Life in Northern California
Geography: The San Francisco Bay Area
Kaiser Permanente Northern California residency programs are based primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Bay Area includes parts of Marin, Alameda, Napa, Solano, Conta Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties , and the major metropolitan areas of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose. The North Bay consists of the area north of the Golden Gate Bridge, and includes some of the most spectacular seacoasts in North America (Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Point Reyes National Seashore) and one of the largest redwood tree groves (Muir Woods) remaining in the world.
The East Bay extends from southern Napa and Solano counties, including the city of Oakland, all the way to the city of Fremont in the south and includes the East Bay Regional Park District, one of the most extensive park systems in the state. The Peninsula encompasses the city of San Francisco as well as all of San Mateo county. The South Bay includes the city of San Jose, including theSilicon Valley, home of such technology giants as Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Apple, and Intel.
Population
The San Francisco Bay Area is one of the most culturally diverse areas in the world. Immigrants all across the world call the Bay Area home, and of the 9 million people that reside in the Bay Area, over 3.3 million are members of Kaiser Permanente.
Entertainment
The San Francisco Bay Area is a hotbed of sports, cultural activities, concerts, and recreational areas. The Bay Area has several excellent parks with a variety of hiking, boating, fishing, horseback riding, camping and other outdoor activities. Several professional sports teams call the Bay Area home: the Golden State Warriors (NBA), the San Francisco Giants and Oakland A's (MLB), the San Francisco Forty-Niners and Oakland Raiders (NFL), the San Jose Sharks (NHL), as well as a host of other teams. The metropolises of San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose as well as many of the smaller cities in the Bay Area maintain numerous museums and concert halls, and several amusement parks also dot the Bay Area landscape.