Is it still possible to drive in san Francisco and the Bay Area?

Where should an experienced software engineer move in the Bay Area with no job in hand yet, for the best quality of life?

• I'm an experienced software engineer (20+ years), and have been in Austin for a long time.  I lived in San Francisco (in the city) years ago, and want to move back to the area; however, I don't want to live in the city of San Francisco proper.  I want more of a small town feel.  Yet, I also need to be near hiring and growing software companies. Basically I have reached a level of experience where I can find a software job wherever I go (I was flown out to SF a couple of months ago, aced an interview, and was made a very good offer, but I turned it down because I did not want to live in San Francisco).  I think the reason I don't want to live in San Francisco is I got tired of how crowded it was, how expensive, etc.  Quality of life was low, prices were high, and it was filthy; it just got old. Lately I've been thinking about relocating to some place with a small town feel, yet with the density of tech companies I need for work.  Boulder, CO has been foremost on my mind, as it's the only small town that has a tech economy and wasn't completely decimated by the recession.  All the other tech hubs are cities, really.  But, I'm afraid Boulder might be too boring for me, and the Bay Area is the epicenter of technology, after all. But then it struck me, maybe I could just move to the South Bay.  It seems like a lot of companies are down there.  But I have no idea what it is like living there. Is it nice?  Safe?  Well planned?  Walkable?  Or is it just a junky suburb?   In all my time living in the CITY of San Francisco, I never explored the South Bay area. I don't go out at night anymore, I don't go to bars, I don't need all the city life stuff anymore; in fact, I'm sick of it.  I want a quiet, safe, walkable neighborhood, maybe with some coffee shops, high end groceries, and parks.  And for sure, apartments/condos that are bigger and cheaper than what you find in San Francisco proper. If I want city life, I'll just drive up to SF once a month or so.  I basically want more of a small town (or at least small city) feel.  Maybe have a yard, a pool, even. Is this what the South Bay is like?  There's all that space down there that isn't water-locked.  What are the differences in Mountain View vs Cupertino, so on and so forth? I know Google/Apple are in the area; are there are lot of smaller tech companies–funded startups and so on, in the South Bay, too? Basically, for someone moving into the Bay Area looking for a tech job (and pretty capable of getting one), can the South Bay offer a tech hub with better living/neighborhoods than San Francisco?

• Answer:

  I've lived in the south bay for 20 years, and in my current house for 17. I live in San Jose, which has a population larger than SF, but covers way more area. It essentially sprawls. Like one giant suburb. It has a number of neighborhoods, each with their own character, like Willow Glen, for example. San Jose has it's nice neighborhoods and the not so nice. I live pretty close to Campbell and Los Gatos, so am in a pretty sane part of town. There are other suburban towns in the valley as well, but don't look for much in the way of large lots, unless you move south towards Morgan Hill or Gilroy. And real estate prices are through the roof. Some of the more expensive towns in the south bay are Los Gatos, Cupertino and Saratoga. If you're looking for that sort of thing. As far as work goes, well, there are jobs all over the valley, but don't be surprised if your perfect job is not very close to your home. I've worked all over the valley and peninsula, and a few times in SF as well. And the commute sucks. Big time suckage. I've time shifted my work hours to be from 7am to 3pm to beat a lot o the traffic. In the past five years I've worked in Mountain View, Palo Alto and Redwood City. None of these places are close to where I live, and all had commutes between 40 minutes to over an hour depending on the time of day. All that said, I really do love living here, and have no intention of moving out any time soon.