Seriously - I think it would make a lot more sense to commute 45 minutes to SF when you want to go to the city than to commute 45 minutes each way, each and every day. Assuming five days a week, that's a minimum of 7.5 hours each week, so maybe 375 hours a year? There are some smaller vibrant communities in the south bay that are enjoyable to live in, have lower crime rates than SF, probably cost less, and put you closer to the bay area's largest city... which hasn't been SF for a long time

I might suggest downtown Mountain View. It has both Caltrain and Light Rail service as well as a number of express busses in various directions. There are lots of restaraunts and bars popping up, and it is a growing economic center in silicon valley. Ever heard of these newfangled companies like Google? That's Mountain View. You would be near jogging / biking parks such as the bay wetlands trail and concert venues such as shoreline amphitheatre and the relatively new Mountain View CPA.

I ended up choosing downtown Los Gatos. Not such a transit center - but my job precludes me from taking mass transit. Couldn't get to many customers via rail or bus in a day.... I enjoy a reverse commute to south San Jose, I am 30 seconds from the los gatos creek trail, on which I can bike to lexington resorvior or as far as willow glen in the opposite direction. I am near a multitude of great restaraunts, the post office, hardware store, dmv, AAA, grocery stores, library, police department, town hall - I don't drive once I get home. It's not like living in the "big city" - it's more like living in a community. It depends on what level of anonymity or interaction with your neighbors you desire, I suppose. There is a free shuttle that takes you around the town or to light rail, and (this is FT after all!) I'm a straight shot down 880 to SJC. Takes me a hair over 10 minutes

And for our reference, what do you mean by 45 minutes? If you mean commuting to Santa Clara, that might be 45 minutes in clear traffic but a lot more if you drive during commute hours or have to deal with pokey CalTrain.


Let us know more specifically about what is important to you. That makes a big difference. Are you a party animal? Are you looking to follow the "in" crowd? These seem to be the only reasons I could think of that SF might be a desirable destination for someone working in the south bay.