Californians

mandysmear

So, tell me about it.  Where abouts you leave, how close the nearest airport is.  Weather.  Housing.  Job markets.  How close to Lake Tahoe you are (H needs mountains).  And also tell me about the fanciest restaurants in your vacinity.  Websites would be nice.

Kthxbai!

mica178

As a native San Franciscan as well, I have to disagree with you, GJones.  SF might have June gloom, but August through October is Indian Summer.  And while I didn't go to public school, Lowell and Claire Lilienthal are excellent public school options, if you want to go that route.  I wouldn't call SF a walking city, but the public transportation is very reasonable. My parents currently live in a part of the city that no one would recognize as being in the city, but they are a block away from an underground Muni that can take them to downtown within 20 minutes for $2.  They're also walking distance to cute cafes and restaurants and fruit/veg stores.  You have to pick your neighborhoods. 

That being said, H and I live outside of SF because of job location.  The weather's better in the Peninsula and in Contra Costa County, and there's more parking, and the public schools are can be great.  I'd stay away from most parts of Oakland, Hayward and Fremont as they aren't as safe, but every city has its bad section and good section.  

cupcakesfrosting

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_californians?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1ca146ed-f4d3-4a97-ad89-d7ef150767cbPost:0d041687-bcc9-4cb9-9989-38154951dcac">Re: Californians</a>:
[QUOTE]As a native San Franciscan as well, I have to disagree with you, GJones.  SF might have June gloom, but August through October is Indian Summer.  And while I didn't go to public school, Lowell and Claire Lilienthal are excellent public school options, if you want to go that route.  I wouldn't call SF a walking city, but the public transportation is very reasonable. My parents currently live in a part of the city that no one would recognize as being in the city, but they are a block away from an underground Muni that can take them to downtown within 20 minutes for $2.  They're also walking distance to cute cafes and restaurants and fruit/veg stores.  You have to pick your neighborhoods.  That being said, H and I live outside of SF because of job location.  The weather's better in the Peninsula and in Contra Costa County, and there's more parking, and the public schools are can be great.  I'd stay away from most parts of Oakland, Hayward and Fremont as they aren't as safe, but every city has its bad section and good section.  
Posted by mica178[/QUOTE]

I grew up in Daly City, which is just west of SF. IT was pretty foggy most days, but I don't mind it so much. Living in Sonoma County, it gets ridiculously sunny in the summer. San Francisco, has pretty much everything though.

House of Prime Rib is a must.

AquarianDragon

We live in the Bay Area.... in Walnut Creek to be exact. We can go to OAK or SFO in about the same amount of time. When FI (or we) goes home to TX or on business trips, he flies out of SFO. When I (or we) go home to AZ, it's out of OAK generally.

We rent our place for $1425/month. It's a one bedroom 777 sq ft place.

Parking is better here than in Oakland, Berkeley and SF. Close to Napa and closer to Tahoe (and you can get a head start to Tahoe before the people west of us).

We are generally warmer than SF.... sometimes as 25 degrees, although in the fall and winter, our mornings are much colder and sometimes we're a tad cooler. It's because the benefits of the San Francisco Bay are blocked by the Oakland-Berkeley Hills.... we don't get bay breezes in the summer, and we don't get the temperature stabilizing effect in the fall/winter. I like the weather better than in AZ.

Lots of great restaurants in the Diablo-Tri Valley.

FI lives next to work. I commute to Oakland.... sometimes I take BART, sometimes I drive.

Cost of living is high, but not like in SF. We are 40 minute BART ride to SF. Getting around the city is fairly easy; my FI doesn't agree.

leia1979

I agree with those who've said SF is a good location for a chef. You can live on the peninsula though, where the weather is warmer and the housing is slightly cheaper than SF proper. South bay/East bay may be cheaper, but then you have a longer commute or bridges to deal with.

Commuting in the bay area sucks. I go about 18 miles each way. It's usually around 40 minutes but on a rainy day can go up to an hour.

mandysmear

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-boards_etiquette_californians?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding BoardsForum:9Discussion:1ca146ed-f4d3-4a97-ad89-d7ef150767cbPost:b35ad0ff-dd1e-4cbb-b257-50142a604ec8">Re: Californians</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>Is there a particular reason you're looking at California?</strong>  THere are some other major cities out west that would have restaurant opportunities for your H and better winter weather than where you are at now.  Vegas is pretty nice. I was there in March and it was high 60's (not too close to mountains though).  Denver actually has fairly mild winters, and you'd be within a couple of hours of pretty awesome skiing in Veil, Keystone, Breckenridge.  
Posted by Loopyseven[/QUOTE]

Just because there has to be mountains and warm weather within a few hours of each other.  There are lots of options, but not when it comes to his career.  He wants a really high end restaurant and seems like they're a dime a dozen in cali.  I did think about Colorado, still not mild enough for me I don't think.

This has been really helpful, thank you all for your responses!  I'll look into arizona celles, but I think H is stuck on cali due to the restaurant choices.