OT-Thinking about relocating to the Bay area

I'm going to check out San Francisco this weekend. I love jazz but AZ isn't the place for it. I moved to Manhattan for a while and I loved it but my wife hated it, so I moved back to AZ. She likes Cali and I've heard that they have a pretty good jazz scene in the bay area so we're going to look into it this weekend. I was wondering if anyone could recommend some hot spots for a musician such as myself. I would also like to make a good first impression on Wifey, so what's a good place to stay/dine/recreate? Thanks.

I would HIGHLY recommend NOT moving to the bay area. No offense to any bay people. I was born & raised there, lived there for 28 years, moved exactly one year ago, and have never looked back. I loved growing up in the bay area, but it's far too over crowded now, and you can forget about ever owning a decent home! And lastly, what once used to be a GREAT music scene has turned into a barren wasteland. I'm in the Portland area now, and I really can't say enough great things about it. Great people, great music, affordable housing and beautiful surroundings. Granted you have to like the rain and the job market is not the greatest right now, but it's not great in the bay area either. Anyhoo - that's my 2 cents. You may love the bay area, but I would highly suggest that you spent a LARGE amount of time traveling around the area, and researching all aspects of life before moving.

By the way... There's a Jazz fest in SF starting on Oct 23.

APAULOS, I live here. I love it. The Bay Area is really close to a lot of 'California' stuff - SF, the South Bay, the Sierra's, the beach, skiing, surfing. The food here really does rival the best in the world, the wine country beats everywhere else in the world for that sort of stuff. Life is good here, once you're in the game. BRB is totally right about how the Bay Area has changed. It is horribly crowded up here now, no so much that living is bad, but driving around is terrible and getting worse. Unemployment up here is higher than the rest of CA right now. Silicon Valley is sucking big time for jobs. There are recording studios around and a lot of things going on here, but not as many big-name things seem to be happening here first like there used to be. Come if your strong technically, but be prepared for some shocks. The cost-of-living here is terribly high. I bought this house, my second since living here, 9 years ago. It's on the market starting this week for more than $1,000,000 more than I paid for it. I don't think you can get a small, run down house in a moderate neighborhood for less than $500K any more. Rent is high everywhere. 10 more years and I'll be ready to pack it in and move to San Luis Obisbo and see if I can link up with John Anderson, or up to the mountains somwhere. (I saw Bloux's review of Rush down in LA. - Yes hangs in SLO a lot now...) Personally I couldn't live in SF itself. It's too 'enclosed' for my tastes, but it is a cool place to visit for the weekend. Do the Beach Blanket Babylon scene when you visit to get a feel for the 'real' SF. It's a hell of a town, as Joe Jackson might say about another place in the U.S. Anyway, as for jazz there is a lot going on, but it isn't N.Y.C. - I tend to like the Santa Cruz jazz scene a bit more than SF or Oakland, but that's just me. If you guys want to do it, you'll love it I'm sure, but do it with your eyes open. It's a financially 'challenging' environment these days, but without a doubt one of the best places to live once you're in and settled. Good luck, Mark

Moved from Phoenix/Tucson to East Bay area 5 yrs ago, then just moved up to Chico, Ca. last year. Everything everyone is saying (good & bad) is true. Great place to visit (definitly do the Beach Blanket Babylon gig), lousy place to live due to housing prices, cost of living, traffic congestion, etc. If you have to be in the Bay Area, look at living in the East Bay area, Walnut Creek, Concord, Dublin, etc. Close to all the amenities - less (but not devoid) of the bad stuff. Use to live in Sacramento too, & LOVED it there - less than 2 hrs. to SF. Housing prices?...we bought a 1400sq.ft. circa 70's house for $185K and sold it 3 yrs. later for $327K. Same crappy house, but the market has artificially inflated values. That's my 2-bits worth...Good luck on your decision. p.s., If you're in Phoenix, say hi to my buddy Barry at Synthony Music! AWESOME synth/recording stuff store...kpl