Life in Silicon Valley

I’ve been living in Mountain View for two years now. It’s interesting because I did not work in Mountain View, and still do not work in Mountain View. When I first moved out here, I didn't have any friends in the area either. I know, it’s weird but keep reading and yes, there’s logic to my madness.
 
After graduating from Georgetown I was blessed to be offered a job in Silicon Valley working for Qualcomm. The Qualcomm subsidiary I worked for was based in North San Jose. After living in a number of cosmopolitan cities including Hong Kong, Manila, New York and Washington DC, San Jose felt like in the middle of nowhere for me. It was not San Francisco, and considering the cities I used to live at, San Francisco doesn't even feel like a city.

image credit: Wikitravel

The bento that started it all, at Sushi Tomi.

So how did I end up in Mountain View? Why not San Jose? Honestly, it was part accident, and partly because of my love for food.  On my first month working for Qualcomm, I was placed in company housing and was staying in Santa Clara. Co-workers and acquaintances would often mention Castro Street. I thought to myself, Castro in San Francisco? Castro Street, in South Bay terms, corresponded to downtown Mountain View.  Out of  curiosity, I decided to check out downtown on my way to a birthday party in Daly City. When the apartment complex I wanted to check out could not accommodate me for an apartment viewing, I decided to park my car and stick around for lunch. Randomly I picked up Yelp, and found Sushi Tomi. Went in, sat down, and ordered a bento.  Keep in mind that I haven't had proper Japanese food in months and so I practically devoured my chicken teriyaki, and still had enough left to take home for dinner.

I thought to myself, and with the biggest smile on my face... I could live here.

And so I did.

Here are some of the benefits I considered while living in South Bay:

• Decent downtown (it could be worse)
• Great Asian food (that's pretty much the bay area)
• Proximity to 2 airports (now this is a big plus, pick between SFO or SJC as some have direct flights, better routes, cheaper fares, etc)
• Lots of hiking trails
• Decent apartment and backyard space
• Sunny weather (no fog! Believe me, you'll understand soon enough)
• No city traffic (and free parking!)
• Proximity to Monterey and Santa Cruz
• The coast!  

      ... and here are the not so fun moments:

• Rent is still expensive (I can barely survive, and its not even SF!)
• You’ll need a car or else you’ll be miserable
• Lack of attractions to take friends to (My usual tour route includes a trip to Google and Apple campuses... wow, fun)
• Its hard to find an excuse to dress nicely
• Suburban life
• Still a long way to the city (and it gets worse with traffic)