Hey Bay Area folks-
Lateraling to my firm's Menlo Park office this August and am interested in where you guys recommend living.
I'm a single guy, open to having roommates, and prioritize having a good location and lower rent over living in a "nice" place.
Thanks for any thoughts!
| +186 | Piper Sandler in talks to acquire PWP | 75 | 1d |
| +101 | Paradise Is Paradise | 8 | 1d |
| +80 | Drunk VP. How to manage? | 27 | 2d |
| +40 | How do I take my foot off the gas? (AN1) | 4 | 2d |
| +38 | Lazard US Views 2026/2027 | 13 | 2d |
| +26 | Why did EVR succeed vs GHL or PWP that ended up getting acquired? | 9 | 1d |
| +22 | Mandated 9:00am Arrival? | 6 | 5d |
| +21 | Prestige Upgrade: Incoming Piper Sandler Intern (PWP Merger) | 4 | 6d |
| +21 | How early is to early? | 9 | 19h |
| +21 | Why Do We Turn Comments? | 2 | 6h |
Career Resources
Get instant access to lessons taught by experienced private equity pros and bulge bracket investment bankers including financial statement modeling, DCF, M&A, LBO, Comps and Excel Modeling.
It depends on where your office is in Menlo and your overall desired setup
Most people that work in the peninsula tend to take the train in as their offices as near the CalTrain and so they just hop off and walk 5-15 minutes. If you're further away from the train then you will probably need to drive in. If you're taking the train, Redwood City and Mountainview work well to live in for proximity. If you're driving in, I wouldn't live further south than Mountainview or further north than San Mateo. Redwood City is probably the way to go after Mountainview.
For setup, ask yourself if you want a roommate or not. 1 bed apartments are incredibly expensive in the area, a 2x2 can be much cheaper. We have a few people starting FT that are looking for places at my firm. Feel free to shoot a PM if you would like for me to try and find you a roommate if interested
Esse nemo modi amet molestiae non et molestias. Ducimus est aperiam velit earum assumenda cumque ut.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...