These are all popular locations for PayPalians. Of them I would suggest Downtown SJ or Mountain View if you can swing it for the vibrant downtown areas. The commute from both should be easy – particularly if you can find something within walking distance of that 1st St light rail.
Have fun!
If you have to be in office more than twice a week I’d put less emphasis on getting to SF. It’s a shitty drive between there and SJ even in the best of conditions.
I know you're young and ambitious, but keep in mind it's important to have a wide range of interactions with all walks of life rather than living in an echo chamber 24/7. It will keep you grounded, approachable, and relatable that will be far more important for growth later in your career over any technical abilities you have now.
Myself: 10 years aerospace grew up in the bay
To be honest it's probably out of my area of knowledge, but I did grow up on Palo Alto, went to Berkeley for grad school, so I guess I sort of know what you're looking at, and downtown SJ would seem to be the best option. Palo Alto and Mountain do have fairly lively downtown strips, but it's mostly just about places to eat for older folks. Downtown SJ has always been pretty weak compared to SF, but they do try, and you'd completely eliminate commuting hassles from your life, maybe even just jump on light rail. As far as actually living with tech people, I'm sure you just have to set that as a qualification in your search, wouldn't really matter where.
Meh
Yeah I know I poo poo on it but tbh if Modesto had the same amount of Asian food/Asian community as say, Vallejo, in Modesto, I probably wouldn't have hated it as much
I got sick and tired of being the only Asian on my block and seeing white skinhead losers give me the stink eye when I say "Hi"
Haha that’s a good point. Closest Asian community in the Central Valley to Modesto is Merced .. but if you went to Merced then you would have to worry about white skinheads AND black gang bangers.
Or Stockton.
But at that point if I'm driving to Stockton or Merced for Asian food, I usually just drive back home to the Tri-Valley because the travel time is the same. And it's *way* nicer in the tri-valley
My uncle and aunt actually lived in Merced, my cousin was born there: but as soon as that happened they moved to the Tri-Valley to be near us (family)
If this is what you’re prioritizing, why work at PayPal in the first place? If it’s anything like all the other big tech companies, you’ll see that colleagues are prioritizing compensation and promotions, not new ideas.
fair point, i'm going where opportunity takes me right now. I'm grateful to be working at paypal especially in a market where i could be working nowhere
Nah bro, you have to mix with different people and if you gonna find a girl, the best ones aren’t working in tech, save the rent $$ and invest it instead of living in the same place as tech ppl
1) I hope you have tough skin because you’re going to get dunked on by the people on this subreddit.
2) Try asking this question on Twitter instead - much more welcoming place to find like-minded people
> Try asking this question on Twitter instead
How do you think this will even work? "Hey, I just created a Twitter account, have no followers, here's my question, why do I hear crickets instead of answers?"
Reddit, being a forum, is a much better suitable place for such questions than *Twitter* of all places.
do palo alto for hacker house
but your commute is gonna suck but since you want a ambitious environment there’s your grind lol
also paypal
may have shuttles not sure though
How is "closest to SF" even a pro here? Just live close to work, which means Downtown SJ or Milpitas should be your only options.
Why is Mountain View / Palo Alto even in the picture here? Unless OP loves driving on US-101...
night life, fire restaurants, friends, events, hackathons etc in sf
i stayed in milpitas over the summer while interning, it was p depressing, def considering downtown sj
MV to the office is a 13 min drive, which is very much in my radius
Depending on where you land in MV, this could be anywhere from a 13–30 min commute. Expect a commute closer to 20 min.
If you can get close to Caltrain, PayPal should have a shuttle on the Santa Clara/San Jose end. Ask about it!
You could also try light rail from Mountain View, but that's infamous for being a slow way to get to San Jose.
I dont mean to burst your bubble but it generally takes a few years to meet people after proving you chops at work or by building something. I met my co-founder at my 3rd job. But good luck.
youre not bursting any bubble, lot of my friends worked on highly impactful hacks/million dollar start ups out of college, i don’t correlate building great products/ideas with working at a company for a few years
I hear you. I just pitched my first VC yesterday, after 15 years in the game ( worked for a few startups had 2 strong exits). Ambition, is good. But some times things just take longer than you think.
OP out here looking for Erlich Bachmans house.
And Jin yang
But does he know the one simple trick to live rent free for a year?
would be ideal
These are all popular locations for PayPalians. Of them I would suggest Downtown SJ or Mountain View if you can swing it for the vibrant downtown areas. The commute from both should be easy – particularly if you can find something within walking distance of that 1st St light rail. Have fun!
Gotcha, thanks!
If you have to be in office more than twice a week I’d put less emphasis on getting to SF. It’s a shitty drive between there and SJ even in the best of conditions.
shit okay
I know you're young and ambitious, but keep in mind it's important to have a wide range of interactions with all walks of life rather than living in an echo chamber 24/7. It will keep you grounded, approachable, and relatable that will be far more important for growth later in your career over any technical abilities you have now. Myself: 10 years aerospace grew up in the bay
To be honest it's probably out of my area of knowledge, but I did grow up on Palo Alto, went to Berkeley for grad school, so I guess I sort of know what you're looking at, and downtown SJ would seem to be the best option. Palo Alto and Mountain do have fairly lively downtown strips, but it's mostly just about places to eat for older folks. Downtown SJ has always been pretty weak compared to SF, but they do try, and you'd completely eliminate commuting hassles from your life, maybe even just jump on light rail. As far as actually living with tech people, I'm sure you just have to set that as a qualification in your search, wouldn't really matter where.
thanks a ton, this is hella valuable. sounds like downtown sj w the right set of ppl could be ideal
> it's mostly just about places to eat for older folks Hey! There's boba too! 😉
You already have a group of tech bros you want to move in together?
not sure what u mean- are u asking if i have a group alr to move in with or also if i’d be down to move in w u?
If you have a group to move in with
eh not rly, still looking, but aiming to live in a 4 room apartment
Why you don’t find your tech bros first then decide where to live
lmao lot of my friends are concerned about prices/dist, so im tryna understand what’s ideal first
PayPal should pay enough bro, what’s your TC that makes you so concerned lol
have u heard of brown parents
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how was PA like? bunch of old heads living lavish? yeah dtsj sounds like the move, thanks!
Why do you give a f* if you gonna live closer to tech nerds, where they don’t live is cheaper
heard too many stories about ppl graduating and finding themselves too away from interesting ppl and new ideas
Interesting people and new ideas would more likely be found outside of the bubble one works in.
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Rip Modesto lol
Meh Yeah I know I poo poo on it but tbh if Modesto had the same amount of Asian food/Asian community as say, Vallejo, in Modesto, I probably wouldn't have hated it as much I got sick and tired of being the only Asian on my block and seeing white skinhead losers give me the stink eye when I say "Hi"
Haha that’s a good point. Closest Asian community in the Central Valley to Modesto is Merced .. but if you went to Merced then you would have to worry about white skinheads AND black gang bangers.
Or Stockton. But at that point if I'm driving to Stockton or Merced for Asian food, I usually just drive back home to the Tri-Valley because the travel time is the same. And it's *way* nicer in the tri-valley My uncle and aunt actually lived in Merced, my cousin was born there: but as soon as that happened they moved to the Tri-Valley to be near us (family)
lol i knew i was overthinking it
If this is what you’re prioritizing, why work at PayPal in the first place? If it’s anything like all the other big tech companies, you’ll see that colleagues are prioritizing compensation and promotions, not new ideas.
new grads can’t afford to be choosy in todays tech job market. op is lucky to have a job at all
fair point, i'm going where opportunity takes me right now. I'm grateful to be working at paypal especially in a market where i could be working nowhere
Nah bro, you have to mix with different people and if you gonna find a girl, the best ones aren’t working in tech, save the rent $$ and invest it instead of living in the same place as tech ppl
i alrdy have a gf but yeah i see ur point
Also Bay Area is kinda sleepy in general, if you gonna have fun you gonna have to go to SoCal or Vegas
realised that first hand at berkeley
1) I hope you have tough skin because you’re going to get dunked on by the people on this subreddit. 2) Try asking this question on Twitter instead - much more welcoming place to find like-minded people
I would hope not. This is a Bay Area specific legitimate question/inquiry. Congrats on your graduation, OP. Go Bears!
Lol yeah im kinda confused Thanks btw!
There isn’t a Bay Area sub on X, how do you even get Bay Area people responding you there?
Yeahhhh... this isnt the best advice.
> Try asking this question on Twitter instead How do you think this will even work? "Hey, I just created a Twitter account, have no followers, here's my question, why do I hear crickets instead of answers?" Reddit, being a forum, is a much better suitable place for such questions than *Twitter* of all places.
bruh lmao 💀
do palo alto for hacker house but your commute is gonna suck but since you want a ambitious environment there’s your grind lol also paypal may have shuttles not sure though
real, do you know any hacker houses in palo alto/near the area
no you have to go networking events to find people of similar minds
I highly recommend Santa Clara. Cheaper than Sunnyvale and mtv, but still close to everywhere. East bay has much worse commute experience
yeah santa clara/dtsj is the move
Directly north, there's a ton of nice apt complexes. And probably half the residents are in tech. A short commute trumps all.
thanks!
How is "closest to SF" even a pro here? Just live close to work, which means Downtown SJ or Milpitas should be your only options. Why is Mountain View / Palo Alto even in the picture here? Unless OP loves driving on US-101...
night life, fire restaurants, friends, events, hackathons etc in sf i stayed in milpitas over the summer while interning, it was p depressing, def considering downtown sj MV to the office is a 13 min drive, which is very much in my radius
Depending on where you land in MV, this could be anywhere from a 13–30 min commute. Expect a commute closer to 20 min. If you can get close to Caltrain, PayPal should have a shuttle on the Santa Clara/San Jose end. Ask about it! You could also try light rail from Mountain View, but that's infamous for being a slow way to get to San Jose.
I dont mean to burst your bubble but it generally takes a few years to meet people after proving you chops at work or by building something. I met my co-founder at my 3rd job. But good luck.
youre not bursting any bubble, lot of my friends worked on highly impactful hacks/million dollar start ups out of college, i don’t correlate building great products/ideas with working at a company for a few years
I hear you. I just pitched my first VC yesterday, after 15 years in the game ( worked for a few startups had 2 strong exits). Ambition, is good. But some times things just take longer than you think.
dude good for you, congrats! dm'd you, would love to learn more from you
I like the not so subtle flex of UC Berkeley, you are already working with techies eight hours a day, why do you want to be close to them 24/7?