Office in Menlo Park, live in SJ or SF?
Hey guys, for FT I'll be working in Menlo Park as a 1st year analyst next summer. From what I've heard from our group it's pretty split between folks commuting from SF and folks who live around the office among the analysts, with a slight majority of 1st years staying local.I'm not too jazzed about spending 2 years of my 20's the quiet, suburban Menlo Park area, but interned in SF and found it also quite boring - and overpriced. (I'm originally from a real young-friendly city like LA,NYC,Vegas). I don't mind driving, but think SJ's commute could have slightly less traffic than the SF commute - and it seems to have like a real downtown area that caters to a college aged crowd. (Thinking SJSU energy may be fruitful for socializing, and more my type of crowd).Has anyone who's worked in Palo Alto, Menlo Park or the area done the Southbay commute? Or would you still try to live as close to the office as possible? SF was boring to me, but maybe because I was in the fisherman's wharf area, what areas would you recommend should I give SF another try?
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San Jose is kind of a boring city. SF isn't great in the grand scheme of things but it's a more interesting and lively city than San Jose. San Jose is large, scattered, and has a boring and empty downtown; only thing going for it is Santana Row and the mall, which get old after a while (it might have more but I lost interest in exploring the city after a few trips, it feels lifeless and depressing) San Francisco, although not the best, feels like a real city with density, parks, restaurants, events, nightlife. You will regret living in SJ once you realize SF is better and how far it is. Live in Redwood City, Burlingame, Palo Alto, etc. and you will have access to both cities while not being too far away from your office. Unfortunately many juniors dread having their office in Menlo, Palo Alto but make the sacrifice for the job.
is it cheaper to buy a car (gas, insurance, parking etc) or to Uber/Lyft every day
Stanford grad here, much cheaper to have your own car IMO, and convenient in this area. Uber/lyft used to average 5-11$ a trip when I was a freshman/sophomore, but over the past year price gouging has made the average trip anywhere from 13-28$ each way. Plus the variability of getting a ride, getting one in a timely manner etc. has made the whole experience inefficient and annoying. I haven’t done all the math to confirm dollar for dollar if owning your own car is cheaper, but there definitely is a peace of mind premium that should be attributed to having your own vehicle.
Don't live in SF. It's an hour commute each way.
Redwood vs San Mateo vs Menlo vs Palo Alto vs Mountain View?
I'd stay in the Menlo Park/Stanford area. The commute from SF will kill you. You can always head into SF on the weekend if you are dying for nightlife. And SJ isn't worth it. If you like being outsoorsy you are in heaven. Open google maps and look at all the amazing trails (run, hike, bike, etc). You are in God's Country.
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