5 ms·

There's not anything else worth doing in Sunnyvale besides working. Being in a part of the country that seems super nice, but is actually very dull, is part of

by rdouble 13y ago

There's not anything else worth doing in Sunnyvale besides working. Being in a part of the country that seems super nice, but is actually very dull, is part of the Silicon Valley economic miracle.

7Figures2Commas 13y ago
C'mon now. Sunnyvale isn't Las Vegas, but most of the time, "there's nothing else worth doing here besides working" is simply an excuse. And not a very convincing one at that.
- rdouble 13y ago
  Can you name five things to do in Sunnyvale when you're bored?
  - ryandrake 13y ago
    Go to Mountain View?
    - deleted 13y ago
      [deleted]
  - jedberg 13y ago
    Eat (lots of great restaurant) Drink (lots of fun bars) Hike (plenty of hiking trails in the nearby mountains, biking trails, etc) See a movie (lots of great theaters) Hang out (lots of great open spaces, big parks, and downtown sunnyvale is nice to just hang out). Now, to be fair, I live in Cupertino (right next to Sunnyvale) and I would rather live in Berkeley or SF, because there is certainly MORE to do, but Sunnyvale isn't THAT bad. If you can't find something to do, you're probably just being lazy.
  - 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
    I'll give you 10: 1. If you like the outdoors, there are plenty of wonderful places to run/hike/bike in the South Bay/Peninsula. 2. There are frequent sporting events at HP Pavilion. 3. Sunnyvale may not be Paris, but museums and art galleries do exist in the area. 4. The diversity and quality of Bay Area restaurants is unrivaled. 5. Nightlife can be found in San Jose. 6. For weekend getaways, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and Napa are all within reasonable driving distance. 7. Like most metropolitan areas, there are tons of gyms where you can stay in shape and meet people. 8. Meetups of all types abound in the Bay Area. 9. If you like shopping or window shopping, you could do a lot worse than Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row. 10. A lot of the downtowns in the area are great for grabbing a cup of coffee and people watching.
    - rdouble 13y ago
      I lived in the area for years. I know what there is to do in the Bay Area in general. None of the stuff to do is in Sunnyvale. It's nice (sorta), but it's boring. That's sort of the point of the suburbs. The skatepark is pretty good, though.
      - ChuckMcM 13y ago
        To be fair you could take Sunnyvale and draw a circle around it the same size as a "fun" place and see how much you got there. But the whole 'south bay is boring' narrative has always been weak for the same reason that equating 'walking in poo in the tenderloin' with it being 'edgy' is weak. There is a pretty active club scene on Murphy street, there are great restaurants on Sunnyvale a few miles up in Mtn View, a few miles south in Cupertino, and a few miles south in Santa Clara. You've got hiking and parks with wetlands and concert venues (Shoreline, Great America, HP Pavilion), soon you'll have NFL football and world cup Soccer nearby, and you've got an amusement park with concerts and roller coasters, and you've got quicker access to the mountains, and the Steven's creek trail for some excellent biking, running, and walking. Downtown Palo Alto is a quick train trip, where you can walk from the University Ave station to pretty much anywhere. What you don't have are some high density urban buildings. More of those are coming with the Murphy Park build but they will still not be high rise apartment/condos. Its not clear to me what the buys you, but it is a difference. And yes, I'm a bit defensive when people say "its so boring and plastic" (or words to that effect) but getting them to say what is 'not boring' or 'not plastic' seems unexpressable. I'd love to know what makes a for a 'non-boring' place if you have a list.
        rdouble 13y ago
        For myself, there are a few criteria. First is the visitor test. If my family members comes to visit me, can I give them a week's worth of stuff to do that is nearby, or are we driving over an hour each way to find something to do? Would my relatives in Australia be stoked if they came to visit me, or would they be bummed they skipped over Hawaii and Disneyland? Second, can I easily meet new people outside of work? Third, is there a good bookstore? Fourth, can I do outdoor sports I like, such as bicycling and skateboarding easily, or is it a headache and/or dangerous? Lastly, if I didn't have to work here, would I still live here? A few places I've lived, such as NYC, Tokyo and Paris, have had all these things, but also a whole bunch of other stuff going on I wouldn't have ever thought of. A few other ones have had all this stuff, but didn't really surprise me in any way, like SF, Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland. Most places I've been meet some of these criteria, but not all. I found that Cupertino did not have anything on my wish list, and also didn't have any other stuff going on that I wouldn't have thought of. In addition, there was a lot of stuff that seemed additionally negative: driving everywhere, expensive, bad rental properties, mediocre food, etc.
  - nostrademons 13y ago
    Do you not have 5 friends? I can name about 5 friends' houses that I like to go over to and hang out.
    - rdouble 13y ago
      Not in Sunnyvale.

by rdouble 13y ago

There's not anything else worth doing in Sunnyvale besides working. Being in a part of the country that seems super nice, but is actually very dull, is part of the Silicon Valley economic miracle.

7Figures2Commas 13y ago

C'mon now. Sunnyvale isn't Las Vegas, but most of the time, "there's nothing else worth doing here besides working" is simply an excuse. And not a very convincing one at that.

rdouble 13y ago
Can you name five things to do in Sunnyvale when you're bored?
- ryandrake 13y ago
  Go to Mountain View?
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
- jedberg 13y ago
  Eat (lots of great restaurant) Drink (lots of fun bars) Hike (plenty of hiking trails in the nearby mountains, biking trails, etc) See a movie (lots of great theaters) Hang out (lots of great open spaces, big parks, and downtown sunnyvale is nice to just hang out). Now, to be fair, I live in Cupertino (right next to Sunnyvale) and I would rather live in Berkeley or SF, because there is certainly MORE to do, but Sunnyvale isn't THAT bad. If you can't find something to do, you're probably just being lazy.
- 7Figures2Commas 13y ago
  I'll give you 10: 1. If you like the outdoors, there are plenty of wonderful places to run/hike/bike in the South Bay/Peninsula. 2. There are frequent sporting events at HP Pavilion. 3. Sunnyvale may not be Paris, but museums and art galleries do exist in the area. 4. The diversity and quality of Bay Area restaurants is unrivaled. 5. Nightlife can be found in San Jose. 6. For weekend getaways, Santa Cruz, Half Moon Bay and Napa are all within reasonable driving distance. 7. Like most metropolitan areas, there are tons of gyms where you can stay in shape and meet people. 8. Meetups of all types abound in the Bay Area. 9. If you like shopping or window shopping, you could do a lot worse than Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row. 10. A lot of the downtowns in the area are great for grabbing a cup of coffee and people watching.
  - rdouble 13y ago
    I lived in the area for years. I know what there is to do in the Bay Area in general. None of the stuff to do is in Sunnyvale. It's nice (sorta), but it's boring. That's sort of the point of the suburbs. The skatepark is pretty good, though.
    - ChuckMcM 13y ago
      To be fair you could take Sunnyvale and draw a circle around it the same size as a "fun" place and see how much you got there. But the whole 'south bay is boring' narrative has always been weak for the same reason that equating 'walking in poo in the tenderloin' with it being 'edgy' is weak. There is a pretty active club scene on Murphy street, there are great restaurants on Sunnyvale a few miles up in Mtn View, a few miles south in Cupertino, and a few miles south in Santa Clara. You've got hiking and parks with wetlands and concert venues (Shoreline, Great America, HP Pavilion), soon you'll have NFL football and world cup Soccer nearby, and you've got an amusement park with concerts and roller coasters, and you've got quicker access to the mountains, and the Steven's creek trail for some excellent biking, running, and walking. Downtown Palo Alto is a quick train trip, where you can walk from the University Ave station to pretty much anywhere. What you don't have are some high density urban buildings. More of those are coming with the Murphy Park build but they will still not be high rise apartment/condos. Its not clear to me what the buys you, but it is a difference. And yes, I'm a bit defensive when people say "its so boring and plastic" (or words to that effect) but getting them to say what is 'not boring' or 'not plastic' seems unexpressable. I'd love to know what makes a for a 'non-boring' place if you have a list.
      - rdouble 13y ago
        For myself, there are a few criteria. First is the visitor test. If my family members comes to visit me, can I give them a week's worth of stuff to do that is nearby, or are we driving over an hour each way to find something to do? Would my relatives in Australia be stoked if they came to visit me, or would they be bummed they skipped over Hawaii and Disneyland? Second, can I easily meet new people outside of work? Third, is there a good bookstore? Fourth, can I do outdoor sports I like, such as bicycling and skateboarding easily, or is it a headache and/or dangerous? Lastly, if I didn't have to work here, would I still live here? A few places I've lived, such as NYC, Tokyo and Paris, have had all these things, but also a whole bunch of other stuff going on I wouldn't have ever thought of. A few other ones have had all this stuff, but didn't really surprise me in any way, like SF, Boston, Minneapolis, Seattle and Portland. Most places I've been meet some of these criteria, but not all. I found that Cupertino did not have anything on my wish list, and also didn't have any other stuff going on that I wouldn't have thought of. In addition, there was a lot of stuff that seemed additionally negative: driving everywhere, expensive, bad rental properties, mediocre food, etc.
- nostrademons 13y ago
  Do you not have 5 friends? I can name about 5 friends' houses that I like to go over to and hang out.
  - rdouble 13y ago
    Not in Sunnyvale.