Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sanjose

Will I regret trying to take the bus?

Nonce — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 09:06:24 -0800

Costa Rica Filter: Public bus from San Jose to Monteverde? Also, any recommendations on where to stay? I'll be going to Costa Rica soon, and I'd like to take the public bus from San Jose Airport to Monteverde.

Does the bus still run from the Coca Cola bus stop? How dangerous is that bus stop? How to get there from the airport? Is this doable by someone who doesn't speak English? How and where do I pay for the ticket? Are there luggage racks above the seats? If I do take the bus, I'll have to take the afternoon route, not the morning one. Will this pose any special problems? Is it really worth it to pay 10x as much for a shuttle? How will I be able to tell what bus I want to take? Will it transfer? How will I know when we've reached Monteverde?

As much info as possible would be great. I feel awkward enough on the bus in the US, much less in a country where I don't speak the language.

Any other Costa Rica/Monteverde tips would be appreciated. Any particular restaurants that must be tried/hotels that are a cut above average?

Bay Area Dermatologist Recommendations?

noahdubya — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:19:55 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good (for acne) dermatologist in the Bay Area (SanJose/SantaCruz) I've been able to keep my acne under control for what seems like forever. One year into a PhD program, and I think that I should be seeking some professional help. That, plus I have health insurance as a graduate student (yay). But, there are sooooo many MDs. Any recommendations?

Bumpy donuts needed.

user92371 — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:44:25 -0800

Looking for Bay Area donut shops that can provide donuts with modified shapes. There was a donut shop in San Jose back in 2003 or so that would take the donut hole pre-frying and stick it right back on the side of the donut, so you got a bonus donut bump. I don't know the name of the shop, or if it still exists (this would be nice to know). I am looking for something similar in the San Francisco bay area, a baker that could do almost the exact same thing -- pre-modify the shape, adding singular/multiple bumps -- to a small quantity of donuts (~3-6 dozen).

Silicon Valley Girl

bread-eater — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:13:16 -0800

San Jose/Silicon valley recommendations for spas *or* veggie restaurants for getting a gift certificate. Please help me! I am trying to get a gift certificate for a friend leaving the east coast to work in Santa Clara. She's vegetarian and from India, so one idea was to get a gift certificate at an Indian restaurant (don't worry, she won't find it offensive). I'm having trouble figuring out which ones are actually good. And it would have to be one that actually bothers to do gift certificates (by mail, no less).

An alternative is to get her a spa gift certificate. Any recommendations for spas with good service? We want it to be a treat!

Other information: She'll be working in industry research, is generally proud of her nerdiness, is really really looking forward to the good weather but isn't a particularly outdoorsy person.

I would really appreciate any recommendations for Indian restaurants or spas or any other things that you can think of for me! Thanks!

Palo Alto neighborhoods

bluejayk — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 12:46:31 -0800

Where should I live near Palo Alto? For two months? I've got a new assignment for work that will put me in Palo Alto for two months. I'm very excited, I love the Bay area but haven't had a chance to live there since the early 2000's. I used to live in San Francisco but I've only been to Palo Alto once, so I don't really know the area at all.

My company is going to put me up in housing of some sort, and I need to find something on my own or risk getting a semi-random extended stay hotel which I would not like. I'll be using craiglist to find a place unless someone can suggest something more useful to the area.

What neighborhoods should I be looking at? I need a 1-bedroom apartment, or possibly a studio, or possibly even a really nice shared house. I'll have my own car so as long as it's within 20 minutes driving range of Stanford, I'll be okay. My budget is somewhere around $1800/month max. I'd like to be nearby places I could bike or hike, but I imagine those places will have few apartments to rent. The dates will be approximately August 1st to September 31st, so I'm not sure there will be many student apartments available.

Also, any suggestions for gyms, libraries, great places to hike or swim would be much appreciated. Thank you!

Opera San Jose at California Theater - which seats don't suck?

metaseeker — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:48:54 -0800

Opera San Jose at California Theater - which seats don't suck? For a performance of Carmen by Opera San Jose at the newly renovated California Theater -- which seats should one avoid and which seats don't suck?

I have a line on a pair of row M center orchestra seats - will these be fine? Should I really try and seek out balcony seats?

I don't need the perfect or the best seats. Just want to be sure it's not in a dead zone or behind a pillar. An opera is a long time to be parking one's butt!

thanks!

Going to see the C's.

wolftrouble — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 09:53:28 -0800

Me, my boyfriend and a friend of ours are heading to Montreal at the end of this month. I've seen a number of other questions along these lines (and bookmarked them!) but still looking for a bit more info. Also, one stupid question. Aren't you curious? As avid SJ Sharks fans, we've started a mini-tradition of seeing a Sharks away game once a year. We're working our way through the original six to start, and this year it's off to the frozen north to watch Los Tiburones vs. Les Habitants.

A few simple questions:

Where to stay? We're only in town for the weekend so someplace with easy access to the Bell Centre is a must, although I'm told there's a great subway system. We're not going on the cheap, but $1000-a-night suites are probably out of the question. :) There's tons of hotels obviously, but I was hoping someone knew of a great find amongst the dozens of choices.

What to do? The other threads have some great advice for summer-y things and good restaurant ideas (I'm embarrassingly excited to try poutine someplace where it's not just a novelty... Or maybe it is still just a novelty in Quebec, I dunno!). But we're going in late February when things are cold, cold, cold, especially to our thin California blood. We don't mind braving it (read on) as long as it's for something fun.

Stupid question, and I told myself I wouldn't ask this, but... I have this secret dream, humble though it may be, of someday playing pond hockey - even if just for a few minutes, and even if just with a couple other guys. I grew up in Seattle (not exactly a hotbed of hockey excitement) and while San Jose has plenty of enthusiastic hockey fans, frozen lakes aren't exactly a common occurrence around here.

I don't even know what the specific question is rather than, man, it'd be really fun to whack a puck around a frozen lake for an hour. Obviously IN the city or anywhere in close proximity isn't an option, but... Hey, if any of my northern brethren have an idea of how I could make my dream come true I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!

In SFO for a weekend. What should I NOT miss?

cdmwebs — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:14:11 -0800

Will I have any time to check out cool tech sites with a Saturday and Sunday morning in SFO? So, I'm heading out to San Jose on December 9th, then driving up to El Dorado Hills, CA for training Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. I'd like to take advantage of being in the area by staying until Sunday evening, so I thought I'd drive back down towards San Francisco Friday after training, then spend Friday and Saturday nights in the Bay area.

My questions to the hive mind are:

1.) Am I crazy? Surely there's enough time to check out Google and Apple and all the other wicked cool stuff out there on a Saturday, right?

2.) Where should I stay Friday and Saturday? I'd be willing to split the visit if necessary, but one place would definitely be cooler. I'll have a car, FYI.

3.) What are the things/places I should not miss? I'm very tech-y, obviously, but I would like to cram as much in to the weekend as I can!
3a.) Is there anything going on that weekend that would be cool to see/visit?

4.) How long will it take to get to SJC and through security with car to return from SFO area on a Sunday afternoon?

Also, if there are any SF area MeFites who would like a free lunch or dinner, I'd love some guidance since you probably already know where you're going!

Thanks!!

Recommended urban sights in San Jose, Costa Rica?

benzenedream — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 08:43:53 -0800

Unique sights in urban San Jose, Costa Rica I've got a few days in San Jose, Costa Rica. We've done many of the standard wilderness trips while here and would now like to do some urban exploring. What would you recommend to see and do in San Jose and surrounding suburbs that is not in the usual travel guides? We are both foodies and geeks.

San Jose. 6 hours. No car. What do you do? WHAT. DO. YOU. DO?

gc — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 19:04:44 -0800

Potential six-hour downtime in San Jose, CA. Conditions apply... It looks like I'll be stuck in San Jose for around six hours next Friday. The conditions are that I almost surely won't have a car, and will be relying on VTA bus and light rail to get around. I'm up for the whole spectrum of activities, from doing touristy things, to having sitting around time at a coffee shop or bookstore. Lunch will probably need to happen sometime in this time range (starting around 11am. I need to be at the airport shortly before 6pm).

I'm aware of this old thread, but most of the options in that thread involve car-travel.

Where are the hip places to live in the South Bay?

the_bone — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:42:12 -0800

Possibly moving to the Silicon Valley region... any suggestions on a place to live that meets the following criteria? I've interviewed for jobs in San Jose, Saratoga, and San Francisco. I've been to SF several times, and between having friends who live there and the ubiquity of craigslist I think I have a good handle on where I may live if I end up taking that gig. But I'm far less familiar with San Jose.

I live in LA at the moment, in the Los Feliz/Silver Lake region (for those familiar with LA), and I freaking love it. Best neighborhood ever... walking distance to stores/bars/cafes, a cool community, kind of a hipster vibe. I'd like to duplicate that if at all possible, and in my short time visiting SJ I didn't really see anyplace like that. I'm openly queer and definitely have a more alternative lifestyle, and would probably be very happy in SF, but if I take a South Bay job living in San Francisco probably isn't feasible. Additionally, my partner is writing a dissertation and probably won't work full-time, and her preference is to live someplace that is somewhat walkable/public transport friendly as a result. My surroundings are just as important to me as the job I eventually take, if not moreso.

So, are there any South Bay neighborhoods that are hip, queerish and/or pedestrian-friendly? "No, you should consider San Francisco instead" is a totally acceptable answer, and I am already doing so.

Nice park for a white wedding?

agentofselection — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:18:29 -0800

Anyone know a good park in the south bay (California) in which to get married? My partner and I want to get married this fall. We want to do it in a public park within about 20 miles of San Jose. (We want this because we want a nice outdoor area, and a fairly low price tag.) We want about 75 guests, a pretty outdoor area, and preferably an indoor/covered area to retreat for food and music. We're fairly recent arrivals and don't know all the parks in the area that well. The parks website basically says "we won't help you on the web, call us so we can make it special." We're hoping to have an idea of what park we want to reserve before we go to them, and rather than drive to every park we can find on google maps, checking them all out in person, I thought I'd ask if anyone has any suggestions for parks that we might want to look at.

Oh, and on a related note, anyone know a jeweler willing to do a little custom work in the same area?

Do you know the way to San Jose?

nax — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:18:27 -0800

San Jose California last 3 days of Feb. About a third to half that time will be blocked off to visit with relatives and see our daughter in her touring show. What else should we do? Head up the bay to SF, or is there cool stuff in town? (We'll be staying perforce in an airport hotel, no help for it-- should we rent a car, or is public trans good?)

Open active amateur repeaters in the Bay Area

KI6ILS — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 00:32:41 -0800

I will be traveling to the bay area, San Jose, in December. I am also an amateur radio operator. I have a list of open repeaters but I am wondering if anyone knows which ones are more active that you can just get on and rag chew. Also if there are any good repeaters on the 5 FWY, through Gilroy, and up to San Jose. That is the route I will be taking.

Where do I find first-generation tech immigrants?

hobbes — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:54:53 -0800

Looking to do a story on first-generation South/Asian immigrants in the South Bay area. Where do I start? I'm a better photographer than a journalist, so I'm clueless as to where to start on this project.

My coworker came to this country working for a tech-company back in '96 with pretty much nothing more than $100 and a month's free rent. I'd like to meet up with people who are in similar situations, but in 2007.

Where would I start? I've asked my coworker if he knew of people, but considering he's been in the country for 11 years, he's pretty well assimilated, so that's probably a dead end.

Another issue is the approach. It'd be nice to have someone introduce me to them vs. me cold-calling them. I ride the BART from Fremont in the mornings, and there's a ton of immigrants there, but they don't seem approachable.

Most googliest places to work in the south Bay Area?

blahtsk — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 23:16:55 -0800

After making it to my 3rd and final interview, Google decided not to hire me (*sniff*). What are the other most googliest places to work? "Googliest" meaning:
- Bright, motivated, curious engineers.
- Engineers encouraged to work on multiple projects / domains.
- Engineers encouraged to be creative (e.g. 20% project).
- A conscious effort to foster a unique working environment.
- Located in the south Bay Area.
- Currently hiring.

Thanks in advance!

Getting from Mountain View to San Jose without Caltrain

epugachev — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 13:40:17 -0800

If you don't have a car, what's the best way to get from Mountain View to San Jose when Caltrain isn't running? I am staying near the Mountain View Caltrain station on Saturday night. I need to get to Santa Clara and Almaden in San Jose on Sunday morning for the start of this race. The race starts at 8, so I probably want to be there around 7. How should I get there?

Unfortunately, the first southbound Caltrain doesn't leave SF until 8 a.m., so that's out of the question. I have no experience with VTA--is it crazy to rely on it for a trip of that distance at an off hour? Is a cab my best option?

What's going on in San Jose this week? How 'bout the week after?

TwoWordReview — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 02:00:55 -0800

Looking for an event guide for San Jose! I'm looking for a good online listings for the San Jose/Silicon Valley area and I guess the bay area in general. I've just moved here and since I'm a pretty big music, movies and arts fan, I'm trying to find a guide that lets me know in a nice direct way what's going on this week, where the good gigs are and also what people are listening to/watching etc. Back in Dublin I'd use The Ticket as my event guide so I guess I'm looking for something similar! Much thanks.

Do you know the nicest way to San Jose?

humuhumu — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 03:37:52 -0800

Will be driving from LA to San Jose. Starting lunchtimeish on a weekday near Century City. Would ideally like to take as much of State Route 1 as possible and happy to split up the drive with an overnight at a motel or something on the way. Need to be in San Jose lunchtime the next day. Doable? Sensible? Should I take the 5/101 and forget about the scenery? And what are the highlights I shouldn't miss?

San Jose Bars

special-k — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 14:50:42 -0800

I need bar recommendations for San Jose. I’ll be in San Jose this August for a big conference. My boss (i.e. department chair) has given me the task of finding a bar in downtown San Jose where we can have a mixer.
Requirements:
a) Bar has to be within walking distance of the convention center. Most people won’t have rental cars (and I’d rather not have them drive back after anyway).
b) On a scale of divey------------------chi chi, the bar has to be closer to the divey end. We’re a bunch of grad students, post-docs and professors (liberal tree-hugging types). So a place with reasonably priced beer is what I’m thinking.
c) A place where we can dance (#1 requirement for the boss). So music (live or not) would be great.
d) We don’t necessarily want to party with locals (there will be 100+ of us) but some place where locals go would be nice too.

This will be on a weekday.

I found this site but it looks like it was written by the business bureau (hence the glowing recs)

Any of you locals got ideas?

Hair cut recommendations in San Jose

fief — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:46:51 -0800

San Jose area filter: I seek recommendations for a barber/hair stylist in the San Jose area (preference for near Santa Clara. I have a need for two things with this question;

First, I seek an inexpensive (less than $20 for simple trims) barber that I can visit on a regular basis to keep my hair neat. This should be someone I can communicate with reasonably (English being my only language) and it should be someone that does not define a man's haircut by a number.

Second, I seek a hair stylist (possibly an old school barber too) that can tell me what I should do with my hair. Price isn't as much of an issue here. Note, that I find that most stylists aren't much use for hair of my type (fine and very much thinning).

Montreal or San Jose?

chrispy108 — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 10:13:40 -0800

Studying Abroad? Montreal or San Jose Previous thread: http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/50117

Thanks to all this advice and lots of research I had decided on Montreal, preferable McGill, but with Concordia as a backup. (McGill is hard to get into apparently).

However, my Uni just added San Jose State as a partner.

Does anyone know what they're like for Physics? and more importantly, what the area is like?

Answers over e-mail (username@gmail.com) or msn (username@hotmail.com) gladly accepted!

Why can't I get a hotel room in Silicon Valley on December 6?

aaronh — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 17:45:24 -0800

Why is nearly every hotel on the peninsula between San Francisco and San Jose fully booked for December 6 and ONLY December 6? I am supposed to attend a small Christmas party in Belmont, CA on December 6th. I live in San Jose and was looking to get a room in the area so I wouldn't have to worry about driving back that night.

I started looking around over the weekend and everything was either twice its normal rate or fully booked. It is so strange. I googled like crazy and there is no conference in town I can find, no Apple event, no Stanford graduation, etc. I've called and asked the hotels and they don't know why they are booked up that night.

Hotels in SF and in San Jose have availability and are charging their normal rates (not that it helps me, I was just trying to see how widespread this was).

There are some rooms available in cheap-o places, but that's about it. I've pretty much given up finding a place (unless someone here has an in at an inn). I'm now just really curious if anyone knows what's going on in Silicon Valley in the middle of next week.

Anyone here in the know?

Hotel Seattle/SanJose?

lalochezia — Fri, 17 Nov 2006 12:20:26 -0800

Cheap (<$120, ideally much less) hotel in Downtown Seattle and in San Jose. Must have internet access. Cheapo car rental in San Jose - and places to look to live? I'll be in Seattle and then San Jose over the weekend of 2/3 December. I'll be preparing for an academic interview in San Jose and will need a room that is quiet (to practice talk and for last minute studying), has good internet access and is cheap. Any suggestions?

Bonus points: my interview's in San Jose: potential relocation there next year. Is there a car rental place like hire-a-heap so I can drive around and check the place out? Are their neighborhoods within commute distance to look around or mustn't misses to see and get a gut feeling if I like San Jose as a place to live? Do you know of any links about the San Jose area that give me an idea of what's good and what's not?

San Jose/South Bay: Where to shop outside of the big box?

deedeep — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 10:42:11 -0800

I am looking for fun/funky one-of-a-kind type places. Places that you take a visitor because they don't have a shop like that in their town. Despite living in San Jose for all of my 35 years, the only place I can think of is Affordable Treasures in Los Gatos, and maybe A Step Back in Time in Campbell (is that place still around?). Thanks for your help in my very first AskMeFi question.