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Why is MTV a "pit"? Decent-ish downtown with a Michelin starred restaurant, plenty of parks, good library, relatively bike-able, rapidly densifying and adding h

Why is MTV a "pit"? Decent-ish downtown with a Michelin starred restaurant, plenty of parks, good library, relatively bike-able, rapidly densifying and adding housing. Caltrain goes to SF, you can drive easily north to Napa or Tahoe or south to all the beaches. It doesn't have any world-class attractions, hip nightclubs, renowned museums, or acclaimed architecture but that's not the point of the city, and honestly most cities in the world don't have those things. Overall it's a pretty good place to live if you ignore the price of housing - which is a regional problem.

hadlock 8y ago
MTV just kind of blends in with every other white middle-upper class neighborhood in America, it is as bland as off-brand vanilla ice cream to the end of blunting your senses. To a lot of people living in such a place is a huge mark of success... to many other people, that is the environment they grew up in and are trying to escape. See also: the movie Pleasantville.
- mc32 8y ago
  I don't think blandness is bad in and of itself. One could describe many places all over the world as "bland" from an insider's perspective but perhaps interesting from an outsider's perspective. Not only that, but may cities and towns which experience turmoil, econ decline, etc., would sell themselves off for "bland" success. Bland means you've made it. Singapore is "bland" Yokohama is "bland". One could say life is not "bland" in the Donbass region. Santiago might be bland, but Rio de Janeiro is not bland. I'd wager many of the non-bland places would trade an arm to be successfully bland. Busan used to be gritty. Now it's a "bland" city. Furthermore, even foreign transplants who settle in foreign places be they from India, China, Russia, Nigeria, etc., if they can, they settle in these so-called 'bland' cities, if they can. I have not yet heard anyone going to Paris saying, you know what, I'm going to settle in one of the exciting arrondisements --nevermind those other places most people gravitate to.
  - Apocryphon 8y ago
    Neither Austin nor Portland is bland. You don't have to talk about outliers like NYC, or NOLA- there are plenty of mid-sized, second-tier, or middling burgs in the U.S. that are more exciting than San Jose and have comparable standards of living.
- jogjayr 8y ago
  "bland" != "pit". I can understand being bored by MTV (everyone likes different things) but your quality of life is not going to be poor. And for people interested in skiing, wine, and outdoor recreation on the weekends, it's far from "bland". It's pretty awesome to have world-class slopes, wineries, national and state parks, and beaches in a 3-hour drive radius. I can't think of many places in the world that offer all that + a booming tech industry (mind this applies to many cities in the Bay Area, not just MTV). One of the themes of Pleasantville was the insularity and closed-off-ness of the town - literally in a geographical sense (only at the end do buses start going to out of town). Whereas MTV conveniently places you close to awesome things that you can access easily, while still having a good career. There are other equally prosperous and thriving cities in the US that I would consider to be a distinct step down in terms of quality of life.
- usaar333 8y ago
  > MTV just kind of blends in with every other white middle-upper class neighborhood in America, Mountain view isn't as exciting as living in a cultural center (SF and Oakland being them), but it's a lot better than most of the places you compare it to. First, it's actually majority non white, meaning you get a lot of cultural diversity you'd miss in elsewhere "white middle upper class neighborhoods". Secondly, has access to great outdoors and weather. (Not all places in the city limits, but close enough). Interesting tech scene (especially if you count next door Palo Alto) Decent downtown for a city its size. And reasonably dense by American suburb standards. While not SF, it also isn't full of the mcmansion type housing found in other affluent suburbs.
groby_b 8y ago
You mean there is a restaurant with a star? Hold the presses. Yes, there's more than one restaurant. The quality for the vast majority of them is barely scratching at "mediocre". At pricing that's well beyond "ridiculous luxury". As for "parks" - that's not a park. That's a quarter city block with trees (Cuesta Park. Which is by far the biggest "park"). "Rapidly densifying". /lolsob. Adding a few four-story buildings isn't "densifying". "adding housing" - sure, if you don't mind paying a fortune for mediocre places. 1br for the amount of money that buys you a 3br w/ pool in LA. And sure, I can drive to Napa. Or Tahoe. Or south to the beaches. But that's not Mountain View, that's Northern California. That's like saying Gary, Indiana is a great city because you can drive to Chicago. Culturally it is almost completely dead. Art? Music? Dance? Just forget it. In terms of diversity, yeah, no. Unless you like living in a culturally dead suburban monoculture, it's not a city I'd recommend to anybody.
- seppin 8y ago
  > Culturally it is almost completely dead. Art? Music? Dance? Just forget it. In terms of diversity, yeah, no. Yep, when I say to people that the south bay is completely devoid of anything resembling culture they still look at me funny. Until they go, that is.
  - jogjayr 8y ago
    > devoid of anything resembling culture they still look at me funny Because it's hyperbole - it's not a literally true statement. The Bay Area is culturally middling. It's no Paris or NY or even Atlanta - unless we count Valley tech culture's influence on the world, which obviously is immense. But it has its share of museums, theaters, music venues, and good food.
    - seppin 8y ago
      It's strip malls and chain restaurants with far too much concrete everywhere. And for what you do get, absurdly overpriced.
- akhilcacharya 8y ago

hadlock 8y ago

MTV just kind of blends in with every other white middle-upper class neighborhood in America, it is as bland as off-brand vanilla ice cream to the end of blunting your senses. To a lot of people living in such a place is a huge mark of success... to many other people, that is the environment they grew up in and are trying to escape. See also: the movie Pleasantville.

mc32 8y ago
I don't think blandness is bad in and of itself. One could describe many places all over the world as "bland" from an insider's perspective but perhaps interesting from an outsider's perspective. Not only that, but may cities and towns which experience turmoil, econ decline, etc., would sell themselves off for "bland" success. Bland means you've made it. Singapore is "bland" Yokohama is "bland". One could say life is not "bland" in the Donbass region. Santiago might be bland, but Rio de Janeiro is not bland. I'd wager many of the non-bland places would trade an arm to be successfully bland. Busan used to be gritty. Now it's a "bland" city. Furthermore, even foreign transplants who settle in foreign places be they from India, China, Russia, Nigeria, etc., if they can, they settle in these so-called 'bland' cities, if they can. I have not yet heard anyone going to Paris saying, you know what, I'm going to settle in one of the exciting arrondisements --nevermind those other places most people gravitate to.
- Apocryphon 8y ago
  Neither Austin nor Portland is bland. You don't have to talk about outliers like NYC, or NOLA- there are plenty of mid-sized, second-tier, or middling burgs in the U.S. that are more exciting than San Jose and have comparable standards of living.
jogjayr 8y ago
"bland" != "pit". I can understand being bored by MTV (everyone likes different things) but your quality of life is not going to be poor. And for people interested in skiing, wine, and outdoor recreation on the weekends, it's far from "bland". It's pretty awesome to have world-class slopes, wineries, national and state parks, and beaches in a 3-hour drive radius. I can't think of many places in the world that offer all that + a booming tech industry (mind this applies to many cities in the Bay Area, not just MTV). One of the themes of Pleasantville was the insularity and closed-off-ness of the town - literally in a geographical sense (only at the end do buses start going to out of town). Whereas MTV conveniently places you close to awesome things that you can access easily, while still having a good career. There are other equally prosperous and thriving cities in the US that I would consider to be a distinct step down in terms of quality of life.
usaar333 8y ago
> MTV just kind of blends in with every other white middle-upper class neighborhood in America, Mountain view isn't as exciting as living in a cultural center (SF and Oakland being them), but it's a lot better than most of the places you compare it to. First, it's actually majority non white, meaning you get a lot of cultural diversity you'd miss in elsewhere "white middle upper class neighborhoods". Secondly, has access to great outdoors and weather. (Not all places in the city limits, but close enough). Interesting tech scene (especially if you count next door Palo Alto) Decent downtown for a city its size. And reasonably dense by American suburb standards. While not SF, it also isn't full of the mcmansion type housing found in other affluent suburbs.

groby_b 8y ago

You mean there is a restaurant with a star? Hold the presses. Yes, there's more than one restaurant. The quality for the vast majority of them is barely scratching at "mediocre". At pricing that's well beyond "ridiculous luxury". As for "parks" - that's not a park. That's a quarter city block with trees (Cuesta Park. Which is by far the biggest "park"). "Rapidly densifying". /lolsob. Adding a few four-story buildings isn't "densifying". "adding housing" - sure, if you don't mind paying a fortune for mediocre places. 1br for the amount of money that buys you a 3br w/ pool in LA. And sure, I can drive to Napa. Or Tahoe. Or south to the beaches. But that's not Mountain View, that's Northern California. That's like saying Gary, Indiana is a great city because you can drive to Chicago. Culturally it is almost completely dead. Art? Music? Dance? Just forget it. In terms of diversity, yeah, no. Unless you like living in a culturally dead suburban monoculture, it's not a city I'd recommend to anybody.

seppin 8y ago
> Culturally it is almost completely dead. Art? Music? Dance? Just forget it. In terms of diversity, yeah, no. Yep, when I say to people that the south bay is completely devoid of anything resembling culture they still look at me funny. Until they go, that is.
- jogjayr 8y ago
  > devoid of anything resembling culture they still look at me funny Because it's hyperbole - it's not a literally true statement. The Bay Area is culturally middling. It's no Paris or NY or even Atlanta - unless we count Valley tech culture's influence on the world, which obviously is immense. But it has its share of museums, theaters, music venues, and good food.
  - seppin 8y ago
    It's strip malls and chain restaurants with far too much concrete everywhere. And for what you do get, absurdly overpriced.
akhilcacharya 8y ago