The North Bay doesn't really count. You've got, what, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, and a few bedroom communities -- barely any tech at all. The Oakland/Berkeley/Emer

The North Bay doesn't really count. You've got, what, San Rafael, Santa Rosa, and a few bedroom communities -- barely any tech at all. The Oakland/Berkeley/Emeryville area alone probably has more jobs than the entire North Bay, and that's not counting San Francisco or other Peninsula jobs. You need to be either on Bart somewhere or on Caltrain somewhere. Then you'll have tons of options -- in San Francisco, or in the 'burbs/secondary technology areas -- and the commute can be on public transit (to avoid the awful traffic all around the Bay). And you don't NEED to move before you find a job. Suck it up and drive for two or three hours to interview if you have to. Try to get several interviews on the same day in the same area if you can. And make it clear to them that you're planning to move for the job -- some companies don't care what your commute distance is, but others do actually care how happy their people are, and assume that someone commuting 10 minutes will be happier than someone commuting two hours. Good luck.