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still obscene prices in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara
invite response
2012 Sep 15, 2:25pm 19,155 views 60 comments
by SJ ➕follow (0) 💰tip ignore
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It's a very challenging place for Californians to move, and that's why they typically last 2-3 years before running for the golden hills.
I moved there (first the east side, then Seattle proper in Belltown) from Colorado and lasted 18 months. I'd have left sooner except that would mean reimbursing my employer for $60K in relocation costs.
Silicon Valley is still fine after four years.
If there was a better software startup scene (very few combine interesting technical problems, a viable business plan, and are at a good spot in their life cycle at a given time and a small percentage of a much larger number really helps) in Boulder, CO I wouldn't have left after 15 years and would have racked up 21 years in one place. 300+ days of sunshine a year, not much precipitation (alpine desert), better fine dining in one place, lower cost of living.
Oh come on Sanders, look at these deals!!
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Santa-Clara/3010-Ryan-Ave-95051/home/1167211
ROFL!!! Most my life CA prices were, at worst, double the prices in Salt Lake City. These days it's 3-4 times. $700k for a house like Marty McFly's in Back to the Future? That would be $190k in SLC. And it would have a full basement.
Even out here in the Inland Empire, I bet that house would go for $300k max.
Before we bought here we at least looked at Salt Lake City. The weather is apparently pretty awful with very cold, snowy winters and extremely hot summers. The air quality is also a big issue there because of the geography of the city as it sits in a large depression- sort of like LA.
It's not horribly bad. Salt Lake City summers aren't as hot as Phoenix or Las Vegas. Maybe one week in the 100s, two months in the 90s. It's similar to Riverside, CA from June through September. Winters get cold, similar to Denver, Colorado, but much milder than Buffalo, Minneapolis, Chicago, etc. There's very little humidity, which makes the cold more bearable.
The smog gets pretty bad. It's very similar to the San Gabriel Valley. Our inversions happen in the winter, opposed to the summer. Still, the air is generally much cleaner in SLC than it is in the Inland Empire.
My team is based Utah (Adobe) and I work in SF. My allergies were horrible when I travelled there. Air quality was worse than usual due to forest fires in the state. The people are nice and my co-workers are great, but there isn't nearly as much to do as there is in the bay area. Also we have family and friends in the bay area. There is actually quite a bit of tech in that area, but it's definitely not for everyone.
True. More to do in CA. That's why I bounce between SoCal and SLC. Much easier to meet a girl for a date at Santa Monica Place and walk the pier and 3rd Street than it is to meet a girl in SLC and ... well ... um ... eat at Crown Burger and walk The Gateway?
Still, SLC ain't Boise or Cheyenne. I'd say it's similar to Kansas City or Denver in terms of being able to "find" things to do, if you look hard enough. But not nearly as easy as Los Angeles or San Francisco where cool stuff to do is on every corner.
If you like to ski or do "outdoors" stuff, there is PLENTY to do ... and it's all 30 minutes away.
(Anyway, I'm hijacking the thread now ... in short, there are alternatives to the Bay)
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I went for a walk today in Slummyvale aka Sunnyvale and even in the ghetto areas around S Bernardo Avenue and Mathilda the homes are selling for 800k plus! What gives? Crappy homes in crappy area way overpriced. Why?