Jscl

Correct - you will have trouble, I think, finding a furnished place to rent.

The light rail does not go to the airport, but the light rail "airport" stop is serviced by a flyer bus, which gets you there pretty quickly, at least when I've used it. I presume if you're travelling for work though, your office will pay for a taxi.

I have no idea what it's like if you travel before 6am. We call before 6am "nighttime" in my house .

Michael

Generally if you are on the road before 6:30am, there isn't too much traffic. Rush hour is between about 6:30-9:00.

It is the Metro Airport stop. There is a free shuttle that runs about every 10 minutes during the day to the airport. It is only about a 5 minute ride to the airport.

Besides the light rail. there are trains that run up and down the peninsula about every 15 minutes during the day.

http://www.caltrain.com/schedules/weekdaytimetable.html

There is also the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) for getting around the bay area. However the last stop is currently Fremont and it is not scheduled to be completed to San Jose and the San Jose Airport until 2018.

http://www.bart.gov/schedules/bystation.aspx

Just in case you don't know what the difference is between the different trains. The light rail runs on the the roads (may be in the center barrier) and has to stop for stop lights, BART never crosses a road and will be elevated or underground, and the trains cross roads but have railroad crossing barriers that close when the train approaches (usually has the right away when crossing roads).

eastender2

If you have kids, live in Willow Glen or Rose Garden. Parts of Campbell and Los Gatos are nice too. You'll find people are busy and you have to work hard at making friends. You'll love the weathere.

_npr

Another busy weekend clearing out and decorating the house. In between times managed to take the kids shopping for toys with their birthday money, to see Toy Story 3 and for a pizza.

I was also told on Friday that I will be back out in San Jose at the end of August for a client meeting so I will try to use some free time to take a looked at the areas you suggested. This got me thinking about cars: my organisation does not do company cars so I will likely need to purchase one for my wife and one for myself. I don't have the cash to buy them outright - how easy is it to get car finance when I have no US credit history?

Vicky88

I think where you live is so dependent on exactly what is available when you are looking. Also depends on your budget. We live in Los Gatos and think Campbell is not as nice and we looked at Willow Glen before we moved earlier this year and thought it was not to our liking.

Steerpike

I typically leave home at 10am (carpool lanes open up then, in addition to traffic clearing up) so I can't tell you much about 6am! What I can tell you about, though, is a wonderful website www.511.org - click on the 'traffic' map, and then click on the 'driving times' icon. It is a TERRIBLE website (poor UI), but - info is invaluable. It will allow you to select two 'dots' - source and destination' - and present to you the current, live, driving times between them. When I first started working in San Mateo (living in Walnut Creek) I watched that site for hours every day ... Anyone who crosses a bridge typically buys a 'Fastrak' sensor/pass, and that device also feeds into the driving time calculator. Paranoid tin-foil-hat types worry about their movements being 'tracked', but for most of us we just allow the sensor to contribute to the value of the site.

I don't know much about rental HOUSING, but - rental apartments can be found. Start off with 'Oakwood Apartments' - they specialize in furnished, medium-term, corporate rentals. They are good but pricey. There are lots of other places too, which package up an unfurnished apartment and a furniture rental deal for the required time. You can 'DIY' the deal and rent an unfurnished house instead, renting furniture from the likes of Cort Furniture Rental (they are BIG and on the web so get a starting idea from them).

As for missing English food - you are moving to one of the best food areas of the US and if you find yourself missing English food you are not looking hard enough for good local food! I miss marmite and ... nothing else! Immerse yourself in the local environment, esp. if you are only there for a short time (reminds me of bumping into a bunch of Brits in Rome, asking me if I knew any good 'English pubs' in Rome ... surrounded by the best cafe's in the world ... )

Regarding company cars - they just aren't a "US" thing, so don't be surprised your company does not do them.

celticgrid

Credit, as an individual, will be problematic.

I'd add to the list of things you want from your employer...a tame source of credit. When I found work over here my employer pointed me at a couple of the banks they use and with them my lack of credit history was...history

Jscl

Yeah, on the credit problem, especially if you work for a big company they might be able to help you. When we arrived the employer spoke to the bank they used and worked out a deal where if we banked with them they would give us a credit card, car loan etc. despite our lack of US credit history. They know if you are working for that employer you have steady income and are a good bet.

celticgrid

One other point....check all your British passports to see when they run out. It might be worth renewing them now, early, to get another 10 years on the clock before you need to worry about renewals.

As you have children, only 5 years in their case.

Certainly at the very least if any of the passports expire in the next couple of years I would get new ones done now.

_npr

Thanks - good point. I'll check them although I think I will have to wait until after we ha e left to renew them otherwise the won't come back from the passport office in time.

Currently I am still working through the 5 years of paperwork I have filed to get rid of old bank statements I don't need to store or take with us. I was getting fed up of shredding them 1 page at a time in my home shredded so I am now taking a team at a time to work and putting it in the confidential paper bins. I think this has probably saved me a couple of hours already!

mollykins74

wow this is all excellent advise, I am moving to the area in March 2011 so this information should be a great help. We are just starting to look at schools/houses in the valley as close to Mountain View as possible.

eastender2

Hello Mollykins. I have lived in the Bay area 30+ years and visit Silicon Valley in San Jose frequently. Mountain View and Palo Alto especially have excellent schools. Feel free to send a private message and I'll give you my details. Good Luck!

tilz

I am hoping to move to the Bay area in August too :-) this thread has been very useful, just awaiting my interview etc at the moment

eastender2

When you move from the UK to the US think big. Your basic conveniences may seem close by on a map, but they are often further away than you think. It also depends on the route you take to get there. traffic can be nightmarish. As for schools for the kids. Mountain and Cupertino may be your best bets, but it depends on where you live - Cities cover large areas, a bit like London. I visited a business partner in Cupertino yesterday and drove one mile from her house to pick up the kids from school. The area is close to shopping yet quiet and suburban, it depends on your preferences.

Poppy girl

I was in Cupertino yesterday its a nice place....N1cky BE member just moved to Mountain View I believe and Tracym lives somewhere close as well.