Bay Area Living
Here are my thoughts on living in the south SF Bay area now that my wife and I have been here for a while:
Pros
- It is awesome being in such a cultural melting pot
- The supply of interesting things to do is fantastic
- The density of technology oriented companies and people is amazing
- The weather is definitely better than central PA (although not as nice as an area like Santa Barbara)
Cons
- Housing costs are ridiculous (other costs are higher too, but housing is 3-5x central PA)
- Depending on time and direction, traffic can be horrible (mitigated for me by working from home)
- The state government seems really behind the times – my wife and I both had abysmal DMV experiences (the process and technology are busted, the people were friendly)
Notes
- A thumbs up to meetup.com for making it very easy to find groups of like-minded people to get together for activities
- The Mercury News’ events section is also handy when looking for things to do
Overall
I am really glad we made the move. My wife now has a job that she absolutely loves, and besides missing our friends from the east coast, we are both really happy.