An Intern Guide to a Summer in the Bay Area
alexeymk.com
alexeymk.com
The other nice thing is that if you're an intern under 21, Berkeley is enough of a college town to entertain you despite that.
If you're the kind of person who finds it hard to "bump into people" then I recommend you structure your life around commuting via public transit. People are already bored and usually willing to have a quick chat, especially if they have a laptop open and working on something neat.
I worry these coffee shops might be getting oversold here, though. If you do run into a mathematician he'll be too busy thinking about mathematics to talk to you. :)
- Go walk around a old growth Redwood grove. It's peaceful, impressive, and gives you an interesting perspective. Big Basin is the most accessible: From 101, take the Lawrence Expwy exit and just head south for a long while. There is a great little .5 mile "trail" with some of the most impressive trees.
- Drive down to the Big Sur area. It's about 2hrs drive from the Mtn View area, so a day trip. The drive is the highlight, but check out McWay falls (flat 0.3 mi hike) and Pfeiffer Beach (purple sand, natural arch with waves/sunset coming through). Pfeiffer Beaches turnoff is unmarked, so research in advance.
- Tour Alcatraz. Plan this at least a week in advance though.
- Rent a kayak and spend an afternoon on Elkhorn Slough in Monterey Bay. No experience necessary. Kayaking right past sea lions and otters is guaranteed. Visit Phil's Fish Market next door in Moss Landing when done.
- Visit Yosemite valley. You can generally get a tent cabin in Curry Village with almost no lead time for a reasonable price. Yosemite Valley is crowded but truly iconic.
Other than Yosemite, all of these are easy day trips.
Before this summer I knew almost no one else interested in startups or who read hn. Silicon Valley is the center of that universe, and it attracts the best students from all over the country. Nothing is more valuable than taking advantage of that energy.
I think Alexey agrees, because he seemed to know every intern in the valley this summer. In all, great advice!
If you're somewhere with no WiFi, you just plug your phone (in my case, a MyTouch 4G) into your laptop and set it to tethering mode. After hitting your cap (200MB, 1GB, or 2GB), your connection slows down but is still quite usable. No overage charges, no kill switch (but alas, slow video).
Likewise, when you are somewhere with WiFi but no cell phone signal, T-mobile will seamlessly route your calls over your phone's WiFi connection.
I bring this up because people still mention WiFi (in the article in regards to a cafe, and now here in regards to transit) as if it really matters anymore. For $60 a month, you can get 200 Anytime minutes, unlimited messaging, unlimited data, and connectivity everywhere that you have cell phone service; $10 more gives you unlimited calling, too.
Oh, and they have great, patient, helpful customer service. I don't work for them or benefit from this post in any way, I'm just a very satisfied customer.
Just another reason to oppose the ATT merger attempt. No doubt ATT will ruin all that if they get their grubby hands on TMo.
VMobile's plan is $25 for 300 minutes, unlimited data/text, throttled after hitting a similar cap.
Depending on where you travel, coverage may be better or worse than TMobile.
- Go to a GitHub drinkup
- Rent a car for the day and drive on CA-1 S to Monterey. Visit the aquarium.
- Check out the Thursday-night "Nightlife" event at The Academy of Sciences
- Enjoy SF's music, food, and cocktail scenes
- Network
Though I do recommend visiting the Aquarium in Monterey, the Exploratorium and the California Academy of Sciences (During the day if you're under 21)
I lived in the middle of the Tenderloin (Hyde and Ellis) for 14 months and my startup's office is currently a block from "the most dangerous corner in the city" (Mission and 6th). My girlfriend lived in the deep Mission from age 6-10. I find I'm accosted for change significantly less often in the TL compared to the "richer" areas of the city. The way it seems to me, the homeless and drug addicted that frequent the TL are "at home" when there, when they "go to work" they head to the touristy areas where people have money to ask for.
The time I've spent in the TL has also been a great learning experience with regards to understanding less fortunate people. I've had a lot of really interesting (and quite a few rather weird) interactions with drug addicts, prostitutes, and homeless. They really aren't a group that needs to be feared. They're just people trying to figure out a way to live with the cards they were dealt and a lot really appreciate the chance to talk to someone and tell their story. Its how I learned heroin dealers don't accept coins.
These more gritty areas of the city aren't nearly as dangerous as people make them out to be. Yes, if you walk down a back alley without assessing beforehand you might run into a bad situation, but this is true anywhere in the city. Being street-smart is a necessary skill no matter where you live in SF. The illegal activity that occurs in these areas (drugs/prostitution) doesn't and won't involve you if you don't get involved with it.
I know I'm rambling and waxing philosophical, but I find myself regularly defending these neighborhoods cause people just don't give them a chance. Go get lunch in a "bad area" sometime, you'll be surprised.
Otherwise, great post. Forwarded to a friend who's about to move out after college.
Tech is fun and all, but man, all summer? Really? Where are the art gallery recommendations? Culture precints? Good music venues? I know a lot of that is personal taste, but there is far more to life than tech.
Did you go to or hear about any of the github hangouts? I've heard from some people in SF that those attract a lot of tech people.
With that being said, if you're an amazing engineer you can just reach out directly to the founders of startups you'd like to work for. They'll listen.