From: tcmay@netcom.com (Timothy C. May)
Newsgroups: ba.singles
Subject: Re: Driving people from the net
Date: 6 Oct 92 21:05:31 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services  (408 241-9760 guest)
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5

Ron Drake (Jawara@AppleLink.Apple.COM) wrote:

: 
: Coyote Creek Park, Vasona, Club Oasis, Los Gatos, the Santa Cruz mountains,
: Alum Rock Park, Mt. Hamilton, Shoreline, Ravenswood Wildlife Preserve,
: Palo Alto/Stanford, Baylands Park, Rancho San Antonio, Skyline, Stevens
: Creek Park (especially after a heavy rain), Niles Canyon, Mirassou,
: Ridge, Almaden, Mt. View Center for the Performing Arts, any Hobee's,
: Coffee Society in Cupertino, Mountain Charley's, PJ's, San Jose Live,

[rest of his excellent suggestions removed. When I read them I was
practically humming the Billy Joel tune "We Didn't Start the Fire."]

A fantastic, information-rich post! Thanks.

I moved to the South Bay in 1974, to work for Intel. Sure, the Valley
was a bit less crowded, but not as uncrowded as some may think. There
were more orchards, to be sure, but look at the average age of houses
in the residential neighborhoods of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale,
etc....most were built in the building boom of the 50s and 60s. Even
the giant apartment complexes, such as the (in)famous one at the
corner of El Camino and Wolfe, whose name I've temporarily forgotten,
was mostly finished when I first visited the area in 1973.

In my 12 years in the Valley I found it to be pleasant, with lots of
options, as Ron Drake and others have noted. I did spend 2 rain-soaked
years in the supposed eco-paradise of Oregon, and boy was I ever glad
to get back to sunny California!

However, I've since moved to the Santa Cruz area, the better to be
near the ocean, the redwoods (in my back yard), Ano Nuevo, UC Santa
Cruz, Nisene Marks forest, the Catalyst, New Brighton State Beach,
Monterey, the Mystery Spot, earthquake-ravaged downtown Santa Cruz,
miles of pristine beaches, Soquel, and the oh so strange politics and
milieu of this area. 

I get over to the Valley about once a week or so, for parties, for
shopping at Fry's/Weird Stuff/Computer Literacy/Computerware (It's an
ironic twist that my favorite shopping complex, the 4 stores just
mentioned that lie off Lawrence Expressway, was until around 1979 an
_orchard_), and for seeing friends. Traffic on the freeways is
increasing, but seems mostly manageable.

For those who hate the strip mall atmosphere, but who don't want to
move as far away as either SF or Santa Cruz, you might want to look at
Palo Alto and points north. Palo Alto's a bit pricey (so is SF), but
the atmosphere's very nice. And let me tell you this: in 1974,
University Avenue rolled up the sidewalks at dusk...things were dead,
dead , dead. In the past dozen years, it's become a major night spot,
with great bookstores, restaurants, and all kinds of activities open
late into the night. A good tradeoff for loss of some orchards, in my
opinion.

--Cheers


-- 
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