Mountain View and Sunnyvale both have a decent number of "reasonable" areas, though that's all a relative term. I moved out here about a year ago and was looking for something with a balance of affordability, comfort, and location (near Stanford). Most of Palo Alto was out of the question because of price, and I never really felt comfortable (safe) in East Palo Alto or the parts of Palo Alto near 101. Going north, Menlo Park and Atherton are even more expensive. Redwood City can be somewhat cheaper but neither the area nor the apartments were in great shape.

So, that leaves Mountain View and Sunnyvale. Both cities are very safe and quiet (maybe too quiet for some). There are a lot of apartments in these two cities which aren't ridiculously expensive. However, most of the apartment complexes are relatively small, so your best bet is to come down here and drive around and see which complexes meet your needs.

I personally moved to Mountain View near Rengstorff Ave. and California St., an area we call "apartment city" because the housing is so dense. It's quiet and residential and there's a lot of shopping within walking distance. I definitely recommend this area, but you should still come down and check it out before signing a lease.

As an aside, I've got some experience with startups in education. I worked for a couple successful startups in higher education, and almost founded a K-12 company in the spring. Drop me an email if you'd like to share war stories -- now, or after you move.

Hey man! Thanks a lot. This is all great stuff.

We actually visited a place very near 'apartment city' today. Not bad. I like MV a lot, despite it being quiet. I figure we can also go into the city and, without distractions, work is bound to flow.

I'll stay in touch!

Used to work in Sunnyvale and I have friends who live in San Jose and Mountain View. Have lived in SF, Foster City, Burlingame, and San Mateo now.

Sunnyvale got its wide variety of low cost rent places and decent Indian and Cheap and good Asian food places. El Camino Real is basically a mobius loop of America e.g. McDonalds, Starbucks, Ethnic Zone, repeat. Sister used to live in Mountain View off 85 by the Albertsons. Personally, if you're gonna live in Mountain View, somewhere close to downtown Castro Street would be cool to get food and beers and that kind of stuff. A bunch of startups (Meebo?) are around that area too.

Foster City is quiet. They have a bunch of golf courses and a Costco going for it. San Mateo is just about in the middle of everything, I like it because of the laid back downtown and being 5 min from the airport, 15 min from SV, 20 min (no traffic) from the city. That being said, San Mateo dies after 9pm. So if you're one of those party types lookin for a midnight saturnalia, the city is your only hope.

Hey man, thanks a lot for the overview. This is some of the best information I've gotten yet.

We've seen a bunch of places in Palo Alto and Mountain View that we could see ourselves living in. We've walked around Castro and University Ave's to get a feel for those city centers.

Thanks particularly descriptions of those other areas I've haven't heard about but now see popping up in the craigslist ings.

No prob man. Startup guys should help each other out :D.

Drop by san mateo some time. Drive up 101 and get off the 3rd Avenue exit heading West. Check out the area around 2nd to 4th Avenue, and B Street to El Camino. Got a movie theater, a Japanese Tea Garden and Central Park that hosts Free Concerts and Outdoor Shakespeare events, Caltrain station, and Ramen shops galore. Not to mention there are/were a bunch of techs that made it big time here. Youtube and Napster to name a few.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q...

I guess while we're on the topic, I might as well kill it with TMI. The city in itself has its own little zones and flavors. I'm sure there are readers more familiar with the intricacies of each area, but Mission is really grunge and you could get mugged but in a cool way kinda thing. Major street cred if you pull a startup off from the Mission. SOMA has a bunch of newly minted apartment buildings. There are quite a few startup incubators (e.g. South Park) and existing startups (Six Apart) in the area. You'll also find office sharing available in that area. North Beach has its coffee shops and food. Potrero Hill is cheap and got its share of bars and convenient local good eats. On the west side of the city you got Golden Gate, Sunset, New Chinatown. If Soma and the Financial District are the respectable areas but culturally dead (unless you count Pacbell Park and Sony Metreon as culture) and Mission is the Wild Indie Fest, the rest are all somewhere in-between. Worth looking at if you're concerned about fit. And you can't afford Pacific Heights so skip it. Friend of mine was thinking of moving out to Russian Hill, claimed it was nice and close to a lot of clubs so it was convenient for the wink wink. OH yeah. Check out the Castro too. Walk ALL around the area... thats where you whip out your leather pants with no buttcheeks.