A whole different planet...or is it?

By Linda Petersen
Posted 5/25/16

I am here in San Jose, California, visiting my son, his lovely wife, and our soon to be 2 year old granddaughter. San Jose is a whole different planet than any city in Rhode Island! My first lesson occurred at Walmart, which we almost passed by because

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A whole different planet...or is it?

Posted

I am here in San Jose, California, visiting my son, his lovely wife, and our soon to be 2 year old granddaughter.  San Jose is a whole different planet than any city in Rhode Island!  My first lesson occurred at Walmart, which we almost passed by because of the cleverly disguised, short, socially appropriate sign surrounded by brightly blooming flowers. (No tall signs or buildings allowed!)  After filling the shopping cart with survival supplies, suntan lotion, toothpaste and toothbrushes, beach towels, gum, chips and dip, magazines to read by the pool, and various other sundries and foods, I waited in line, checked out and learned that stores in San Jose do not believe in wasting bags by giving them to customers!  Bad for the environment. Bad for me who had to get all of the items to the car, filling every nook and cranny, cramming sun tan lotion in my bra, beach towels on my head, gum and snacks overflowing from my pockets and items lined up and held precariously between my arm and the side of my body. By the time I got to the car, items exploded from everywhere, dumping onto the back seat of the rental car, like clowns climbing out of a clown car.  Note to self: next time I go shopping in San Jose, I will bring my own bags!  

Getting my favorite Dunkin Donuts was a challenge because none were to be found.  San Josettes are addicted to Starbucks, where there seems to be one on every corner. My son told me they opened a Dunkin Donuts a few cities over and the cars were lined up three blocks down with 2 hour wait. It will probably be a long time before there is a Dunkin Donuts on every corner!   

Gas is much more expensive at $3.26 a gallon!  Unlike Rhode Islanders who won’t drive more than 15 minutes to get to a favorite location, San Josettes must drive at least 45 minutes to get anywhere of any interest.  Up to 2 hours if there is traffic. And then another 2 hours back.  Drive 6 hours to Disneyland?  4 hours to Lake Tahoe?  No big deal.  

Houses in San Jose are similar to those Rhode Island.  Take a $200,000, small, 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, with a tiny backyard and add a million dollars in front of the price! There are not anystandard houses on the market for less than a million.  The reason, of course, is all of the computer and tech companies in Silicon Valley where people make more money and the price and demand for houses goes up.  Fine for the techies, but what about the grocery store workers, nurses and teachers?

One great thing about San Jose is the variety of restaurants.  I have not seen a single “chain” restaurant; McDonald’s, Burger King or Applebees.  I did see an Outback Steakhouse, but, like the other San Jose restaurants, it has an outside courtyard where you can eat and bring your favorite hairy creature.  (NO, not my hubby, but a dog!) At most of the unique restaurants, children’s meals include “grilled chicken breast, grilled shrimp or wild salmon with rice and vegetables.” Not a chicken finger, hot dog or cheeseburger in sight.  Children are not told what to do, but are asked what they WANT to do. Sound odd?  Not when it is done right: “Do you want to eat your peas or your fish first?”  “Do you want to hold daddy’s or mommy’s hand when we cross the street?”  Children obey much more readily if given a choice in which way they want to obey!

The hotel we are staying at, a couple of blocks down from the enormous E-Bay campus, a few miles from Apple and Google, has more foreign TV channels than English channels; Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Spanish.  Although one would expect there to be many Spanish speaking people in California, there are actually more Indian and Asian people in Silicon Valley, people recruited from countries with advanced educational systems focusing on computers and technology. Recruiters from the tech companies travel the world to find the best workers.

The most interesting thing I have seen are cars on the road with no drivers-the Google self-driving cars going for joy rides throughout the city for practice and as an advertisement of the genius involved in designing such a car.  In the years they have been on the road, there have been 6 accidents, none of them Google’s fault.  My son, who is visually impaired, is patiently waiting until they are for sale to the general market. For now, he depends on Uber.  At last!  A service that is also provided in Rhode Island.  Perhaps we are not so different after all.

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  • davebarry109

    So, San JOse recruits talented, highly educated people from all over the world....RI recruits 35,000 illegal aliens?

    Tuesday, May 31, 2016 Report this