UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
May 1st 2018, 5:00 pm
#31
Often not so civil...
Joined: Apr 2010
Location: The Boonies, GA
Posts: 9,561
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Ok, I'm going to stop posting now. Gas in the UK is like here, different prices in different areas. My original post was supposed to just be a rough guide or helpful tips to help anyone moving to Palo Alto or neighbouring areas. It's turned into a thread on the price of gas and property rental prices in other states.
May 1st 2018, 6:36 pm
#32
Peace onion
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: Denver
Posts: 5,686
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Chill, Lisa.
Just people chiming in. When you've lived here for years, you sort of start taking things for granted, and a person can get like, yeah, yada, yada, yada. And then focus on minutiae like gas prices.
People forget that it's new and exciting when you're new and excited. It's kind of fun and refreshing to see it all new again through someone else's (un-jaded) eyes. Keep posting your experiences and observations! The thing about grocery shopping is bang-on. It's very frustrating. I have to go to Whole Paycheck, Safeway, Sprouts and occasionally Target.
You write well for a woman. Keep it up!
Just people chiming in. When you've lived here for years, you sort of start taking things for granted, and a person can get like, yeah, yada, yada, yada. And then focus on minutiae like gas prices.
People forget that it's new and exciting when you're new and excited. It's kind of fun and refreshing to see it all new again through someone else's (un-jaded) eyes. Keep posting your experiences and observations! The thing about grocery shopping is bang-on. It's very frustrating. I have to go to Whole Paycheck, Safeway, Sprouts and occasionally Target.
You write well for a woman. Keep it up!
May 1st 2018, 9:55 pm
#34
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Mar 2015
Location: NC, USA (ex Yorkshire)
Posts: 4,375
May 2nd 2018, 4:57 am
#35
Account Closed
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
32 gallons at $2.25 today, had a couple of cans to fill as well and a King Soopers discount to use.
Can not say I like their Bagels, Safeway are much better but Safeway overall seems more expensive.
Can not say I like their Bagels, Safeway are much better but Safeway overall seems more expensive.
Must say it did tickle me though 
May 2nd 2018, 12:40 pm
#37
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2015
Location: Watford
Posts: 1,147
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Ok, I'm going to stop posting now. Gas in the UK is like here, different prices in different areas. My original post was supposed to just be a rough guide or helpful tips to help anyone moving to Palo Alto or neighbouring areas. It's turned into a thread on the price of gas and property rental prices in other states.
May 2nd 2018, 2:59 pm
#38
Turning into a PA gal!
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: State College PA, finally!
Posts: 3,563
May 2nd 2018, 6:22 pm
#40
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2015
Location: Watford
Posts: 1,147
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Mine is 'secured' by a lever in the foot well conveniently located so that my big feet catch it when I get out of the car, but hidden out of view so that when I do wish to open the flap I can't!!
May 3rd 2018, 6:23 pm
#41
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 111
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Fresh fruit and vegetables are high priced in the US, and even more so if organic. No wonder people just go get fast food...its cheaper
May 11th 2018, 4:38 am
#42
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Nov 2007
Location: Bay Area, CA
Posts: 13,103
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Thanks for your post! I started out my US adventure in Palo Alto back in 1983, and I still absolutely love that place. Your post brought back some great memories. Rents (and house prices!) are astronomical in Palo Alto and the surrounding area, even by CA standards.
May 11th 2018, 12:39 pm
#43
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2015
Location: Watford
Posts: 1,147
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Hmmmmmmmm, just moved from Marina Del Rey, CA where our rent was 3k a month for a 1 bed apt!! Now living in Atlanta in a 2 bed apt for a lot less!!
May 27th 2018, 9:14 am
#44
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Nevada b4 California b4 Colorado b4 Valley of plastic and sand, b4 London
Posts: 2,025
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Welcome to the SF Bay area, you could not have picked a more expensive place to live but it is one of the safest, just stay clear of East Palo Alto, which is almost the opposite.
Hi, we moved from UK to Palo Alto in March. We got relocated with my husband's company on an L1 visa.
So, we've here a month now and I thought I'd post about how things are going so far and a few important things for anyone thinking about moving or in the process of moving to this area. Just things that I wish I'd known ahead of time or things I've learnt since arriving here, hopefully it's helpful to someone!
SCHOOLS
We have three kids aged 3-11. That covers, or will cover, Elementary School (age 5-11, or K-5, which is the equivalent to Reception-Year 6 in UK), Middle School (age 11-13, or Grade 6-8) and Senior School beyond that.
You cannot sort out a school place prior to your arrival in the country and securing a residence. Schools are allocated to a catchment similar to UK. Once you have arrived and have an address you can go to the schools office (here it's the PAUSD office) and register your child/children. You will need proof of address, passports, visa information etc and they will assign a school to you (hopefully your local but that is dependent on spaces, our older two are in a school which is a 15 minute drive away).
Most importantly, your kids will need to get a test for TB and a test or proof (medical records or doctor's letter) that they have had chicken pox (varicella). You can do that in the UK beforehand but we did both here at our local CVS walk-in pharmacy. It's expensive but luckily we could claim back via my husband's company. It's a really good idea to get copies of all your family GP & Dental records.
We couldn't do anything on our medical cover because we didn't have SSN (social security) numbers at this point. You have to go to a Social Security Office with all your documentation in order to be assigned an SSN number and then your SSN card is mailed to you, which takes about a week. You can just turn up, take a number ticket and wait your turn. It took about two hours for us, but I've been told that is an unusually long wait.
RENT
In Palo Alto and surrounding neighborhoods, expect to pay upwards of $5-6k a month for a 3 bed place. And they will most likely not be too big and not be high spec or even recently decorated. I was really surprised what was on offer for the money. It's mind-blowing!
Property here moves FAST, especially in Summer so you need to be ready to sign a contract the day you see something. My husband and I came out a month before we moved, spent two days looking at places and signed a contract less than a hour before we had to leave for the airport. You won't have any credit history, so you'll need your employment contract with salary details.
CREDIT
Getting anything on credit will be more expensive because of the lack of credit history. Sucks, but just how it is. Here it's very common for people to not have a credit history because there's such a large expat community of professionals, so you'll be able to get lease agreements on cars for example, but they'll be at a higher rate. You need to build up your credit score. We've been advised to pay for things on credit card, but never exceed 50% of the card max and make sure you never miss a payment!
DRIVING
Not too bad at all. I was terrified, having never driven an automatic, wrong side of the road and most cars here resemble small tanks! But lanes are wide, parking bays big and there's always plenty of parking. You're supposed to book in to transfer to a California license within two weeks but it's very relaxed here. I've just done my theory test (you can download free apps for practice, test's relatively easy) and we're booked in a few weeks time for the practical. You will need your own vehicle for the practical and someone with a full California license must drive you!
Key Rules of the road as a beginner:
1. You can turn right on red (so long as there is not a sign prohibiting it and pedestrians always have right of way)
2. You must fully stop at every stop sign, and there are a lot. Typically first to the stop line at junctions gets priority)
3. The lights take aaaaages to change. I mean it, like forever. Especially when turning left.
4. Pedestrians have right of way at all times, even if not on a crossing.
5. You have to parallel park in the direction of traffic. You'll get a ticket if you're facing the wrong way.
GROCERIES
It's not like back home, you cannot get everything in one store. Shopping is a tedious and lengthy experience. But the selection and the fruit and veg and meat available is amazing.
The popular shops in price order from needing a new mortgage to relatively reasonable...
1. Whole Foods (I have not braved this yet)
2. Safeway (not like Safeway back home! Great fruit and veg and general supermarkety stuff) Be prepared, it's expensive. I nearly died first time. GO TO HELP DESK AND PICK UP A SAFEWAY LOYALTY CARD. It knocks about 30% off the ticket price per item.
3. Trader Joe's - this is where everyone gets their fruit and veg and is reasonably priced.
4. Costco - sign up for a costco card. This is where everyone gets their meat. You'll probably end up BBQ'ing 2 or 3 times a week and the meat is great quality and priced well for the quality and size.
5. Walmart. They do brand labels like cereal, tinned goods, washing powder etc etc for much lower than anywhere else but their fresh goods are pretty dire.
I think that's about it! Other than to say, so far me and the family are loving it here (even though the cost of living is astronomical). The weather is great, the people are so friendly and most people here have been in the 'new kid' position so they're really eager to help you.
Sorry for the mega long post!
So, we've here a month now and I thought I'd post about how things are going so far and a few important things for anyone thinking about moving or in the process of moving to this area. Just things that I wish I'd known ahead of time or things I've learnt since arriving here, hopefully it's helpful to someone!
SCHOOLS
We have three kids aged 3-11. That covers, or will cover, Elementary School (age 5-11, or K-5, which is the equivalent to Reception-Year 6 in UK), Middle School (age 11-13, or Grade 6-8) and Senior School beyond that.
You cannot sort out a school place prior to your arrival in the country and securing a residence. Schools are allocated to a catchment similar to UK. Once you have arrived and have an address you can go to the schools office (here it's the PAUSD office) and register your child/children. You will need proof of address, passports, visa information etc and they will assign a school to you (hopefully your local but that is dependent on spaces, our older two are in a school which is a 15 minute drive away).
Most importantly, your kids will need to get a test for TB and a test or proof (medical records or doctor's letter) that they have had chicken pox (varicella). You can do that in the UK beforehand but we did both here at our local CVS walk-in pharmacy. It's expensive but luckily we could claim back via my husband's company. It's a really good idea to get copies of all your family GP & Dental records.
We couldn't do anything on our medical cover because we didn't have SSN (social security) numbers at this point. You have to go to a Social Security Office with all your documentation in order to be assigned an SSN number and then your SSN card is mailed to you, which takes about a week. You can just turn up, take a number ticket and wait your turn. It took about two hours for us, but I've been told that is an unusually long wait.
RENT
In Palo Alto and surrounding neighborhoods, expect to pay upwards of $5-6k a month for a 3 bed place. And they will most likely not be too big and not be high spec or even recently decorated. I was really surprised what was on offer for the money. It's mind-blowing!
Property here moves FAST, especially in Summer so you need to be ready to sign a contract the day you see something. My husband and I came out a month before we moved, spent two days looking at places and signed a contract less than a hour before we had to leave for the airport. You won't have any credit history, so you'll need your employment contract with salary details.
CREDIT
Getting anything on credit will be more expensive because of the lack of credit history. Sucks, but just how it is. Here it's very common for people to not have a credit history because there's such a large expat community of professionals, so you'll be able to get lease agreements on cars for example, but they'll be at a higher rate. You need to build up your credit score. We've been advised to pay for things on credit card, but never exceed 50% of the card max and make sure you never miss a payment!
DRIVING
Not too bad at all. I was terrified, having never driven an automatic, wrong side of the road and most cars here resemble small tanks! But lanes are wide, parking bays big and there's always plenty of parking. You're supposed to book in to transfer to a California license within two weeks but it's very relaxed here. I've just done my theory test (you can download free apps for practice, test's relatively easy) and we're booked in a few weeks time for the practical. You will need your own vehicle for the practical and someone with a full California license must drive you!
Key Rules of the road as a beginner:
1. You can turn right on red (so long as there is not a sign prohibiting it and pedestrians always have right of way)
2. You must fully stop at every stop sign, and there are a lot. Typically first to the stop line at junctions gets priority)
3. The lights take aaaaages to change. I mean it, like forever. Especially when turning left.
4. Pedestrians have right of way at all times, even if not on a crossing.
5. You have to parallel park in the direction of traffic. You'll get a ticket if you're facing the wrong way.
GROCERIES
It's not like back home, you cannot get everything in one store. Shopping is a tedious and lengthy experience. But the selection and the fruit and veg and meat available is amazing.
The popular shops in price order from needing a new mortgage to relatively reasonable...
1. Whole Foods (I have not braved this yet)
2. Safeway (not like Safeway back home! Great fruit and veg and general supermarkety stuff) Be prepared, it's expensive. I nearly died first time. GO TO HELP DESK AND PICK UP A SAFEWAY LOYALTY CARD. It knocks about 30% off the ticket price per item.
3. Trader Joe's - this is where everyone gets their fruit and veg and is reasonably priced.
4. Costco - sign up for a costco card. This is where everyone gets their meat. You'll probably end up BBQ'ing 2 or 3 times a week and the meat is great quality and priced well for the quality and size.
5. Walmart. They do brand labels like cereal, tinned goods, washing powder etc etc for much lower than anywhere else but their fresh goods are pretty dire.
I think that's about it! Other than to say, so far me and the family are loving it here (even though the cost of living is astronomical). The weather is great, the people are so friendly and most people here have been in the 'new kid' position so they're really eager to help you.
Sorry for the mega long post!
May 27th 2018, 9:16 am
#45
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Aug 2003
Location: Nevada b4 California b4 Colorado b4 Valley of plastic and sand, b4 London
Posts: 2,025
Re: UK- Palo Alto: What I've learnt 1 month in
Yes but what are the jobs like there? What about things to do that diverse than CA?
