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Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

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Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#31

Post by kelnos »

After wasting 6 years living in the peninsula and south bay, mainly because I was afraid of the commute (I still work in Santa Clara), I moved up to SF a couple months ago. Best decision I've made in recent memory.

I'm lucky in that my work schedule is flexible, so I get to/from the office in 35-45 minutes. Much better than the 2-hour train/light rail commute would be.

I agree with one of the other posters that the best places to hang out seem to be in and around the Tenderloin, Nob Hill, etc. I do enjoy the Mission as well, but that's a little farther for me, and I prefer to walk places when I can. SoMa is kinda eh, North Beach is a wasteland, Marina... not so much.

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#32

Post by zackattack »

I grew up in Palo Alto. There's 3 options that come to mind:

* Happy Donuts on El Camino, which is open 24/7 and often is filled with geeks coding at all hours. Lots of people are happy to talk and socialize / be engaged in conversation.

* The downtown PA bar scene: Rose and Crown & Rudy's are probably the most geek-friendly. Old Pro is ok if you're also into sports. Blue Chalk & Nola can be good hangout spots but I wouldn't label either of them first choices.

* California Avenue has Antonio's Nut House. Lots of notable geeks can be seen there. I heard [redacted] was mobbed the last time he went in.

Going to San Francisco sucks unless you already know where you can sleep. I recommend making friends with some local residents and crashing with them after going out (with them). I actually met a dude on HN and we've been out partying in SF a few times; I crashed on his couch a couple times and it's been real sweet.

I also recommend Hacker Dojo, which is open late if you're a member, or 'til 10 if you're a guest, and they've been having some nighttime weekend talks recently.

Finally, I recently moved back to the area after growing up here, and would like to make some more friends, especially tech & business minded people. Contact information is in my profile. I would love to buy you the drink of your choice at any of the above-mentioned venues and hear about what you're working on.

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#34

Post by internet_meme »

zackattack wrote: post #32

I grew up in Palo Alto. There's 3 options that come to mind: * Happy Donuts on El Camino, which is open 24/7 and often is filled with geeks coding at all hours. Lots of people are happy to talk and socialize / be engaged in conversation. * The downtown PA bar scene: Rose and Crown & Rudy's are probably the most geek-friendly. Old Pro is ok if you're also into sports. Blue Chalk & Nola can be good hangout spots but I…

Blue Chalk is closed. =(

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#35

Post by ratsbane »

citizenkeys wrote: post #30

palo alto doesnt even have a good movie theater. you gotta drive to mountain view. mountain view has the movie theater, which is basically next to google. mountain view also castro street, with the red rock cafe, lots of good little restaurants, and some night life.

Maybe not in the usual sense, but the Stanford Theater on University Ave is a really neat place. They show old movies, mostly from the 30s and 40s, every night.

http://www.stanfordtheatre.org/stf/

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#36

Post by wooster »

* House parties - at peak, I was throwing a house party once a month.

* Hacker Dojo - almost always something interesting going on. Highly recommended.

* Bars - Rose & Crown or the Nut House.

* Watch a limited release film at Aquarius or CineArts.

* A lazy afternoon drinking wine at Vino Locale followed by dinner out at a nice restaurant.

* Board games, poker, or whatever with friends.

* Chill out by the pool at a friend's apartment complex.

etc.

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#37

Post by prodigal_erik »

hunterjrj wrote: post #15

Reading these posts it seems to me that there is a huge opportunity for an entertainment-oriented entrepreneur in Palo Alto. For Heavens sake, someone open up a bar for these guys and don't charge a cover for women!

Sadly, anyone who wants to open a club in California (not just SF) really needs to consider jwz's many horror stories about keeping DNA open, such as http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2009/02/13.html and http://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/2010/01/17.html.

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#38

Post by dzlobin »

This is something that has bugging me for some time; why is there such a lack of nightlife in Palo Alto? Does anyone know what the latest allowed time for a bar to be open?

Anyone interested in opening a hacker friendly bar that's open late and has coffee/wifi during the day?

Edit: I'm actually quite serious. I have restaurant experience and it sure as shit seems like its in need. Anyone at all interested should drop me a line!

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#39

Post by juiceandjuice »

I just moved here in October and I don't really know anyone. The more I'm here the more I wish I lived in SF. The ridiculous thing is that it takes me 25 minutes to get to work from where I live (the Willows in Menlo Park) to SLAC because the intracity traffic is so SLOW.

Basically though, I think the bar scene here blows. It's cool that a lot of the food places are open late on University though.

That being said, while I think long commutes generally suck the life out of people, I'm seriously thinking about moving to Noe Valley or the Mission and commuting on the 280.

Anyways, I'm up for doing stuff if anybody here wants to. I still don't really know anyone in this area.

Re: Ask HN: What do geeks in Palo Alto do on weekend nights?

#40

Post by acabal »

vishaldpatel wrote: post #26
acabal wrote: post #8

Nothing. That's why I left. Some folks like the SF nightlife scene but I wasn't a big fan of that either. Too many hipsters. Plus it's impossible at nights because of the lack of transport back to the south bay.

Okay, so where are you now and what do you do on weekend nights?

I travel the world. Three months ago I was in Brussels, for the last two months I've been in Munich, now I'm in London, then I go to Chicago for Christmas with the family. Munich is one of my favorite cities and the atmosphere there soundly beats anything I've found in the states. London is, well, London--there's a reason it's been one of the cultural capitals of the western world for as long as it has been.

That's one of the perks of being a young, single web entrepreneur living in a time of global English, wifi, and cheap airfare--I can live and work wherever I want :)

Edit: for a map of some places I've been, check out my company's web site: http://turkeysandwichindustries.com

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