May be moving to San Jose area from Tualatin, OR advice !!!

Does that mean he has accepted an offer from Intel and Cisco lost out?

nah, I think Intel was just heavily "courting" him - lol, when he had his phone interview with Intel he told them he was concerned about moving suddenly (re:our children) so they were just saying that an option would be willing to fly him back & forth.

He's meeting with both of them during his Christmas vacation time.

Well, it is always good to have options and to have them courting him in this way is always a great thing for the ego so I hope he is enjoying it!

Please keep us posted! Your plants aren't the only thing that would experience some culture shock moving to the Bay Area, but, like anyplace else, there's good and bad.

Intel and Cisco are both supposed to be great companies to work for. The semiconductor industry is not for the faint of heart. I work for an equipment supplier to Intel and other chipmakers. The market ups and downs in this business are mammoth. I came from defense, and was totally unprepared the first time we all tanked. But a couple of years later, we were all flying high again. It's just really, really different from any other kind of industry I've ever worked in!

It is nice to have 2 so interested, I would say right now he's just stressed out *!
You all have been so helpful and positive. I'll definitely keep you posted on the outcome and/or ask for more info !

I became much less stressed with job interviews by having my own set of questions written down to ask (if they weren't covered already during the interview). My son just got done with a "gang interview" for a big job, and he said that approach helped him, too. I always used to leave thinking of all the stuff I should have asked---now I just take out my folder before they wrap up, ask how much time they have left for me, and fire away!

very smart pigeon ! ... both processes are different. Intel has scheduled a very loooooong interview process. However, Cisco has scheduled rapid-fire 30 minutes interviews with 8 different people.

Intel's will probably be a gang interview, would be my guess. My issue with those is that they find out what THEY want to know, but the interviewee doesn't have much opportunity to find out what s/he wants to know about the job that's not already in the job description. But it saves time, and the company has the edge---it can be pretty intimidating. My son said he was pretty well-prepared for all except one question, and he had to work hard to take a deep breath and not babble before coming up with an answer. He asked a question about the question, which bought him some time... LOL!

20 years ago I worked in Silicon Valley. (and San Francisco Financial District simultaneously)
Once, during lunch hour, it took me 20 minutes to cross over a freeway overpass. I lived in Menlo Park and my business site was around Great America Parkway. 14 miles door to door. That was about 1 1/2 hr commute during commute hours. You could get a doctorate during time spent on the road. Maybe its more efficient these days. Dunno.
I wouldn't do that commute again for 100 shares of Cisco stock. or 10K shares.

Ouch!

I'm not sure if it's that bad anymore--I think things were really awful back in the height of the dot-com era, then when all those crashed traffic improved a lot. It's gotten worse again since then, but I'm not sure if it's back to those same levels of craziness.

I don't think it's that bad either anymore, new roads and freeway sizes have increased.

Unless, of course, it's raining (like today) or it's the beginning of school, or vacation time....LOL!

True!
BUT, it doesn't rain here as often as Oregon! LOL

This message was edited Dec 18, 2007 11:36 AM

It depends on which route you need to drive. Northbound 101 from Sunnyvale up the pennisula has been bogged down since they finished the flyover from the 85. The carpool lane comes in on the leftside of the freeway. Seems to be a deficiency of merge genes in the commuter population. Now it is clogged in both directions during rush hour.

It takes me 20 minutes to get from North Sunnyvale to the Cal Train station in the center of town. It takes 30 minutes to drive to Palo Alto. Using public transportation, it takes 2 to 2.5 hours to do the same commute (I had to do this for a week). It takes 10 minutes to walk to a nearby lightrail station, but the trains don't run on the posted schedule so I was unable to make the needed connections to get to work unless I allowed an extra hour.



Seems like the population in the "silicon valley" area has quadrupled in the last ten years.

I have heard to stay away from 101 if at all possible, so I'll remind my DH of all your comments tonight. He leaves Thursday for his Friday interview.

I have to admit I'm feeling conflicted about the congestion.... even tho I was rained on for 3 hours today while unloading garden stuff into the garden shed. lol - we'll see what happens, I'm still nervous about moving, selling the house, finding schools ---- no matter where we end up.

It's really normal to be nervous even though it's SO uncomfortable. It's a big change with a lot of unknowns. Here's a (((HUG))).

This message was edited Dec 18, 2007 4:03 PM

Yes, I'd stay clear of the 101. If you need to be near a freeway the 280 is newer, prettier, more expensive and SLIGHTly less congested. Its on the Peninsula side of the Bay. Saratoga, NW Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Woodside, Atherton. Very expensive though.

Great your DH will have time to look around. There is ALOT of housing locations and prices to choose from possibly based on the commute you can tolerate.

Frankly, I don't like the idea of a great distance between work and home. Particularly when you are depending on several bridges to get from A to Z.

thank you for the hug doss ! lol And Aguane , we just need to make sure we're in a good school system as well.!!

As a child through high school I was in private school. My sister and bros went to public Menlo/Atherton schools. Pretty good. Palo Alto public schools are quite good. I have friends who put their kids through public schools in Woodside. Good. I don't know of any other good or poor districts in the Bay Area. Sorry, can't help there. Lots of info on that subject on this board, no doubt.

Hi, tootsie: the interviews were yesterday, correct? If yes, how did they go?

Hi Pigeon, yes he met with Intel on Friday and it went very well. They told him he was their #1. So he's been looking around at houses and drove around alot yesterday. So, he's home today at noon (thank God, I'm trying to get ready for 2 parties we have here) with 3 kids and grocery shopping Yikes! So, we he can tell me more then. He was impressed with all the people he met with, and felt like he would fit in well, which is great.

So, his next interview is the 3rd of Jan with Cisco. (Good memory, btw!) Is everyone ready for Christmas?? I'm still waiting on Brent & Becky's Bulbs gift certificate for my sister in law, I hope it gets here by tomorrow - or I'll have to wrap the receipt !!

Glad to hear things went well with Intel! I'm still surprised they are interviewing people this close to the holidays, at my company there were so many people on vacation this past week and the week after New Years that we would never even think about having anyone in to interview. Our weather's been nice and sunny the last couple days (if a little chilly at night!) so he's seeing California winter at its best!

Glad it went well!!! I had new tile floors put in my livingroom starting the day after Thanksgiving, and it delayed our decorating by almost a month. My DH is the original oversized Christmas elf, and loves to decorate----so funny because when we had our first Christmas together in 1969, he was a total Grinch! As of this morning we are almost ready. I just have everything in my closet to dig out and wrap.

Let us know how the interviews with Cisco----there may be some good vibes out there hanging around the Bay area for your DH----my son just got the job with the DOE that he's been hoping for since September. He starts Jan 21st.

Hope everyone has a great holiday and a VERY happy 2008!!!

Thank you so much ecrane and pigeon - DH was in BOTH your towns yesterday driving around and looking at houses - loved both! He did say it was a beautiful day, he stopped at a nice park in Gilroy by some new houses he peeked at. He said there are a bunch of weird things in Livermore - with antennas sticking up, does it have something to do with radiation?

Pigeon - how fun he's a big elf - mine went crazy with the christmas lights this year, makes it so fun.

Livermore Labs?
https://www.llnl.gov/llnl/about/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Livermore_National_Laboratory


Glad to hear the interview went well!

Maybe the windmills???

Do you know where in Livermore he was when he saw those things? I'd also guess either something at the lab (although I don't remember seeing anything too weird there) or the windmills in the Altamont pass. You can see them from the highway when you're towards the eastern side of Livermore. Here are some pics of them: http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/08/23/ba_mcnerney-windmills_rk.jpg http://images.jupiterimages.com/common/detail/94/53/22865394.jpg

If it all works out and you decide you're interested in the San Jose-south-to-Gilroy area, I have a really exceptional real estate agent I can recommend.

Oh, thanks for all the responses - you all ROCK! He saw the windmills, wasn't that. I think Susybell is right, something from the lab re: radiation detectors of some sort. Probably security. They were boxes with a sort of antenna sticking up. Didn't freak him out, just wondering. He did love all the vineyards in Livermore.

Hey, we have vineyards around Gilroy, too...LOL!
Here's a photo I took 5 minutes from my house that I'm framing for my son's kitchen for Christmas:

And really, trust me, if he's working in Santa Clara, you do NOT want to live in Livermore. You really won't get that much more for your money, and I guarantee he will hate the commute. Given what you said you could spend on a house, I wouldn't even live by me in Dublin/Pleasanton because the commute would be too long, and to go out to Livermore you're adding at least another half hour to his commute beyond what you'd have here in Dublin (on a good day!)

That's exactly what I thought too!
Here is a June 07 survey with the worst commutes:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/18/BAG7DQHAL310.DTL

Thanks guys, yep, he thinks its too long too - but just wanted to look "everywhere". Pigeon, that picture is sooooo beautiful. It's actually snowing here on Christmas Day (and sticking to the ground ! Amazing!

Merry Christmas All !

**Thanks for the link, btw! I'll have him check it out.

No harm in looking everywhere...but if you do end up liking an area that could have a longish commute, I'd really advise renting there for 6 months or so to get a sense for whether the commute is tolerable or not before committing to buying a house (houses aren't appreciating as much as they used to, and they're not as easy to sell as they used to be, so make sure you know what you're getting into before you buy anything!)

Enjoy your white Christmas!

We live in Santa Clara and are about 10-20 minutes in traffic from Cisco. You could definitely find a house for 850k in the city of Santa Clara. We also have many friends who work at Cisco and live in the more expensive communities of Cupertino and Saratoga.

We've been here five years in almost the smallest house we looked at but it had the biggest yard at 7500 square feet plus mature fruit trees and it didn't border a freeway or a school. Our neighborhood is quiet and culturally diverse.

I've noticed houses are staying on the market longer at the moment so there is probably some downward flexibility in pricing. Let me know if you'd like to know more about living in the area. I've included a picture of part of our garden in the front yard.

Oh lovely Purplesage - you have some of my favorites there, very pretty ! We are definitely keeping Santa Clara on the list. You are right, we have noticed alot of houses selling below listing recently. I would definitely take less square footage in the house for a nice lot.... and keep my eyes out for gophers, who knew?

Intel has told him they are sending him an offer, so it looks like we will move. DH will prob rent a small apartment while we stay here, list our house, kids finish school year. So, this will be good for him to figure out his commuting issues . I stay home, so my concern is house/school. I am definitely reassured after looking at houses online, I think we'll be ok.

And he's still interviewing with Cisco on Thursday, right?

Yes, Pigeon - well, actually he flies down on Thursday, has dinner with some of the guys and interview is Friday morning. He's prepping today for it, I'm sure he'll do well. I've been trying to clean & give any extra toys/clothes to Goodwill to get the house ready. When the kids are back in school I'll paint the bedrooms back to a neutral color..... I like digging in the dirt so much more than painting !!

I know what you mean! I was looking at paint colors today, too. I feel like I've been painting walls for the past all year, and I'm not done yet! It's never easy, but at least you'll have time to prepare for this move, and there will be a decent transition period for you and your family.