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Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

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Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#21

Post by marshray »

mattdeboard wrote: post #16
marshray wrote: post #11

Speaking as one who lived in hip college towns for years and didn't attend. At the end of your stay, nothing about the town will be as memorable as the school itself (unless you get arrested or something). Unless you have a spouse who won't be in the same univ, I'd suggest ignoring the city entirely. Plan to live (i.e., spend the entirety of your productive life) in the school. Avoid having a car if at all possible.…

I'm sorry, what? Have you ever BEEN to San Francisco? I lived there for 2.5 years. It's unforgettable, and I miss it every day.

Been in the area once. Spent most of my time at the awesomest bookstore in the world on the Stanford campus.

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#22

Post by bugsy »

gsivil wrote: post #19
bugsy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he's doing engineering there's not much on the east coast other than MIT. Stanford, CalTech and MIT are the three on the top and there is a big gap before the next one down. Of these three, Stanford is the only one where a normal social life is possible, assuming that's desirable.

I do not know what he is about to study but for example in CS there are very very good places on the east besides MIT. http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-gradu... The OP does not want to get details info in rankings and at such a top level I think being in Berkeley or Stanford or Cornell or Princeton is not so different.

Cornell and Princeton have very poor engineering schools compared to Stanford. Princeton's physics and sciences are great, but not engineering is not comparable at all.

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#23

Post by nostrademons »

bugsy wrote: post #10
gsivil wrote: post #2

I have visited SF only for a bit and I had the chance to visit Berkeley and Stanford. I really liked the city a lot and I want to give you my two cents about these two Universities. If you get accepted by these Universities (and let's say you do not have any offers from better places on the East side) do not hesitate in accepting it even for a second. Stanford stands out not only as academic institution in terms of r…

If he's doing engineering there's not much on the east coast other than MIT. Stanford, CalTech and MIT are the three on the top and there is a big gap before the next one down. Of these three, Stanford is the only one where a normal social life is possible, assuming that's desirable.

CMU, Olin, UIUC? (Technically, two of those three are in the Midwest, but close enough...)

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#24

Post by beoba »

hsmyers wrote: post #7

It has been too many years since I spent careful time (on foot with backpack in the late 60's) in SF so I can only relate my experience in Berkeley. First an admission--- I am invariably biased in or out of favor of a city based on it's bookstores. Berkeley has so many good ones that there is no real competition in the Bay area. Two prime examples and worth at least a couple of days attention each are Moe's Books and…

FYI Cody's is closed: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Codys_Books

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#25

Post by bugsy »

mdon wrote: post #18
bugsy wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If he's doing engineering there's not much on the east coast other than MIT. Stanford, CalTech and MIT are the three on the top and there is a big gap before the next one down. Of these three, Stanford is the only one where a normal social life is possible, assuming that's desirable.

You clearly have no understanding of the enormity of the eastern time zone if MIT is the only engineering school you can think of.

I can think of dozens of engineering schools. I listed the only one in the east that is comparable to Stanford or CalTech, not a comprehensive list of all the schools that are not as good. I hope now you understand the purpose of my previous post. Thanks.

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#26

Post by bugsy »

AndrewO wrote: post #15
bugsy wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you do this, take the Coast Starlight train from SF and stop in Portland on the way.

Portland's one of my favorite cities in the country (and I'm a lifelong East Coaster) and it's definitely worth a visit. That said, if Stanford and Berkeley are in the mix, I don't know if any schools in Portland can quite compete.

Oh sorry, to clarify, I didn't mean stop to look at schools, I meant if you are headed to Seattle for whatever (not sure what there is to do in Seattle, I lived there and don't really think of it as a tourist destination of any kind, but maybe Vancouver?), definitely take the train since it's a fun train (even though it will leave 6 hrs after it is scheduled to leave) and then might as well do a stop in Portland on the way. Just to hang out and check things out for a couple days since there's lost of fun things going on and interesting people. Not to look at schools.

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#27

Post by mc32 »

Yeah, I think if you're going to scout the city and want to get a feel for what it would be like to live in SF (rather than vicinity, which is completely different) you should want to spend at least two weeks in SF.

I would say stay at an AirBnB for lodging. I think that will give you a better window into what daily life might look like for you. A hotel is going to be disengaged.

"Silicon Valley" kind of has as its epicenter in Palo-Alto. However, that really is a rough geographic description. Most mature companies are HQd in SF or San Jose (those are the normal boundaries). SF has companies and startups, tho most could be considered companies which use web-technologies to provide services (AirBnB, Yelp, Craigslist) whereas peninsula companies might fit more the web-infrastructure and platformy (Google, VMware, Verisign, FB) side of things. Mountain View-Santa Clara-San Jose is more Hardware (Intel, Cisco, IBM). That's overly simplified. It's just to give you some rough bearing.

UC Berkeley is 30 mins away via Rapid Trainsit (Bart), Stanford U is about 1hr from SF on Commuter Rail (CalTrain)

SF is a bit expensive to live in, as a student with little income. Your situation might be different. Many people share rent or the sort, to make things more affordable, if they do want to remain in SF. However, that introduces the vagaries that come with having roommates.

You can look for upcoming events you might want to check out here http://sf.funcheap.com/events/san-francisco/

Lodgning at: airbnb.com

look at rent info: http://hotpads.com/ also http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/hhh/

Proto- Startup Culture, maybe a quick stop at Hacker Dojo? http://wiki.hackerdojo.com/w/page/25437/FrontPage (It's in the middle of a middle-aged non-descript office park, but it's reachable via Caltrain Mountain View Station ~10 min walk)

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#28

Post by AndrewO »

bugsy wrote: post #26
AndrewO wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Portland's one of my favorite cities in the country (and I'm a lifelong East Coaster) and it's definitely worth a visit. That said, if Stanford and Berkeley are in the mix, I don't know if any schools in Portland can quite compete.

Oh sorry, to clarify, I didn't mean stop to look at schools, I meant if you are headed to Seattle for whatever (not sure what there is to do in Seattle, I lived there and don't really think of it as a tourist destination of any kind, but maybe Vancouver?), definitely take the train since it's a fun train (even though it will leave 6 hrs after it is scheduled to leave) and then might as well do a stop in Portland on t…

You know, I reread what I wrote and it does sound like I was calling you out. Sorry about that. Let's just say Portland's awesome and if he gets a chance he should go. :)

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#29

Post by vnchr »

With public transportation, I've been able to cover most of the valley and downtown SF in a few days. It's a great place to make the most from a short visit.

Budget at least 2 days for each university. Stanford is very walkable. I've covered the whole thing in under a day--it's my favorite part of my visits. You'll want more time to talk to students, learn about its academics....

And just head to an entreprneurial Meetup that's convenient. If you ask enough people, someone who works for a startup will be willing to bring you in for a day.

Have fun! As a non-San Franciscan, it's my favorite place to visit alone and explore.

Re: Ask San Franciscans: Is it worth taking a 2 week holiday to SF?

#30

Post by kmiyer »

Deciding whether it's a good idea to visit depends heavily on your financial / visa situation. If it's feasible, then it's a great idea! I came to Berkeley as an international student without having the opportunity to visit and things turned out just fine, but in retrospect I'd have loved the opportunity to get to know the area beforehand.

As others have said, most students at either Berkeley or Stanford don't live in SF. Staying there makes sense as a tourist though, both are easily accessible through day trips and you get to enjoy SF.

If you do visit Berkeley, a great way to get a feel for it is to sit in on classes. You can see this semester's CS classes here http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Scheduling/CS/schedule.html. If you talk to the EECS department before hand they'll be glad to organize a mini-tour for you where can chat with a current student. If that doesn't work out, there are enough Cal students (like myself) frequenting Hacker News who'll be glad to show you around.

Edited to add: http://www.quora.com/Which-place-should-avid-technophile-per... would probably be of interest to you.

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