Between now and December in Silicon Valley

[april]

(to save any confusion - I am an Aussie woman living in Japan and my boyfriend is Japanese).

My boyfriend just found out yesterday that he is to start his 3 month job training near San Francisco as of this Sunday. Very short notice!

We have looked up the climate and it seems it is mild. Are jeans and a couple of sweaters sufficient?

Is it possible for him to buy Japanese grocery items? I know there are Japanese restaurants, but can he buy such things as mirin, miso paste and cooking sake in Asian grocery stores?

What forms of ID are required for getting a video rental card and library card? Would his passport be enough?

Anything else anyone can tell us about this area is most welcome! Thanks!

[Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin]

Hi April, I'm from Seattle and both cities are very "alternative diet" friendly. I was vegan for 15 years and ate a lot of mirin and miso. SF should have everything you'd both want, although maybe not in the conventional grocery stores. I shopped Puget Consumer Coop, which is a chain grocery store carrying a wide variety of alternative foods. I'm not sure if it goes down as south as SF, but if not, I'm sure you'll find other similar shops.

As for weather, it can get a bit windy and cold. My husband travels to SF quarterly on business, and on his last visit (July) it was quite warm. However, for his next visit in October he's planning on bringing plenty of warm clothing.

I'm not sure about the ID situation, although I'd guess they'll want some assurance that he has a local residence.

[april]

Hello thanks for that!
When you say cold, do you mean thermal underwear, thick overcoat, scarf and gloves kinda cold? Or would a wind jacket and couple of sweaters be okay?

[Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin]

Wind jacket and sweaters should be ample. Of course I'm speaking as someone used to Seattle/Hastings cold. If you're from a warmer area you'll be affected more than I am. Today it's supposed to be about 22°C, so as you can imagine, the temperature varies a lot season to season.

Gorgeous area, by the way. Bring a camera!

[KimB]

For the time period you are thinking about, you should not need heavy winter clothes, but sweaters, windbreakers and perhaps raingear are a good idea. Also, you will still likely have some muggy summer days.

Also, you should not have a problem finding specialty food markets close to SF. Plus, I've been told there is a reasonably large Asian population in the area. If you have any trouble, SF is a very multi-cultural city and has many many asian markets.

[nomad]

April,

I take it you're already in SF. I live in Palo Alto, 40 minutes away. I have been here as an American with my family of 3 young boys and American husband since last August.

Previously, we lived in Eindhoven, Holland for 3 1/2 yrs.

I haven't seen rain much this summer. Actually, the last time was infrequent and around Spring. There is a Japanese quarter in a building downtown SF.

As for the weather, it does cool off quite a bit at night during Fall/Winter and even during summer.

Hope you're enjoying life in SF...it's a beautiful city filled with culture and great architecture at which to stare...!

I cannot answer your other questions!
Cheers,
Nomad

[april]

Thanks everyone! This has made packing his suitcase a lot easier.

Unfortunately though Nomad, it will only be my boyfriend going (he leaves in a few days), I have to remain in Tokyo for my job. :-( He is really looking forward to it, though a bit worried about driving around. They drive on the left in Japan, and living in Tokyo, he rarely drives. I haven't heard anybody say anything negative about San Francisco so that sounds very promising. We may end up living there one day so that is great news!

[april]

UPDATE: Well he's been in San Francisco almost a week now and is loving it. He hired a car and says he can't believe how great and convenient it is to drive around. This I am very surprised about because he always said he hated driving! I guess driving in Japan is something altogether different. He found a Japanese supermarket which has everything under the sun and it thrilled about it, though he didn't tell me which one.
Thanks again for all the responses!

[Penguins_Pet_Pumpkin]

That's great, April! How's he doing with the video and library cards? Any joy?

[april]

He hasn't mentioned them but I doubt he has tried as yet. He has to do a lot of reading for his job so that'll keep him occupied for quite a while. I'll letcha know when he does.