GiftIdeaFilter - moving away gift.
October 12, 2010 11:20 AM Subscribe
A good friend is moving to Santa Clara, CA in a couple months. Help me get him something that doesn't rhyme with "rift bard."
Male, late 20's, into techie gadgets... He's moving from Minneapolis. Is there something folks on the left coast love/can't live without that is unknown to us in fly-over land perhaps?
I don't have an unlimited supply of scratch, think under $100 if possible. Thanks!
Male, late 20's, into techie gadgets... He's moving from Minneapolis. Is there something folks on the left coast love/can't live without that is unknown to us in fly-over land perhaps?
I don't have an unlimited supply of scratch, think under $100 if possible. Thanks!
Does he drink a lot of coffee or need a water bottle for working out / hiking / walking?
I checked out the Contigo autoseal bottles and travel mugs after seeing them on Gizmodo today, and they seem pretty nifty.
posted by BZArcher at 11:31 AM on October 12, 2010
I checked out the Contigo autoseal bottles and travel mugs after seeing them on Gizmodo today, and they seem pretty nifty.
posted by BZArcher at 11:31 AM on October 12, 2010
I don't know but maybe you can call to get day passes to Planet Granite in Sunnyvale? I don't think you can just order them online.
He can go climbing, meet some pretty people and see if it's a good fit. Lots of techie types go there (Google, Apple, etc).
posted by just.good.enough at 11:47 AM on October 12, 2010
He can go climbing, meet some pretty people and see if it's a good fit. Lots of techie types go there (Google, Apple, etc).
posted by just.good.enough at 11:47 AM on October 12, 2010
I know you said you're trying to avoid gift cards, but speaking as a California girl now living in Massachusetts, gift certificates to In-N-Out would be downright awesome, assuming your friend likes cheap hamburgers. This is one of those quintessential California cheap eats.
On preview: This is probably directly at odds with just.good.enough's suggestion.
posted by Diagonalize at 11:56 AM on October 12, 2010
On preview: This is probably directly at odds with just.good.enough's suggestion.
posted by Diagonalize at 11:56 AM on October 12, 2010
Does he have a GPS? In California, everyone drives. The topography is different from the Midwest (lots of canyons, mountains), making it hard to navigate if you don't know your way around. If he likes gadgets and wants to be able to find his way around, maybe a GPS would be a good idea.
posted by booknerd at 12:03 PM on October 12, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by booknerd at 12:03 PM on October 12, 2010 [2 favorites]
How about a Thomas Guide to the Bay Area? If he's moving to Santa Clara, he'll need a car, and if he has a car, he'll need a map. This one has it all. Cheaper than a GPS, and less likely to attract break-ins too. It's not a gadget, but it's exceedingly useful.
It will also leave room in your budget to give him one of these. Then he can come to meetups and meet the local MeFites.
posted by ambrosia at 12:38 PM on October 12, 2010
It will also leave room in your budget to give him one of these. Then he can come to meetups and meet the local MeFites.
posted by ambrosia at 12:38 PM on October 12, 2010
The last thing he needs is more stuff he'll have to worry about transporting to his new city. Unless his employer is paying for the move, he is probably in throwing-out-or-selling-as-many-possessions as possible mode, and purchases from ThinkGeek rarely make the cut.
Wait until he is settled in California and then ask him what he needs for his new place.
posted by halogen at 12:43 PM on October 12, 2010
Wait until he is settled in California and then ask him what he needs for his new place.
posted by halogen at 12:43 PM on October 12, 2010
The #1 thing that helped me when moving to Silicon Valley from the Midwest was a GPS unit and a California atlas for exploring the state by car.
posted by zsazsa at 12:57 PM on October 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by zsazsa at 12:57 PM on October 12, 2010 [1 favorite]
Soft shell jackets and umbrellas are good gifts. It doesn't get COLD here, but it's chilly, especially once you get used to the weather. It never rains when it's warm outside and, despite the fact that we have lemon and orange trees, a solid jacket appropriate for lows between 30 and 45°F is essential. The weather here is actually really nice compared to almost anywhere else — never very cold and rarely very hot (except for a few days in the early autumn).
Full disclosure: I moved here from Idaho. I thought it was virtually illegal to wear a jacket unless the temperature was below 30° or you were 94 years old. After 11 years in the valley, I really look forward to the five weeks a year when we have temperatures over 85°. I have a heavy jacket for cold places in the closet, but I always have a light jacket that sheds water in the car.
Alternatively, a hiking guide like "60 Hikes within 60 Miles of San Francisco" or "South Bay Trails" will help your friend find the trails in the vast network of parks and open spaces in the area. The natural beauty around here is really breathtaking and it's all within an easy drive of those of us who live in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.
posted by phoebus at 1:00 PM on October 12, 2010 [2 favorites]
Full disclosure: I moved here from Idaho. I thought it was virtually illegal to wear a jacket unless the temperature was below 30° or you were 94 years old. After 11 years in the valley, I really look forward to the five weeks a year when we have temperatures over 85°. I have a heavy jacket for cold places in the closet, but I always have a light jacket that sheds water in the car.
Alternatively, a hiking guide like "60 Hikes within 60 Miles of San Francisco" or "South Bay Trails" will help your friend find the trails in the vast network of parks and open spaces in the area. The natural beauty around here is really breathtaking and it's all within an easy drive of those of us who live in Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.
posted by phoebus at 1:00 PM on October 12, 2010 [2 favorites]
How about waiting a week and asking the Bay Area MeFites for an "Insider's Guide" to the South Bay? You could then get a nice map of the area and label it with all of the cool places that people suggest.
posted by dogmom at 1:10 PM on October 12, 2010
posted by dogmom at 1:10 PM on October 12, 2010
I came in here to suggest a GPS or a hiking book, and both have already been suggested, so I'll second them. I particularly liked a kid's hiking book we got when we moved to CA because it taught me a bit about the local flora/fauna/geography, which was foreign to me (an east-coaster). But the one we bought has terrible reviews on Amazon because the directions are all old and wrong (it's true, we just worked around it!).
posted by obliquicity at 4:21 PM on October 12, 2010
posted by obliquicity at 4:21 PM on October 12, 2010
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posted by GuyZero at 11:24 AM on October 12, 2010