Life in the Bay Area
Housing
Most fellows live within a 10 mile radius of Stanford in Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, or Redwood City. Living in San Francisco makes for a long commute, but it has been done. During fellowship, you will end up spending a number of months at the VA and on average, 2 months a year going down to the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC), so this may be something to consider when choosing a place to live. While the Bay Area is arguably one of the nicest places to live, it unfortunately also has some of the most expensive housing in the country. Here are some resources to help you find a place to live.
Local:
Welch Road: http://med.stanford.edu/gme/current_residents/documents/WelchRoadApplication.pdf
Stanford West: http://stanfordwest.stanford.edu/
Oak Creek Apartments http://www.oakcreekapts.com/
The Greater Bay Area:
Craigslist is a great resource @ http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/
Transportation
This site will give you a lot of information about getting around campus and the local area: http://transportation.stanford.edu/
Parking:
For the most part, you will need a car to get around fellowship. Parking at the VA and SCVMC are free. For Stanford, you will need to purchase a parking permit. “A” permits lots are closest to the hospital. “C” permit lots are farther away but much less expensive.http://transportation.stanford.edu/parking_info/campus-hospital-worksites.shtml#hospital
Public Transportation:
This link provides a comprehensive list of public transportation that services the Stanford area (http://transportation.stanford.edu/alt_transportation/BayAreaTransit.shtml)
Caltrain is a commuter rail service that runs from San Francisco to Gilroy and is a common means of transportation for people commuting to and from Stanford (http://www.caltrain.com)
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) has bus service to Stanford and light rail service in the South Bay (http://www.vta.org)
The Marguerite Shuttle is a free service from Stanford, open to the public, that travels around campus and connects to nearby transit hubs (e.g. Caltrain stations) and the local area (http://transportation.stanford.edu/marguerite/)
As a hospital employee, you can get a Caltain Go Pass and a VTA EcoPass, which allows for unlimited travel on Caltrain and the VTA, for free if you do not live in the immediate Palo Alto area (http://transportation.stanford.edu/alt_transportation/EcoPass.shtml)
Fun Stuff
While fellowship will fill up a lot of hours, you will definitely have some free time. When you’re not sleeping, here are some ideas of things you might want to do.
Around Stanford: http://www.stanford.edu/campuslife/
Stanford Sports: http://www.gostanford.com/
As fellows, you are eligible to get a Stanford University Courtesy Card (Stanford ID). This give you access to a number of campus facilities including libraries and athletic facilities (http://cardinalrec.stanford.edu. To get your Courtesy Card, take your photo ID and go to:
George Forsythe Hall, 275 Panama St, Rm 135, Open Monday-Friday 8 AM - 5 PM. 650 498 CARD (8-2273)
https://itservices.stanford.edu/campuscard/courtesycard
The Greater Bay Area / Silicon Valley:
Stanford is within 40 miles of three major California cities: San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. With this comes world-class arts, theater, music, and professional teams from all of the major sports. For those who enjoy outdoor activities, the Bay Area is a paradise. On top of that, we are within easy driving distance to some of the most majestic outdoor spaces in the country, including Monterrey (1.5 hrs), Lake Tahoe (3-4 hrs) and Muir Woods (1 hr).
