Ask HN: Where in SF Bay Area should I live?
Which areas do you recommend where I’d be close enough (within 45 min drive) to tech scene and interesting meetups?
If you want to raise a family and have schoolgoing children, then I'd suggest the original Silicon Valley, as it is pretty much suburbia with a lot of things geared toward children. If you have no children and never plan on having them, then San Francisco and environs are better suited to you (SF is one of the most childless big cities in the USA). If you do not mind a commute on public transport then you can live across the bay in Berkeley and surrounding areas also. Finally, San Jose and surrounding areas are also home to a large and varied array of tech companies but there is less of an environment for getting together with other tech people and such, which happens more often in the other two major areas I have mentioned. However, San Jose is surrounded by lovely towns such as Saratoga and Los Gatos, and is also reachable from Santa Cruz (the commute is dangerous and can wear you out), which is great if you like beaches and surfing.
Pricewise, San Francisco is very expensive, then Palo Alto, Mountain View, Berkeley, Sunnyvale, and San Jose areas. San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley have much higher levels of property crime than the other areas, and also have a much bigger homeless problem. These can affect your quality of living, so choose wisely.
Also which area would you say is a good balance between the crime and things to do? All I've got is a pet, couple laptops and monitors.