International Fellow To Do List

We do not guarantee the correctness of the information listed here, but we do hope it can be a help to you.

Housing

Online resources

• Adam's guide

Miscellaneous recommendations

• Jerome advices:
  "I lived there during those five months"... The adress is : 2215 Williams Street 94306 PALO ALTO It's near crossroad of California and El Camino, about 15 minutes from SRI either with the bus or with a bike. The landlady, living alone, is : Susan Collins phone number (works for work and home): 650 323 4000 Description: $600 (September 98) It's a room in a one-floor house, furnished, shared bathroom, patio (possibility to make bbq), there's a big shared living room and a also a shared TV room, and a well furnished kitchen. The woman is really nice, I had all freedom in the house at any time. Moreover, with her work she's often gone, so I didn't see her a lot. No noise, no particular problems. Pets: 2 cats and a little dog. There's a phone in the room. The bed is single, but there's another one under it so it can be arranged like a two people-bed.

Cars

Buy vs. Rent

• For two month or less, rent a car

  It's fine for a very short time but you have to get a week rate instead of the day rate. It is possible to find something for about $100 a week (Woodside area, 851-2627)

• For more than two months, buy a car

  It's possible to find a running car for about $1000 but it's better to spend a little more money to get a good one. There are several papers where you'll find some ads:

  • Diablo Dealer, free everywhere in this area
  • Palo Alto Weekly , every Wednesday and Friday, 50c
  • Menlo Park Almanac, 50c
  • Auto Trader, every Friday, $1.25
  • Online: Webfoot
  • To receive a mail every day: Classifieds

After buying a car

Register a car

• Do it yourself

  You have to register using the paper you got when you buy the car. It takes a lot of time. The fee depends on the car. Go to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles, 595 Showers Dr. Mountain View 968-0610 OR 300 Brewster Ave. Redwood City 368-2837)

• AAA solution

  They do everything for you. It costs about $50 a year to become a AAA member, but in addition to registering the vehicle for you, they provide many services including free towing, personalized trip maps, etc.

  The closest AAA office is on Forest avenue, Palo Alto (321-0470).

Insure a car

• 6 months or less

  You just have to find an insurance office. The nearest must be at 671-A Oak Grove in Menlo Park, Farmers Insurance (327-1313). The fee depends on the car and on the kind of insurance you want.

• For more than 6 months

  The insurer will ask you for your US Driving licence -- you'll have to get it.

Social Security Number

• Call the toll free number, 1 800 772 1213 and follow the voice mail in order to receive your application form. This works if you're a native english or very fluent speaker.
• The other solution is to go there in person (438 Murphy Ave in Sunnyvale), fill in the form and give it at the window. You will have to wait about two weeks before receiving your SSN. Do not forget all your immigration papers (I20, J1, H1, I94...) to apply for a social security number.

Driver's License

Then, you are ready to go to the insurance office.

Miscellaneous recommendations

• Dentist: Great! Tim Leary, 625 Menlo Ave, Menlo Park (328-8544)
• Eye doctor/Glasses: John Dowding highly recommends Dr. Cindy Matteson and Dr. Joseph Most, 540 University Ave. #110 (321-2015). "Easy to get to, easy to get appointments. When I was looking for an eye doctor, several people recommended them."