Between high school, college, and professional life I&#x27;ve worked in cities, rural areas, suburban wastelands, and urban areas like SF.  The majority of the time, most of my colleagues were concerned more with commute than &quot;what&#x27;s around where I work&quot;.  SF was a bit different, but parking and commute (late 90s early 2000s) were still top of list.<p>When I worked in SF, my getaway area was Grace Cathedral and the park near by.  Uphill, no people, no trash, quiet overall.<p>But some office parks have walkable spaces, places to eat, etc.  Some are easier to reach commute-wise than others.<p>Suburban does not rule out walkable.  Walnut Creek is completely suburban, but the office complexes there have become (or been developed for) being walkable over the years -- one of the places I reference above was part of this.<p>And honestly, depending on the definition of &quot;walkable&quot; many suburban places are more &quot;walkable&quot; than big cities -- traffic, sidewalks, bums spread on the sidewalk etc.<p>Is the end goal a live&#x2F;work situation where you don&#x27;t have to commute a long way, have reasonable rent&#x2F;mortgage, and a good quality of life?  Honestly, pick two of three, if you want to be in the bay area.<p>Born here in South San Jose.  Grew up&#x2F;still live in in San Jose, Sacramento, the east bay, and Santa Cruz.  Seen a whole bunch of things.