Silicon Valley Infrastructure Overview

Introduction

The last four years I have been living and working as a programmer in the USA, in Silicon Valley. During this time I have accumulated some observations that I would like to share. I will focus on infrastructure issues: how about transport, the Internet, roads, crime, water, entertainment, etc. I will only talk about what I met with myself. I hope this post will be of interest to specialists who are thinking about working in the valley.

Means of transport

Roads and vehicles
The first thing I noted when I came to the valley was the excellent quality of the roads. On the main highway there are usually four lanes in each direction. You can often drive into the left lane only when there is more than one person in the car. The speed limit is usually 105 km / h. Speed ​​control is carried out by the police, stopping the fastest citizens. I must say that for 120 km / h usually do not stop; but for 130 km / h can write out a fine. These two statements are verified by experience.
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City streets vary in size: from one to, perhaps, four lanes in one direction. The speed limit is 40 km / h in residential areas and up to 72 km / h on major roads. There are no “main road” and “secondary road” signs, but “give way” and “stop” signs are used. The traffic lights are working properly, but a couple of times it happened that the traffic light hung on red and had to go like that.
A nice feature of the ride is turning right at the red light. So, having approached the red light, the driver should stop, skip the cars and turn right on the rightmost lane. It is necessary to stop: at some intersections there are automatic cameras that take a picture of the intruder. Chambers are working quickly; tested by experience.

Motor transport is quite affordable means of transportation. Due to the favorable climate, cars age slowly, so there are quite a lot of cars from all periods of the 20th century on the streets. Used cars are not very expensive. If prices are interesting, then you can look through craigslist site: a lot of ads are published on it.

For Russian rights, you can ride for several months. Getting American rights is not a big deal: you have to pass theory and driving. It seems to me that it is more difficult to implement Dijkstra’s algorithm than to pass on the rights in California.

Drivers in the valley are quite polite, almost always giving way to pedestrians and other drivers. Non-verbal communication is very common: on the “stop” sign, waving a hand to another driver, they say, pass. Or wave a pedestrian, they say, go, miss. They usually respond with a smile and an open palm, they say, thank you.

Public transport
Probably, someone will not agree with this, but I have the impression that public transport in the valley is extremely useless.
For the sake of this article, I traveled to work by public transport for the last three weeks. I used the Caltrain train going across the valley. The train stops are often located far from the destination. The train is usually late by no more than 10 minutes. However, once a train was delayed for “indefinite” time at one of the stations. Of course, it was on that day that I could not be late for a meeting.
Buses run very irregularly. Stops are not located everywhere.
Taxi is not enough. Get on an arbitrary street and catch the car is almost impossible. However, sometimes there is a taxi in the evening in the centers of local towns, often close to bars.

Bicycles
There are few cyclists on the streets, but the conditions for them are very favorable. Many streets have a special lane for cyclists. Drivers are usually inferior to bicycles. It is impossible to ride bicycles on the highway, but almost anywhere can be reached on ordinary roads. It's nice that public transport provides space for bicycles. So, in Caltrain there is a special car in which you can attach an iron friend to the rail and sit nearby.

Used bikes are very affordable. Specific prices can be viewed on craigslist . Bicycle can also be rented.

Although cyclists are few, they willingly help if something happens. In the event of a breakdown, it is very likely that someone will stop and offer assistance or indicate the address of the nearest workshop. Tested by experience.

Basic amenities

Water and electricity
Hot and cold water seems to work very stably. For four years, the water was turned off only once - the line was repaired. Water quality is acceptable: I constantly drink water from the tap and never got sick from it.

Electricity in the US 120V / 60Hz, type A and B sockets. Electricity was turned off twice in four years, both times, it seems, because of the storm.

the Internet
There are several internet providers in the valley. I used only Comcast . The Internet never failed, the connection almost always had decent speed. For example, now speedtest.net shows 25 Mbit / s for download and 4 Mbit / s download. However, I must say that I have heard a lot of horror stories about Comcast’s technical support staff and the complex bureaucracy within the company. Fortunately, I didn’t have to face it.

cellular
There are several cellular providers in the valley. I used AT & T only . The quality of communication is unsatisfactory. Calls are constantly broken, 3G shows two sticks almost everywhere. Tariff plans, in my opinion, are not flexible enough. Once I had to deal with the technical support of the operator. I was able to solve the problem only by shouting obscenities and threatening the court ( small claims court , to be precise).

From the words of my acquaintances, I know that other operators do not differ in the quality of communication or technical support.

It should be noted that on the basic plans, both the subscriber who sent them and the subscriber who received them pay for incoming calls and SMS.

It seems to me that one of the big problems of cellular communication is the binding of phones to specific operators. So, some devices can be purchased only with a contract for a couple of years. Plans without a phone exist, but you can meet the most unexpected limitations.

post office
There are a number of postal services: public and some private. All work very well. Parcels arrive on time, in good condition. For four years, not one of my letters or packages was lost. Perhaps the most unpleasant was the case when I ordered four large glass frames and one came with a crack.

Postmen try to throw parcels on the balcony. Some homes have special boxes for parcels: the bundle is placed in an iron box, and the key to it is in the recipient's mailbox. In good areas, parcels are simply left in front of the door. In general, I have never heard that someone from my friends stole the package.

Money
Calculation between citizens and businesses is carried out in different ways. Here is a description of the main ways:

• Cash. Used very rarely. I usually carry no more than $ 10 in cash. Almost all daily calculations are carried out by cards.
• Debit cards. Accepted almost everywhere. In order to issue such a card, you only need a passport. Let me remind you that a debit card is when there is an account in the bank, and when calculating money is withdrawn directly from it. I must say that I rarely use a debit card, I use a credit card for most purchases.
• Credit cards. Accepted almost everywhere. This card can be issued in the bank. When I made out my first card, I was asked to pay a deposit. After six months of use, I seemed to prove that I was not a camel, the deposit was returned and a normal account was opened. It is convenient to pay with these cards both on the Internet, and at gas stations, and even in restaurants, where there is a special “tip” column in the check.
• Personal checks. After I opened the bank account, they sent me a pack of personal checks. I used these checks when large sums are to be transferred. For example, once a month I send the owner of the apartment a check with the rent. When I bought the car, I paid the seller with the same check. To a friend who bought tickets for everyone, I also gave the money by check. However, checks have one drawback: I can write a check for an amount that I do not possess. Then the one to whom I wrote the check will not be able to cash the check in the bank, and, most likely, will be very unhappy. Here come the following types of payment.
• Money order and Cashier's check . These two types of paperwork are essentially the same thing: a check, for the payment of which a bank or a large organization guarantees. To get such a piece of paper, you must first give them your money. I used this type of payment only to pay for services of some state institutions. For example, Russian and Canadian consulates.

Emergency help
Ambulance and the police arrive very quickly, within 10 minutes. As the car travels, the 911 operators stay on the line and give advice on what to do until help arrives. Verified by experience.
I must say that on the roads and highways, ambulances and firefighters are always let through. Even in the worst traffic jam, I saw emergency cars making their way through a swarm of cars.

A life

Medical insurance
Medical care is available with insurance. Many employers pay for employee insurance. Insurance in the United States seemed to me one of the worst institutions. You must be very careful when choosing a plan. You can choose an HMO plan when all services are performed in one clinic or PPO , when the patient can choose the doctor. An incorrect choice of the type of insurance for a couple with a non-standard illness can lead to very large bills for treatment (around tens of thousands of dollars). Fortunately, I have never faced any serious problems, so I only know about horror stories from the words of my acquaintances.

Car insurance and accidents
Basic car insurance is required. Mandatory insurance must pay for damage to another car (such as OSAGO). I used only insurance from Geico . My car is fully insured (like CASCO).

I illustrate the work of the insurance company: once I crashed into a healthy jeep. The fault was completely mine. The driver of the jeep laughed, swept away pieces of my car from his iron bumper, took from me information about my insurance company, gave his information and drove on. A few minutes later the police arrived at the scene. They helped pull my car out of the way. Upon learning that there were no victims and the other side of me did not need anything, the officers left without even asking for my name. I called a tow truck and took the broken car to my favorite service. After I called the insurance company and told about the incident and the service where I took the car. Then I gave the service information about my insurance company and went home. I followed the further process via the Internet: Agnet from an insurance company came to the service, sfotkal damage, put them on the site, approved the price of repair. A couple of weeks later I stopped and took the car. The cost of repair was about $ 7,000, I paid a deductible of $ 1000.

Crime
In the valley there are areas where the locals did not recommend me to appear. Kill is not killed, but they can put a knife and demand money. However, as I have already noted, the police arrive at the scene of the crime rather quickly. Verified by experience.

In San Francisco, there are a lot of homeless people on the streets. Most of them seem harmless. However, in the evening I am not very pleasant to walk around the city. I must say that in the valley of the homeless is not so much. The centers of local towns in the evening are more pleasant.

Housing
I rented only apartments in apartment complexes. Prices seem pretty reasonable. For specific numbers, I would again turn to craigslist .

The complexes can be a swimming pool, a small gym, a tennis court or private parking. These facilities and the location of the complex determine the cost of living. In all the complexes in which I lived, the owner paid for water and garbage collection, and I paid for electricity. In one of the complexes the apartment was equipped with a gas heater: I also had to pay for gas myself.

I have never met unpleasant neighbors. However, I must say that some of my friends had to live next to strange people. To the usual troubles like a drum or very passionate quarrels, a peculiar smell from the kitchen is added here.

Interestingly, not every complex allows pets. Friends say that cats are more likely to be allowed than dogs.

The shops
There are a lot of shops in the valley. You can find products for every taste. I will try to describe by category:

• Food. It should be noted that there are many products in stores with suspiciously long shelf lives. However, you can find shops that sell fresh meat, fruits, vegetables and bread. In addition to the usual self-service stores there are markets. Markets, farmers' market gather on certain days. There you can buy fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers and some ready-made food directly from farmers.
• Russians. There are several Russian shops in the valley. There you can find a doctor sausage, black bread, kvass, sprats, cottage cheese and books in Russian. These stores also have newspapers in Russian. These newspapers can follow the life of the Russian community.
• Housekeeping. There are quite a few shops, usually self-service stores. I will only note that because of the English system of measures it is very difficult to choose the right size of building materials.
• Clothing stores. You can find shops for every taste: from the cheapest to the rather expensive. An hour from the valley, in the city ​​of Gilroy , there are dozens of stores selling branded clothing with a good discount. I usually go there a couple of times a year and buy everything I need on the same day.
• Electronics stores, bookstores and other. These stores are definitely offline. However, most purchases I made through Amazon or eBay

restaurants and bars
The choice of restaurants in the valley is great. Almost all cuisines are presented: from American to Ethiopian. It should be noted that the nationality of the restaurant often coincides with the nationality of the chef. Usually, it is possible to have a very decent lunch for $ 12. The cost of dinner is highly dependent on the restaurant, ordered food and alcohol. There are very few restaurants of Russian cuisine, and in those that are, the atmosphere is recreated very precisely.

There are quite a few bars in the valley. Since alcohol cannot be sold after 2 am, many bars close quite early. For example, one of my favorite places, Gourmet Haus Staudt , closes at about 22 o'clock. The kitchen closes for about 20 hours. By the way, it was in this bar that Apple’s employee once lost the prototype iPhone 4 .

Earthquakes
Silicon Valley is located on the San Andreas Fault . Because of this, earthquakes in the valley are not uncommon. For four years I remember three earthquakes: the walls reeled and some things fell to the floor. These, of course, were fairly minor cases. However, large earthquakes occurred not long ago. It is always very interesting to watch the current earthquakes on the website of the US Geological Survey .

It is also worth noting that most insurances do not cover damage from earthquakes.

Smoking
Smoking is prohibited in most public places. Bars, restaurants, night clubs - there is this ban everywhere. Alongside some institutions hang signs: "Smoking within a radius of five meters is prohibited." Most rented apartments and hotels prohibit smoking inside. Smoking on the balcony is usually possible.

Cigarettes are sold almost in many food stores. Almost every town in Silicon Valley has a special tobacco shop with cigars, tobacco for pipes, etc. Often, these stores have a special room for smoking.

Free time

Museums and concerts
In the valley of museums and concerts is quite small. Behind this, you usually have to go to San Francisco. There, however, all abound.
The permanent collections of major museums did not seem very wide to me. However, temporary exhibitions are changed a couple of times a year. Often come exhibitions from Europe. For example, last year came a very interesting exhibition of the Impressionists from the Museum d'Orsay.

Modern and classical music is presented very widely. I managed to listen to my favorite electronic band, Russian ska band, and Temirkanov's touring concert.

Cinemas
You can watch a movie anywhere. There are a lot of modern cinemas. Interestingly, tickets are sold without seats: buy a ticket for a movie, go through control and sit down where there is a place. Places are usually there. However, if you come to the premiere of a famous film, you can stand in line and look at the fans in the costumes of the characters.
I want to mention the cinema in Stanford : they show old black and white American films. You can get to the right movie, where taped on the organ.

Hobbies and sports
Support for various hobbies is very wide. Whatever I do, be it calligraphy, or typography, or microelectronics, or photography, or drawing - for all there was a small shop with all accessories and a club of the same enthusiasts.

Sports equipment and clubs are also very well represented. I, alas, do not do much sports. However, my friends and play a football player with colleagues, and play hockey, and run the annual marathon in San Francisco, and play tennis.

Travels
Silicon Valley is located in the center of California. San Francisco can be reached in an hour, Los Angeles in seven hours. In winter you can ski and snowboard at Lake Tahoe, which is four hours away. In the summer, it's nice to walk in Yosemite Park, also four hours away. It is worth noting that in the valley itself there are quite a lot of parks where you can have a great walk, run or ride bicycles.
The nearest access to the ocean is an hour away. The water is cold all year round. I used to splash only once on a hot day. Ran much faster than ran.

From San Francisco you can fly to different parts of the United States. A ticket to New York costs about $ 400. Aircraft work properly, I have never met with delays or loss of baggage.

Conclusion

I cannot claim objectivity. And yet, I hope that my review seemed interesting to you.

I will be glad to any additions and questions on the topic.

UPD. I highly recommend reading comments on this post. There are many interesting things there: approximate prices, ocean temperature and the problem of medical marijuana.