“Silicon Valley is
a mindset,
not a location.” 
Reid Hoffman

If you look at a map of Northern California, you will not see an area designated as “Silicon Valley.” This is because, as LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman so astutely pointed out, “Silicon Valley is a mindset, not a location.”

The term Silicon Valley is often used interchangeably with the names Santa Clara Valley or Santa Clara County. The term valley refers to the fact that the county is situated between the Diablo Mountain Range to the east and the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west. Santa Clara County is a conglomeration of cities and towns stretching from Palo Alto to Gilroy. The City of San José, which at one time served as the State Capital, is the largest city in the county. This is where I live.

To say that one lives in San José, however, is quite vague. If I were to travel from Home Depot on South DeAnza Boulevard (San José) to visit Rebecca the Balloon Lady on Pegasus Court (San José), the distance traveled would be about twenty miles. Keep in mind that San Francisco is only seven miles by seven miles — 49 square miles. San José is 180 square miles.   

My home is located in West San José. (See red dot on image above.) It’s an ideal place to live, because I can easily walk from my home to the communities of Campbell, Cupertino, and Santa Clara. Of these destinations, my favorite, by far, is the City of Campbell. They have a charming downtown with a variety of excellent restaurants, a number of quaint coffee shops, a few pubs, and an awesome ice cream shop. From time to time, live music is performed inside or outside some of the local businesses. During the summer months, the city hosts free weekly outdoor concerts for the community. Downtown Campbell is located a mere three miles from my home.

Living in West San José also affords easy access to the Westgate Shopping Center (2 miles), Santa Row (2 miles), and Westfield Valley Fair Mall (2.2 miles). Oh, and I should mention that it’s a short one-mile walk to the Paris Baguette Bakery!

To be honest, I don’t relate to the term Silicon Valley. I didn’t work in the tech sector. If I did, perhaps I’d be living in Saratoga, Monte Sereno, or Los Gatos. When I’m around techies, and they start conversing about the latest technological innovations, they may as well be speaking Greek. Not surprisingly, while I have a number of acquaintances who are techies, none are among those I would call close friends. 

While the nickname Silicon Valley may be creative and attractive to many, I prefer to simply say that I live in the South Bay. This term refers to our location within the San Francisco Bay Area. With the options of Interstate 280 and Highway 101, The City (that’s San Francisco) is a comfortable one-hour drive from my home. And for those who prefer not to drive, a CalTrain ride from Diridon Station in San José to the San Francisco CalTrain station at 4th & Townsend takes only one hour and 18 minutes. It’s nice to have this option.

So that’s it. I live in West San José — where the weather is ideal, the traffic can be downright dreadful, home prices and rents are outrageously high, and our delightful neighbors come from every corner of the world to live here. It’s a mixed bag, for sure, but I am grateful to call San José my home.