achowdry

Castro St (not to be confused with the one in San Francisco) is full of a variety of high-quality and affordable restaurants that are open for both lunch and dinner. Its proximity to the Caltrain station tends to inflate rents higher than surrounding neighborhoods, but considering the excellent atmosphere and cleanliness of the area, its worth the extra cost.

While the area is more urban than it is green, the park services clearly work hard to maintain the trees lining the streets. Most everything is within walking distance: from the food to the Kaiser hospital a few blocks down the road. Both the Caltrain and the light rail stop at the neighborhood station and provide access to the city of San Francisco and San Jose, respectively. Both are bike-friendly.

If you happen to drive, Castro St. also has plenty of free public parking, making it easy to invite your friends over for a night out or suggest it as a gathering place. I've never found parking to be a problem, even on busy Friday nights, which is unique in the bay area.

All of Mountain View benefits from this, but Castro St. also has access to free public WiFi from Google. Its not the greatest, in terms of speed or reliability, but its very convenient when you're stuck waiting at the station or just need some information, on the go.

All in all, this is a wonderful place to live if you're mobile, young, and adventurous. Its not nearly as expensive as similar places in San Francisco but its easy enough to get there, if you want, along with being safer and quieter.