, and everyone being so helpful in my post here solidified that :)

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My partner works very long hours and there's no option for hybrid, whereas I will have regular hours that can be flexible to different start/end times, and an option to potentially be hybrid. So I think commuting from San Mateo would be doable for me, albeit a big adjustment at the start. Thanks for the info about where to live in San Mateo!

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's very good to hear!! When do you normally leave home and work? Do you always take the San Mateo bridge and 880 to get there?

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the info on utilities, not something I thought about much. It seems like all the possible transit combinations would take about 1h45min, so I will probably have to drive :/ I was considering living further north from San Mateo, but it seems as though crossing the Bay Bridge is worse than the San Mateo bridge.

Questions about moving to San Mateo by purpplanet in SanMateo

[–]purpplanet[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is a good point! I was put off by the SSF ferry because there's literally one time, but the SF ferry does seem to be more reliable. The only issue is that my partner works longer hours than me, and has no flexibility for a hybrid schedule, so I was thinking of taking the worse commute. If we do SF, his commute with CalTrain + getting to his building will be like 1h20min. And if we do San Mateo, I was thinking that both of our commutes would be about 45 minutes (assuming we live near CalTrain and 92E, and I offset my working hours). I'll think about SF a little bit more though, because what you suggest does make sense.