Welcome to Stanford! We hope the following information about transitioning to Stanford is helpful. It may seem daunting at first, but signing up with the various offices, committees, and organizations is really the best way to get everything that is coming to you. If you are having trouble, inquire at the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, it is their job to help us!
 
The "First Things First" checklist at the OPS website is a good way to make sure you've taken care of most of the essentials. They also offer a benefits orientation.

Stanford Transportation Services: learn about parking and commuting options.
 
Marguerite Campus Shuttle: provides free day and night time service around campus and parts of Palo Alto.
 
Carpooling and Vanpooling: a cheaper and environmentally friendly way to get to campus. Incentives and placement services available.
 
Stanford Bicycle Commuting: campus bike and clothes lockers, showers, and other resources.

Automobile information, traffic reports
 
Public Transportation:

• 551.org: helps you pick the transit system that works for you including a trip planner.
• Muni: downtown San Francisco municipal railway system consisting of bus, metro, and streetcar service.
• Bart: a rapid transit system that connects distant parts of the Bay Area. BART now connects at San Francisco Airport
• CalTrain: a commuter rail train system linking downtown San Fransisco to as far south as Gilroy. CalTrain can take you to both the San Jose and San Fransico Airport. Connect via free shuttle to San Jose airport, and via BART one stop to San Francisco Airport.
• Dumbarton Express: a weekday bus service across the Dumbarton bridge, connecting Union City, Freemont, Newark, Menlo Park and Palo Alto.
• SamTrans: extensive bus service from downtown San Fransisco to as far south as Palo Alto.
• VTA: bus and light rail service from Palo Alto to points south.

Bicycle- there are many great ways to get your bike to faraway places:

• Bikes on Muni
• Bikes on Bart
• Bikes on CalTrain
• Bikes on the Dumbarton Express
• Bikes on SamTrans
• Bikes on VTA

• Visit the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs webpage on housing.
• Stanford West Apartments
• Real Estate Guide for the SF Bay Area
• Off campus housing sources:
  • SFGate.com (rentals)
  • SFGate.com (homes)
  • Apartments.com
• Local Classifieds
  • Fogster.com
  • Los Altos Crier
  • MetroActive

Finding Childcare

• Visit the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs webpage on childcare.
• Stanford's work-life office Childcare Centers

The Stanford University Postdocs Association (SUPD) was formed in 1998 to promote the building of community among the over 1200 postdocs at Stanford. The original efforts of the SUPD were aimed at fostering social and professional interactions among postdocs. More recently, a political committee has begun working to address certain serious issues facing postdocs at Stanford. Please visit our website to learn about our efforts, how to join us, how to receive our mailings, how to get the most out of your PD experience, or how you can meet new people by participating in wide variety of great social events.

Postdocs who are paid salary (rather than a stipend) are elligible to participate in tax-defferred annuity reiterment plans. Find out more:

• Postdoc office benefits page
• Stanford's benefits page
• IRS publication 571: details on tax-deferred plans (403(b)s)