Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hang out in Dolores Park for the authentic SF experience. Also, El Farolito is the superior Mission burrito ducks
El Farolito for the torta. Cancun for the burrito!
Zorro.
Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
91–100 of 160 posts
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#92Good lord, so much snark in this thread, so here's some actual suggestions if you want to enjoy yourself (note: I moved out 3.5 years ago). Get coffee at Four Barrel, Ritual, Sightglass, Blue Bottle, Philz Get tacos in the Missions at Taqueria Vallarta, Taqueria Cancun Go to Noisebridge, Sudo Room, Hacker Dojo Hike at Hawk Hill, Skeggs, Muir Woods, Mt. Tam Look up local concerts at funcheapsf.com. There's so many fan…
Thank you for this. As someone interviewing with a handful of companies in SV and considering relocating, this whole thread reenforces a whole host of misgivings I have of the area. Maybe I'm too Midwestern, but most of the comments read as a big "eff you - don't even bother." Does everyone hate it there so much? I know it isn't perfect, but what city/metro area is?
There are always people who are unhappy where they are. Because it feels like the entire tech industry is here people wind up moving here even if they wouldn't have otherwise.
I personally love being here but I also grew up around here. I'd rather all the people who didn't want to live here move on and out and make room for the people who do want to be here.
That being said the people who appreciate being here generally outnumber the people who don't appreciate it. Anecdotally of course.
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#93Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm curious what made you move out. As someone who haven't made it out to SF I've always wanted to see if it lived up to the hype. (if even for nicer weather)
> if even for nicer weather Ahh the legend lives, I see. Unless you live somewhere with unbearable winters it's doubtful that the weather is actually "nicer" in SF. ~60 nearly every day, ~50 nearly every night. Just cold enough to make you wear jeans and a hoodie (what, we just thought that getup looked cool?) and rarely warm enough to take advantage of a pool.
Silicon Valley, on the other hand, just 45 minutes south of SF, has a great climate. It's remarkable what a few mountains between city and ocean can do.
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#94Grab a Getaround or Zipcar and get north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Everyone only goes as far a Muir woods - don't it's packed of tourists with visor caps and selfie sticks and you'll get annoyed. Drive a little further and Hike Mount Tam - amazing views of the bay. Go to Sonoma for wine, not Napa.
Not sure you can sign up for Getaround as a tourist. Zipcar is possible though.
+1 for Sonoma county for wine, and arguably the best brewery in the world too (Russian River ;)
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#95Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#96Good lord, so much snark in this thread, so here's some actual suggestions if you want to enjoy yourself (note: I moved out 3.5 years ago). Get coffee at Four Barrel, Ritual, Sightglass, Blue Bottle, Philz Get tacos in the Missions at Taqueria Vallarta, Taqueria Cancun Go to Noisebridge, Sudo Room, Hacker Dojo Hike at Hawk Hill, Skeggs, Muir Woods, Mt. Tam Look up local concerts at funcheapsf.com. There's so many fan…
Thank you for this. As someone interviewing with a handful of companies in SV and considering relocating, this whole thread reenforces a whole host of misgivings I have of the area. Maybe I'm too Midwestern, but most of the comments read as a big "eff you - don't even bother." Does everyone hate it there so much? I know it isn't perfect, but what city/metro area is?
Of the developers I've known in the Bay Area for the last ten years, three have recently left, two are planning on leaving shortly, and one only sort of lives there anymore.
The biggest issue is the cost of housing. It's like 5x more expensive in the Bay Area than housing in my area. The higher incomes available don't compensate.
In order to get "cheaper" housing, most people with families then live farther out with crazy commute times and traffic. Some people send four hours of their day in traffic.
Lastly the tech scene can be a little overboard at times with whatever the progressive flavor of the month. For example, is picking conference presenters in double blind fashion without regard to gender or race, a virtue or a crime worthy of a mob? Are men and women the same, or do they have differences? Either answer could get you ostracized, depending on which way the wind is blowing in SF or SJC.
State Income taxes is a small thing but will take an extra 8-10% of your income a year.
Lastly the Bay Area tech companies and startups seem to require a bit more than 40 hours a week of work. This isn't as common elsewhere.
None of these things may bother you if you are a young, progressive, single person with a high paying job.
But as you get older they can get to be an awful daily irritation.
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#97Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm curious what made you move out. As someone who haven't made it out to SF I've always wanted to see if it lived up to the hype. (if even for nicer weather)
> if even for nicer weather Ahh the legend lives, I see. Unless you live somewhere with unbearable winters it's doubtful that the weather is actually "nicer" in SF. ~60 nearly every day, ~50 nearly every night. Just cold enough to make you wear jeans and a hoodie (what, we just thought that getup looked cool?) and rarely warm enough to take advantage of a pool.
Yes, the light jacket is the official uniform of the west coast. Even if the days are warm where you are, the nights are cold. But it's also why it isn't humid in summer.
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#98Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thank you for this. As someone interviewing with a handful of companies in SV and considering relocating, this whole thread reenforces a whole host of misgivings I have of the area. Maybe I'm too Midwestern, but most of the comments read as a big "eff you - don't even bother." Does everyone hate it there so much? I know it isn't perfect, but what city/metro area is?
This is 100% anecdotal. I'm from Minneapolis as are a number of my friends. Some of them moved out to CA (Irvine) and some later moved to Seattle. They /can't wait/ to move back to MN. For a while, I didn't understand them (usually, when they tell me this in the winter). But the music scene, culture, and comparative lack of traffic make a big difference. I've yet to go to CA outside of layovers, but I still want to e…
Midwestern pride (and Minneapolitan pride in particular) is far stronger than most areas.
To me, it presents itself as a kind of Stockholm syndrome. It develops because your brain is aware of the fact that the weather there is capable of killing you 3 months out of the year and it has to find a way to justify the fact that you're not leaving. Obviously there must be something really great about this place when it's not 20 below.
Minnesotans are unusually aware of the primacy of their bike paths, healthcare coverage, skyway'd cities and educational system. They talk to each other a lot about how great each of these things are, reinforcing the special shared status of this land of hardship, but good working folks.
In my experience, most people don't speak so highly of their hometowns as Midwesterners- Minnesotans in particular. When you move to a place where everyone sees the bad stuff and doesn't try to sugar coat it, it can be offputing. If you don't get enough milage between you and the cult of the midwest, you inevitably return to a land where people endure because everyone talks about how good it is when it's not too bad. It could be worse!
-Former Minneapolitan.
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#99Good lord, so much snark in this thread, so here's some actual suggestions if you want to enjoy yourself (note: I moved out 3.5 years ago). Get coffee at Four Barrel, Ritual, Sightglass, Blue Bottle, Philz Get tacos in the Missions at Taqueria Vallarta, Taqueria Cancun Go to Noisebridge, Sudo Room, Hacker Dojo Hike at Hawk Hill, Skeggs, Muir Woods, Mt. Tam Look up local concerts at funcheapsf.com. There's so many fan…
The drive on 1 also includes a drive on 17. Big Sur is not accessible due to landslides.
[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: How can I experience SF and Silicon Valley in two weeks?
#100Earlier quoted context omitted.
Good list. I'd add the Rodins at Stanford (which is also a nice campus to walk around) and, for hiking, the Santa Cruz mountains (Big Basin, etc.) Also free guided walking tours in SF and the boat trip to Alcatraz (touristy but worthwhile--book ahead). While the Computer History Museum in [EDIT: Mountain View] is great, if I were visiting the Bay area from halfway around the world, I really wouldn't spend much time i…
Would a week or a week and a half be long enough to visit and see a good amount of stuff?
Certainly not everything--especially if you're talking the whole region from Pt. Reyes through Sonoma/Napa to San Francisco, the South Bay, and Santa Cruz/Santa Cruz mountains/Monterey. But 1-2 weeks is enough to give you a nice flavor of the area. I'd probably pick SF and maybe a couple select things to see/do in the Valley and then spend some time either north or south from there.