This post is a blatant selfish request for help from readers to help my son moving to Bay Area in California in the summer of 2017. He has a lot of integrity…unlike his dad who never stops selling and whining woohoo!
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My son accepted a fantastic offer to do a summer internship at Veritas Software based in Mountain View, CA in the Bay area. It is a 12 week internship starting on May 23, 2017. We are both extremely busy (me selling away here since I have no integrity lol) and him with final exams starting shortly. A good friend of his also got the same offer. And there is another classmate who will be interning at Intel and he also may be available to team up with housing.
Any feedback and ideas are welcome! On several topics:
Housing
The most pressing need obviously. We all know the challenges living in that area. Friend’s mom is helping to research places as we speak. Looking for a place as close to the workplace as possible ideally. Offer included $5k housing stipend (grossed up for taxes!) which of course is very nice. Looking at apartments and Airbnbs. I offered to rent a van and charge rent to his two friends as they can eat and shower at work but he was not thrilled with the idea (joking). Looking at Craigslist too.
Me, the miles addict, I told him to be creative and…why not a hotel? Yes of course I am thinking selfishly here…I book it under my name and I make Quadruple Diamond…if we can keep it at $200 per night for three people may not be as bad and surely more comfortable with free breakfast, free wifi, clean sheets every day, gym, swimming pool, maybe a shuttle bus, wine reception perhaps…Thinking out loud. Also no ideas about rents and how much we are looking at. This just happened this week!
Since we specialize in hotels around here and we will visit for sure, any great deals in area hotels with points? Or if we all come, any fantastic hotel worthy to use a free night cert (Fairmont, IHG and Hyatt)?
Transportation
This is definitely new territory for me. My son is 19 years old and he has never tried to rent a car by himself. Obviously, having transportation and the cost shared by two or three boys will be much better. I told him for now not to worry about it as I am sure Uber and Lyft is widely available.
Not sure how the public transportation is there. Or should we look into Turo at all? If the transportation to/from work is solved and they can walk for food at night…they won’t need a car other than the weekends most likely.
Any car rental companies refuse to rent to under 25 year olds or we should just expect a steep rate?
Restaurants
My son is more of a foodie type than all of us. I eat everything and I prefer free lol. He likes Japanese and Korean food the most but open to all. Any places in the area that really stand out that are low to fairly priced?
Things to do/visit/see
We were hoping to keep him near us for this summer but when this offer came in we knew it was no contest. And he wants to get away, you know, become his own man without us looking over, I get it. So, looking for any ideas for must do/see things, fire away!
Please excuse the interruption from the constant whining and begging for clicks, it will continue on Sunday. With some integrity I hope to find before then 🙂
Actually the Sunday post has four links so far. The one about the dildos is amazing, hardcore education right here at TBB. For free. Without integrity…hey, it kind of rhymes woohoo!
And I leave you with this…
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I would wait for the q2 hotel promos to come out and then decide. Couple of good deals and it might make sense.
Ooh, first as well ….
Was this your first first? On April 1st!!!
Ah … the Regular Bots don’t give advice! They fail the Turning test. Perhaps we might hope for more with it and happening bots.
Years ago when we spent a summer in Santa Barbara, my brother who lives in the East Bay, bought us a car which we sold when we went back home. That might be an alternative to renting one.
Perhaps one of the many colleges in the area would have a summer housing list? That’s how we found a place to stay. The last few years doing archive work in Stanford have as an “ouch” moment when I had to find a place to stay for a week. I tried the Santa Clara Hyatt House a couple weeks ago and it was fine. It was an hour commute but whatever. I took advantage of the Hyatt half points deal. The breakfast was more than enough and the little kitchen kept me from eating out.
It’s the Turing test. And I passed.
That’s a pretty easy if-then command, Scottbot…
Yeah, but I wrote the “I passed the Turing test” bot in OCaml, just to challenge myself.
#thingsnerdssay
Thanks DML for the ideas.
And among you all nerds…I feel so…inadequate lol.
Where exactly in the Bay Area is he moving to? All universities have their own FB housing groups. Here’s the one for Berkeley https://www.facebook.com/groups/ucberkeleyoffcampushousing/
Having once lived in a hotel once for 3 months straight I would steer you in the direction of only using that option as a last resort. As nice as the hotel amenities may seem there are significant drawbacks to living in one. Among the drawbacks are: virtually no storage space, generally no refrigerator, no convenient way to receive (Amazon prime) packages, dodgy wifi, etc etc. Also, you have access to nothing. Need a pair of scissors? Go to Walgreens and buy one. Need a plate? Go buy some paper plates at the super market, then just leave them sitting out because there’s no place to store them. Also, the gyms (probably free) and food (discounted but probably not free) are going to be waaaay nicer than at any hotel.
It’s summer and Stanford is out so I’d think you’ll be able to find some reasonably priced (for the Bay Area) places that will work better than a hotel. I lived in San Francisco for a couple of years at the height of the tech boom, so a while ago, but that area was not easily accessible from the city without a car. That being said it’s very close to San Jose, an underrated city. Also Santa Cruz, a very cool place in the summer, is probably 45 minutes away.
Any food advice I could give you would be hopelessly outdated. Sorry about that.
OMAAT never talks about these issues.
Thanks for the feedback…yeah, my miles addiction made me consider the hotel option more than I should have. Yes, last option indeed.
Keep them coming, thank you!
Need to get to the gym…too much BBQ last night with Mrs. Tried to get a photo of her with her (soon to cancel) Amex Platinum card but she refused “I am not Emily”…
I must have no integrity to be thinking of such thoughts 🙂
Best advice:
Situate them within walking distance of a light rail stop.
Then there will be no need for a car. It connects with Caltrain (www.caltrain.com) and BART.
Search Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (vta.org) for stop locations.
This is great, thank you.
I heard Tacolicous has great fish tacos in SFO area. HT Bluecat
my favorite Carl’s Juniors Smokin Hot Chick ad (this one is very hot, 21 and over please)
https://youtu.be/JiHTvjhhl7E
Carl J. your ads will be missed R.I.P.
oh no hes back. here comes the trump talk.
Nothing trumps a fish taco from tacolicious.
You got me good Bluecat, now i’m blushing in embarrassment. John where are you?
John is now reading blogs that do have integrity….tired of this one with no integrity at all!
Tacolicious is in the memory bank for us, thanks.
I was living full time in hotels while Lucky was still smugly ripping off UA so here’s my brain dump on the subject.
It all depends on the hotel. I’ve done long stays at both Hyatt Houses (HH) and Homewood Suites (HS). My preference is for HS — and I think most of the HH’s in NoCal are Sierra Suites converts which I “heard” were not so great but no personal experience. And most HH’s have done away with the “evening social” in favor of “H-Bars”. HS still has “free food” in the evenings (Mon-Thu) — certainly “no * dining” but for kids and for free it’s not horrendous. If nothing else a decent salad bar. Both have decent (?) brekkies — some HH’s even have an omelet station now.
Both properties have the advantage of kitchens — maybe only a 2-burner stove but a full fridge + ice maker. Most properties are willing to accommodate the cooking needs of long-term guests — they have extra plates, pots, pans, storage containers, etc available for the asking. BBQ’s are brand standards at both.
I have NOT done truly long-term in CA but in many places you CANNOT stay longer than 30 days because you become a tenant so you need to check out/check back in. Other places (AZ), taxes are waived after 30 days. Worth investigating.
Another thing to check is points limits — I think it is HHonors (as it ever was) that has a 100k limit per STAY so might need to actually leave the property for a night at some point for a night.
Hyatt seems to consistently have long-term stay rates loaded in the system. I’ve had mixed results contacting the hotel’s directly to negotiate rates. Think the best I ever did was about 10% but $$ is $$ as my late father would say.
Only area “attraction” I can HIGHLY recommend is taking Pacific Coast Highway down to Santa Barbara. Awesome awesome awesome. Haven’t been in Santa Cruz in forever but it was a cool town with a great vibe.
No help on car rentals — I haven’t had a driver’s license since 2006!
/dump
#TBBon
How can Hilton have a 100k point limit per stay? You would only get 1 night at some places with all of their devaluations.
100k earn
Great info GringoLoco. As noted above, we are backing off the hotel option, too expensive anyway. It was an intriguing thought while it lasted. For a moment, I almost made Globalist lol.
Uber/Lyft is relatively inexpensive – I would recommend staying close to the office given the brutal traffic on 101. Apartment is definitely better – too many inconveniences living in a hotel for months. Check out BTProperties – they have a ton of apartments in the area and sometimes willing to do short-term leases.
In terms of attractions, I recommend Carmel and Big Sur.
Great info, thanks.
Yeah, leaning towards apartments. May have found a place online, 2 miles away from work, looks decent, reserved for first two weeks while looking for better options for now.
Putting him up in a hotel? That’s abuse bro. Do you hate him?
Sometimes 🙂 It was a nice thought while it lasted.
Thanks for the email. May have some questions later on.
Don’t any local colleges have dorms that they open up for the summer? I stayed in a college dorm once for a summer job, it worked out very well.
Great idea, thanks!
He will need a car in this area plus if he wants to go to Tahoe or Santa Cruz or other fun places to go for the weekend, he will need it. There are multiple schools in the area such as Santa Clara University, San Jose State, Stanford etc. that might have summer accommodations available. Mountain View itself is a tough place to find a short term rental as Google employees have taken over.
Also downtown Mountain View has a wide variety of every kind of restaurant he might look for plus a Farmer’s Market on the weekend. He can also take the train to San Francisco to dine, sightsee or take in a Giants game.
Great info, thank you.
Got your email as well, thanks. May have some questions later on.
The closest extended stay to Veritas is a Staybridge Suites. It’s within 5 miles, so if you’re ok with IHG points, that’s probably your best bet. It will be over $200 though. Looks like $229 for a one bedroom and $259 for a 2/2 in the dummy booking I put in. But there’s a kitchen included, which puts it ahead of other hotels.
As far as Mountain View, it’s a cute area. Along Castro St there are good options for food. The Cal Train station is also there, and since he’s young, he’s going to want to go up to the city. Many engineers around here live in SF and commute down every day. I wouldn’t recommend that for a temporary position, but then again, I’m not in my early twenties. 😀 I did quickly look for a shuttle at Veritas but didn’t see one, it would definitely be something for him to ask about as that can increase his range. As far as car rentals, maybe something like zipcar is a better option? A lot of people Lyft and, until ugly stories started surfacing, Uber was pretty much a way of life. (It still is but now people look slightly guilty when they suggest it.) A bicycle is also a good option if he lives close to work and Caltrain. It’s very flat in the valley proper, and there will be no rain in the summer.
Hope this helps. Let me know if you have specific questions. I’ll either answer directly or try to find out for you.
This is great info, thank you very much. A cheap bike may do just fine in the first month anyway. Told him to ask for shuttle, had no idea this may have been an option there. Appreciate taking the time to help!
For Korean food, sunnyvale, the town next to mountain view, has a small ‘koreantown’. here’s an article:
http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Where-to-find-the-Bay-Area-s-best-Korean-food-6266235.php
bay area traffic is getting to be as bad as major Asian cities, so housing closer to the workplace is probably best.
Yes it has become painfully clear that #1 priority should be to find a place as close as possible to work.
Great link, we love Korean food.
Thank you so much!
My friend is looking for a apartment mate near Sunnyvale
Mountain View, as near as possible to Veritas Software HQ.
Got a place 2 miles away w/ friend who accepted same offer for first two weeks…
What college is closest to MV?
Little late to comment, but traveling down hwy 1 is not such a good idea currently due to this https://www.google.com/amp/s/ksbw.relaymedia.com/amp/article/big-sur-parks-may-not-reopen-until-summer-and-spring-tourism-down-already/9211446. Also, anytime I go to SF I usually hit up Genki Ramen pretty good food if you ask me!
Great, thanks!
Love Hwy 1!
Genki Ramen…I love ramen! Wil make sure to hit this place!
yes genki ramen!
although newer (and more expensive) ramen joints are sprouting up all over the city. i mean, who doesn’t want to pay $18 for a bowl of ramen?
Hate to be a buzzkill, get it haha, but anyone telling you public transport will work in this area is dead wrong. Take it from a 7 year Mountain View resident.VTA (buses & lightrail in area) Caltrain (to SF) and BART (closest stops are 45 mins away)are virtually non-options for the situation he will be in. Uber and Lyft are plentiful but a car is virtually a must. Quick example, they want to go to downtown San Jose from MV. 1 hour plus from MV via VTA 20 mins with light traffic in a car.
***however that company is on a lightrail stop, I would suggest sucking it up and paying the exorbitant rates and get them to share a place walking distance to the Castro station(end of the line in downtown MV) lightrail*** Or you could do what most Googlers do and buy a mobile home in the park closest to the google campus but I think most of those are around 300k now***
Mexican: La Espuela (taqueria is better than the restaurant but both are good)
Vive Sol (best margaritas in town)
Spanish: Cascal
Fancy: Los Altos Grill
Japanese: Sushi Tomi, Sumika, Hanamura
Greek: Agape Grill
The restaurant hub is Castro street in downtown MV
Housing: Good Luck, that housing stipend is not enough! All the Prometheus properties do month to month list, they are mostly very nice communities typically with a gym, pool, and club houses.
Closest colleges to answer the above post: Stanford, Santa Clara, SJ State, despite what many others have suggested in this area I am afraid they will be of little help to you in your housing search.
Good Luck it’s an amazing area
Fantastic info, thank you so much. Son read it, he wants a car he said, you get a bike I said 🙂
I read some more comments today. Tacolishish is ok… the real best fish Taco is at Dia De Pesca.
Despite what foolmoon is telling you, I lived there for close to 8 years just left in August. Lightrail is a joke sure you can ride it to Levis stadium, but watching the 49ers is waste of $. To get the SharkTank is brutal public transport trek, and yes a good amount of techies ride the lightrail to work, but only the ones who work for companies that are on the line. Luckily your son’s company is. The trip to the “heart” of SF is a train ride thats over an hour unless its express and dumps you in the China Basin area, great for going to the Giants game (a must do, one of the prettiest parks in MLB) but other than that you then need to transfer to lightrail in SF or take Uber.
I do think your son will learn a couple valuable lessons from not having a car in MV. He will appreciate cars even more, learn to enjoy walking, and learn that between google shopping and prime now he can get anything delivered.
The folks I know in MV who live within walking/biking distance to light rail stops hardly use their cars anymore. It takes an hour to get into the heart of SF, but it’s much cheaper than trying to park there. These are people who never used to commute before they moved to MV. But they’ve grown to love commuting and use the light rail to connect to work, the airport, sports, you-name-it; surprised you sound so against it.
Buy your son an Instant Pot so he can cook his own Korean soup & ramen… through your Amazon link, of course!
Congratulations on TBB NextGen’s proto-career success!
That’s so cool. When you told me that your son had the internship I didn’t realize it was in California!
Here’s the answer (only half joking):
I’d bet you anything that about half of your readers have recently picked up a Marriott 7 Night Travel Package and now they don’t know what to do with the 7 night certificate. There happens to be a category 5 Townplace Suites in Mountain View. And the suites include a full kitchen. Ask 12 of your readers to each book a week for your son, for maybe $350 per week (I think that’s a fair price to get for a certificate that they probably would have left unused). You don’t get elite status or anything, but your son gets free breakfast and maid services and probably a pool and gym for the summer for only $4200 all-in.
Not bad 🙂
Looks like they found a decent and good priced place next to rail stop…which they ‘ll take to work.
Thanks.
Veritas is right next to a VTA light rail station – your son is very lucky as the bay area’s public transportation is pretty bad. Cal Train which can take you to San Francisco is two stops down in downtown Mountain View.
Light Rail also takes you to downtown San Jose and downtown Campbell – finding an apartment within walking distance to light rail would make a lot of sense for your son.
He’ll need a car to see the other sights near MV, Carmel/Monterey/Napa/Sonoma/Berkeley – even getting to some of the local spots in San Jose, Sunnyvale or Santa Clara will require car/uber/lyft
Lots of food options in any of the downtowns for MV, Sunnyvale, Palo Alto, Campbell, Los Gatos, Saratoga, San Jose, etc – use Yelp
Forget the hotel option, hotels are way too expensive during the work week – probably $400 for a decent hotel and he’d have to keep moving. Only thing will be finding an apartment willing to lease for just the summer but google (hey that’s in MV) is his friend. AirBnB might be another option