
Atlanta to San Francisco: What I Learned Moving Cross-Country - PStamatiou
http://paulstamatiou.com/atlanta-to-san-francisco-moving-cross-country
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maxklein
I've moved around a lot, but bigger distances (Asia, a lot within Europe
Europe, Africa), and one thing I've noticed is that the more you move, the
more you abstract away the particular details of the place and focus on a
start of bigger picture.

For example, if I move now, I'd focus on food (supermarkets, restaurants) and
transport, and once I have understood, I'd be basically comfortable already,
and I'd just let the gaps like neighbourhood and so on fill themselves out
automatically.

It's a bit sad in a way - that sense of seeing something new and unexpected is
now lost to me. All my recent travels are just a variation on something I've
seen before, even if to supposedly exotic places.

~~~
mpare
I noticed the same pattern as I've been moving around the last few years.

Transportation is huge -- there was a big difference for me moving even just
two metro stops farther from my job in Paris.

Jonah Lehrer wrote a post on this a while ago:
<http://scienceblogs.com/cortex/2010/03/commuting.php>

    
    
        According to the calculations of Frey and Stutzer, a person with a one-hour commute 
        has to earn 40 percent more money to be as satisfied with life as someone who walks to 
        the office.

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brm
Its always interesting to me to see people's reactions when moving from poorly
planned sprawling cities to some of the better planned more organically laid
out cities in the US (DC, NY, Chicago, Portland, SF, etc) your quality of life
changes drastically when you get to leave the car behind and walk around or
just hop on efficient public transit and go anywhere you want.

I'm moving from the east coast to Seattle this week and I'm most excited about
the idea of crossing a continent. Its amazing how our mind can underestimate
the size of the US and how few and far between chances to take a true cross
country road trip are.

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yellowbkpk
I could not agree more. I've taken Amtrak's Empire Builder from Chicago to
Seattle and Portland several times and each time the size of the US was simply
awesome.

I highly recommend doing it. In the fall and winter the cross country ticket
is $170 each way and if you upgrade to a roomette, $300 each way (meals
included).

Sitting for a dinner chat with a different group for 3 nights in a row +
staring out the window at Glacier National Park is definitely worth the cost.

~~~
asmithmd1
You can thank me for subsidizing that low cost with my Boston - NYC trips
which cost well over $100 each way. Often you can fly from Boston to LaGuardia
for less than the train. High fares on the east coast routes subsidize those
cheap cross country "named" trains.

Pro tip: Never buy a ticket on a named train i.e. "Empire Builder",
"Vermonter" when just trying to get between cities - they are frequently many
hours late.

Oh, and that Verizon wireless commercial that shows a guy spotting a good
looking girl already on a train and he quickly changes his ticket using his
smart phone; that can't be done, not even with a voice call. To change an
Amtrak ticket you have to physically take the ticket to a ticket window.

Just about every time I take Amtrak I get pissed-off by the high cost and
indifferent service.

~~~
yellowbkpk
> You can thank me for subsidizing that low cost with my Boston - NYC trips
> which cost well over $100 each way. Often you can fly from Boston to
> LaGuardia for less than the train. High fares on the east coast routes
> subsidize those cheap cross country "named" trains.

Thanks, but federal and state tax dollars are also a major subsidy source
(especially on the Empire Builder which is one of the main sources of tourists
for Idaho/Wyoming/etc.).

> Pro tip: Never buy a ticket on a named train i.e. "Empire Builder",
> "Vermonter" when just trying to get between cities - they are frequently
> many hours late.

You're right, but they've been getting better. Especially since winter, when
the weather wreaked havoc on the system. See
<http://www.trainweb.org/capt/AmtrakMapsForward.html> for "real time"
calculated location of the trains and how late they are.

> Oh, and that Verizon wireless commercial that shows a guy spotting a good
> looking girl already on a train and he quickly changes his ticket using his
> smart phone; that can't be done, not even with a voice call. To change an
> Amtrak ticket you have to physically take the ticket to a ticket window.

I've changed tickets several times over the phone and online. They ask you to
go to the counter to verify ID, but if you swipe your card at the FasTrak
station you can get the new ticket printed just fine.

> Just about every time I take Amtrak I get pissed-off by the high cost and
> indifferent service.

I've had the exact opposite experience. On the Empire Builder, the staff is
always courteous (even to unruly passengers) and is genuinely interested in
the wellbeing of the passengers. I've made friends with some of the workers at
the smaller Amtrak stations along the EB route -- they make for great
conversation when you're waiting for the train.

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_delirium
I've found the public-transit comparison decidedly more mixed than a clear "SF
wins". Admittedly, I lived in midtown in Atlanta, and mostly went to other
places that have good subway service: Decatur, downtown, Buckhead, the
airport, etc. To get to other places, the buses are kind of lame, but I
wouldn't say they're any more lame than Muni's terrible buses. I did have a
car, but I rarely drove; probably once every few weeks, mostly to visit
friends who lived in the suburbs. In SF, meanwhile, the city is
_geographically tiny_ and yet still somehow cannot run a decent public-transit
system. I can _jog_ from the Richmond or Sunset to Caltrain faster than Muni
can get me there.

I will say that the Bay Area as a whole does suburban commuter rail better,
because of BART and Caltrain. MARTA has a little of it, but it doesn't extend
nearly as far outside the urban core as BART and Caltrain do. Though do note
that if you plan to visit the Valley, there are plenty of places that aren't
that easy to get to via Caltrain.

~~~
timdorr
I would say the main deficiency with MARTA's buses is frequency, not the
number of options. MUNI's buses run way more frequently I've found when
visiting SF.

~~~
thesethings
Exactly. MUNI (SF's bus service) is by many measures irresponsible,
incompetent, and corrupt. It even runs a late a lot. But the density of the
city simply creates such a high frequency of buses, and coverage of routes,
that it results in a very practical, pragmatic service to use. Even really
well off people often don't have cars in SF just because having a car is more
of a hassle than taking the bus/BART/extremely occasional cab. We know from
Paul's blog (awesome blog, Paul!) that he really likes cars. When even he is
thinking of ditching it, it says a lot about the service.

Sidebar: I currently live in Portland, which has an award-winning bus/rail
service. And it is true, it's awesome. The drivers are polite, and often
really care about urban planning/civic stuff. The buses are clean, the
documentation/data/maps/API well-done.

But because Portland is so much less dense than SF, it still means that in
many cases, taking a bus here is more of a drag, and cars more common. (On a
personal note, I've gotten way more into biking since moving here from SF.)

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barnaby
Nice.

I moved out to SF 6 months ago from upstate NY. Rent is expensive, but my
girlfriend and got an apartment for $1,200/month, 1 bedroom, 1
livingroom/kitchen, 1 bath. And there's an L stop right out front of our
door... though, it does take 20 minutes to get downtown on it, we're in the
sunset.

I got rid of a lot of stuff while moving too. It's better that way. I
recommend that to everybody who's moving: stuff is expensive not valuable,
just get rid of it, buy new stuff at Ikea (1 futon bed, 2 dressers, 1 table, 2
bedside tables plus lamps, all for just over $1,000).

Since we flew out here (I sold my car, she had hers shipped out here) I'd say
we spent under $5,000 on the move.

It's totally awesome out here. Worth every penny!

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qq66
I couldn't give away my dog :(

~~~
PStamatiou
It was a hard choice to make. :-/ But she'll be much better off with someone
at home more often, with a backyard and a more active lifestyle/running with
her. She was mainly black lab with some chow and pitbull so I took her to the
dog park for a good 90 minutes every other day to keep her energy levels in
check and not destroy the apartment too much haha.

~~~
alabut
We've got three of them in the isocket office - you're welcome to visit and
get your dog fix anytime. Especially if you stop by after our product launch
this week so we can do another usability testing session. It's come a long way
since you saw it last :)

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rjett
If you have a driving partner, I would recommend a cross-country driving trip
to everyone. A few months ago I moved from Charlottesville, VA out to the Bay
Area. I stopped in Memphis, Amarillo, Phoenix, LA and drove up highway 101
from there. It's a weird feeling to describe, but driving across the entire
country almost gives you a renewed sense of patriotism.

Oh yeah almost forgot... drive the speed limit in Texas.

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catch23
I moved from Atlanta (I'm also a tech grad) to SF as well. I had to move back
down to the south bay where it was at warm at least once a year. Since I
landed a job before I went, they paid for the move, which in retrospect was a
bad decision because I just ended up moving everything instead of
selling/trashing the stuff I rarely use.

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mschaecher
I was happy to read this post as I am moving to SF on June 26. And it sounds
like we roughly had the same budgeting done, except I plan to live with
roommates so that will save me some money.

Renting a place off AirBnB for a week while I find a place with roommates. Got
rid of almost all of my possessions except for essential computers, clothes,
and books. Shipping the computers and clothes that I can't take with me on the
flight. Storing the books until I feel like i live in a somewhat permanent
place and want them shipped out.

I can't wait to not have a car. Shipping my bike out as soon as I get a place.
Going to have a TransLink Muni/Bart pass and a ZipCar card on me as soon as I
hit the ground. Plan on using the ZipCar for those rare instances when I need
a car/truck. Like my maiden voyage to Ikea for a desk, bed, and maiden Trader
Joes grocery trip.

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twoism
I just made this same move a couple months ago. I got a job out here. So my
girlfriend and I sold most everything, including my car and drove over with 2
cats. While I can't recommend driving across the country with two cats, I can
say that I am glad we got rid of everything. Purging yourself of all your
things and starting over is an interesting experience. I have never been one
to acquire lots of stuff but I had my share. Getting rid of it all helps you
realize how small you can live and still be happy.

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seiji
How I did it (starting January 2008):

    
    
      - Drove from Atlanta to Long Beach with dog in back seat.
      - Rented room in Long Beach for three months (found on craigslist).
      - Found it wasn't working with Long Beach co-founder.
      - Drove to San Jose and stayed with friend for three months.
      - Realized startup wasn't working.  Got job.  Got apartment.
      - Still in San Jose needing to jumpstart a startup.
    

I find it amusing when people go through the "self discovery" phase of seeing
how they "feel" about everything. I prefer the more direct approach of "move
there and figure it out as you go along."

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endlessvoid94
I'm doing this in a week, actually. And I'll be couchsurfing for the
forseeable future, living out of my backpack. I can't wait. Road trip and then
SF!

This post was extremely valuable for me. Thanks.

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jf
Have you checked out Noisebridge yet?

~~~
PStamatiou
I haven't - this is something I'll have to do considering they are in the
Mission too! Thanks

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rumpelstiltskin
Kudos on the move. How's skribit doing btw?

