February 29, 2008
What Makes a Great Silicon Valley Bachelor Pad?
This week, I queried all my single young male friends as I know that the majority of the “newbies” to Silicon Valley are single young males. I wanted to know what the key components of the ideal bachelor pad were, for the Silicon Valley Male.
First of all, the Silicon Valley Male is a completely different breed from most American bachelors. For starters, he is typically an engineer with a 12-14 hour per day work commitment, very different from the ski bums of Colorado or the stock geniuses of Wall Street. Secondly, he is usually someone who delights in the latest technology - not someone who shuns his cell phone or satellite TV guide!
Here in Silicon Valley, the last statistic I have seen also put the male to female ratio at 11 to 1 - not great ratios!
Given these facts, the first criteria a young male will have is this; is it close to a major freeway? Otherwise, the majority of his day is spent commuting.
The second key criteria is whether or not it has easy access to high speed Internet access so all those work hours outside of work can actually be productive, and recognized.
After we get these two key criteria out of the way, here are the other considerations:
1) Does it have a large family/living room for movies - with lots of friends and acquaintances in attendance? This is key, as time for recreation is not abundant, but when it is, it has to count!
2) Is it close to a major grocery store, allowing quick trips for beer, chips, and dip?
3) Are the bathrooms spacious and nice, so that female vistors are not turned off? Believe it or not, most males in the world are hip to the fact that bathrooms are actually important to the female of the species……..
4) Does it have a kitchen that will allow for easy cleanup, and storage of key items such as pancake mix? You never know when a lady friend will want to stay over, and you want her to see you as a sensitive male who knows how to add water to that pancake mix!
Some great bachelor pad areas include Sunnyvale near El Camino (walking distance to Safeway as well as many great restaurants) the Cali Mill area of Cupertino ( walking distance to Starbucks and many wonderful Chinese restaurants), and the Capitol Ave area of San Jose.
All three of these locations mean easy freeway access - a great thing for young males needing to get to work quickly after a late and eventful night!
Other idea for bachelors wanting to impress their lady friends include:
- Always keeping a stash of fresh toilet paper - for some funny reason, women think that men tend to forget this detail.
- Actually having a clean and attractive looking towel to use in the main bathroom.
- Using air freshners - another detail that women are impressed when men remember
- Hiding the newly laundered clothes that haven’t yet been put away.
- Actually scouring the sink.
- Having healthy, well-cared for plants placed in strategic locations
- Including striking looking art work that captures the attention of all visitors to the unit upon initial entry
- Making sure that the area is clean , and free of papers, debris, and clutter.
Happy Bachelorhood, and welcome to Silicon Valley!
