West Side Story

People from the Midwest, myself included, often think of California and thoughts of million dollar homes and high gas prices come to mind. And the million dollar homes of course aren’t the same variety as you’d find in Kansas. To put it in perspective, you’d probably be spending in the range of $500,000 for a two-bedroom condo. But California is one clever little state. It quickly seduces you with gorgeous weather, blooming flowers, easy access to big cities and countryside alike, and amazing views of the clouds blowing in off of the ocean. Needless to say, we’re happy with our choice of location.

While we’re definitely falling in love with our area, there are definitely things you see that make you think – and sometimes even utter – the dreaded “We’re not in Kansas any more” phrase. Some examples…*

Housing Search
I knew from the beginning that housing was not the same. It is more immediate, more urgent. We booked an appointment to view our now-apartment on Thursday evening of last week. We viewed the apartment, along with five other people before and after us, at 10 a.m. on Friday. The apartment was posted online on craigslist on Friday morning. And by 3:30 p.m., Alan and I had keys. If you’re not there when the sign goes up, you’re out of luck.

Housing Cost
We went from having an awesome 2BR apartment with all the bells and whistles you could want for $755 a month to having a 1BR, no dishwasher, no laundry, no pool, for $1100 a month. And we are thrilled! Thrilled because our other options were more in the range of $1700 a month. And I’m sorry, I’d rather be a bit cramped and do my dishes by hand than pay that much.

This is the outside of our apartment. The entry door is in the corner to the left of the garage on the right. And our living room window is above it to the left.



Food
While we’re talking costs, let me mention a few items that made my jaw drop while we were in this corner market last night. A package of Chips Ahoy cookies: $5.29. WHAT??? Chef Boyardee: $2.50. Even cans of soup are about 90 cents more than at home. Thank goodness we’re saving on rent!

Grass
There’s not much of it. Period. It’s far from all concrete and asphalt though. It’s just that in neighborhoods, things are so crowded that I think people use shrubbery and trees to block themselves off from their neighbors. Instead of front yard/sidewalk/grass/street, it’s front yard/shrubs/sidewalk/street. No little grassy patches for Marti to enjoy along the road. It’s not bad, just different.

This is the view looking up the street. The street off to the right is our street. See, no grass!



However, exciting discovery: There is a dog park that’s a two-minute walk from our apartment. I was so excited! Marti gets her freedom to roam!

Inspections
Smog checks. Yuck! To be fair, Missouri requires car inspections too, but being from Kansas I’ve never had to worry about it. Alan is currently out on the town, hitting the smog inspection place and the DMV for new plates. Thank goodness he doesn’t start work until July 1.

Dog license
I came across something on the Menlo Park city website: Every dog in the city must have a license. Exsqueeze me? What a pain.

Recycling
Recycling runs rampant throughout these parts, which is great. I read that the less trash you have, the less you get charged for garbage removal services….so therefore, it behooves apartment owners/businesses to recycle more and throw away less. Outside of our apartment, we have the regular garbage can, and aluminum, paper and plastic recycling cans as well. It definitely makes it easy to recycle. Even Chipotle has a recycle bin on its trash can:



Paranoia
The recycling bit brings me to mention the paranoia that Alan and I feel, like we’re going to break some sort of law. We feel like we might get in trouble if we do something wrong, like failing to recycle or letting Marti walk somewhere she shouldn’t. We’re always on the watch to make sure we’re abiding by the rules. I guess with limited open space, you have more people making sure you’re picking up after your dog. No more sneaking away from Marti poo for us!

Bikes
Menlo Park/Palo Alto/Stanford are all right up against each other, and people bike everywhere. It’s super bike friendly around here, with tons of bike paths, and it’s probably quicker to bike most places that are within a few miles than to drive there. Alan and I plan to get bikes to make the most of living in such a small city. No gasoline for us! (phew!)

Marti is also settling in nicely. She has discovered a great pine cone replacement: some little flowers that she discovered around our apartment. I need to look them up to make sure they're not poisonous.



*Note that these examples are from our specific town and neighborhood. I’m sure California is more diverse than just my observations. Maybe.