Part of California Concierges' philosophy is to give as much unbiased help and information to the newcomer as possible. Following is a selection of useful web sites which we have researched and feel are well worth visiting for anyone moving to the Bay Area. Feel free to browse through them and get to know this wonderful area.
Relocation Information
- Employee Relocation Council - A useful site for HR departments to view. It includes relocation trends and industry publications.
- BR Anchor Publishing - A great web site for those relocating. Beverly D Roman, publisher, is the author of seven relocation books and publishes the quarterly newsletter.
General Bay Area Information
- The Citysearch Site - A great site with a vast selection of information locally and nationally about entertainment, shopping, dining. Check it out - you'll probably find what you're looking for here.
- Association of Bay Area Governments - This excellent web site covers communications, local government, regional planning, Bay Area info, current issues and services
- Yelp - This website is great for finding a local service, restaurant, nail salon, auto mechanic, pretty much anything in fact that you might need but you're not quite sure where to go. It's full of reviews by customers, some happy, some not, but gives you the opportunity to choose somewhere which has been given lots of stars by happy reviewers.
Bay Area City Web Sites
- Bay Area Cities - The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) has a one-stoli> sholi> page to all the Bay Area city websites.
Newspapers
These two newspapers can give you a terrific amount of information about the Bay Area, from classifieds to entertainment, and are worth looking through on a regular basis.
Immigration Information
Family Resources
- Parenting - Parenting Magazine offering articles, tips, chats on all aspects of pregnancy and raising a child.
- iVillage - A great web site for parents in general.
- Schoolwise - Educational facts on schools in California.
- GreatSchools - Excellent resource for information on general education and also on specific schools.
- California Department of Education - The web site for everything you want to know about the educational system in California.
Real Estate Information
- MLS Listings - Homes for sale, real estate offices and real estate professionals in Silicon Valley and neighboring northern California communities.
- EconMortgage - A useful web site for those thinking about the finances of buying a property, which includes printable mortgage forms and financial calculators.
- Loan Page - Very useful information for mortgage shoppers
- Rent Net - Rent Net offers an extensive database of apartments for rent in the US and Canada.
- Zillow is famous for providing continually updated estimates of the worth of 70 million homes nationwide, and lets users add facts about their own homes.
- Trulia shows homes for sale and lets registered users post questions on any real estate topic.
- StreetAdvisor users rate individual streets on criteria including its cleanliness and access to public transportation and can post comments about their streets.
Vehicle Information
- Department of Motor Vehicles - A comprehensive web site for all those looking to register their vehicles and take their driving test.
- The Kelley Blue Book - This online publication is a must for all those looking to buy new and used cars, giving new and used car values
Travel Information
State Government
- California State Assembly - Lots of information of the California State Assembly.
- California Department of Education - The web site for everything you want to know about the educational system in California.