judyonthenet

In case you haven’t heard, Kelvin got a new job at a startup in Burlingame. Commuting from Campbell to Burlingame is unreasonable (IMO anyway, I know some crazy people do even longer commutes), so we’re moving from the South Bay to the Peninsula. More specifically, San Mateo!

I’m not familiar with the Peninsula, except for maybe Mountain View (which can also be argued as South Bay). I’m also familiar with IKEA in East Palo Alto. And my great-uncle’s house in San Carlos. And Kelvin’s auntie’s house in Burlingame. Yep, that’s the extent of my knowledge concerning the area between SF and South Bay.

Here’s some pros and cons for the move, at least from what I can tell so far…

View from Campbell apartment

What I will miss about living in my Campbell apartment
Being one freeway exit away from Mom
Cheap rent
Large kitchen
Easy access to 17 & 85 intersection
Easy commute to the many tech companies in South Bay
Close to Kelvin’s dad, mom, and brother
Closer to friends
Parking for second car easy 99% of the time
Only one flight of stairs to our apartment
Nice old lady landlord

What I won’t miss at the Campbell apartment
Having to drag our never-ending pile of laundry to the laundry room
Obnoxious left turn from apartment driveway onto busy 6-lane 40mph road
The only channel we received was CBS (we only have over-the-air)
Useless dishwasher
Useless A/C in the dining room
Sweltering indoors during the summer
Hearing our neighbor snore
The 1% of the time when the apartment completely runs out of parking

View from San Mateo apartment. It’s a little hard to see in this pic because
it’s sundown and a bit foggy, but you can actually see East Bay!

What I look forward to at the San Mateo apartment
Indoor washer & dryer
Two bathrooms
Nice, safe, wealthy neighborhood
Gorgeous view
Easy to get to from major freeways
Computers separate from bedroom (computers by TV and away from bed so device lights won’t disturb crazy-light-sensitive Kelvin when he’s trying to sleep)
Our own garage for one car and miscellaneous tools
Plenty of designated visitor parking
Closer to SF, BART
Free basic cable (OMG I can watch something on TV that’s NOT CSI)
Plenty of storage space for our junk
Near several downtown areas with good dining and very close to shopping and a farmer’s market
Nice neighbors (well, they seem nice)
Another nice old lady landlord (again, she seems nice)

What I don’t look forward to at the San Mateo apartment
Further away from my mom (30 minutes vs. 5 minutes)
50% more expensive rent! (WAH. Must find job!)
Smaller living space (equivalent square footage, but more of it is taken up by bathroom, closets)
TINY “bedroom” loft area
Few hardware companies nearby to apply for jobs at
No designated second car parking, street parking only for 2nd car
Ancient appliances, oven has no window
Colder climate
Far from Fry’s, Best Buy
No friends nearby
Falling down and/or knocking head on spiral staircase

After this post, my computer’s going to be packed for our move tomorrow. We should have internet Monday, so hopefully this computer break will be short.

New thing I learned today: Hillsborough is a rich town located between San Mateo and Burlingame. The city requires homes to have a minimum size of 2500sqft, keeping the neighborhood exclusive to wealthy.

Even though I’ve lived in the Bay Area most of my life, I never heard of or knew Hillsborough existed until I started researching apartments in Burlingame and San Mateo (Hillsborough obviously doesn’t have any apartments). Apparently, Martin Yan lives there!

Related posts:

1. Free burritos came (and coming) to Campbell
2. Trudy’s Brides – Larger bridal salon for (higher) mid-range gowns in Campbell
3. I’m home… I think?
4. My car gives me too much anxiety.
5. New apartment means no internet (for now)