The bay area is more than just SF. In fact, SF is quite small. Some towns here are actually not so defecated-upon (but expensive).
There is lots of fun stuff in the Bay Area outside of San Francisco. I always have a blast going to shows, openings, etc in Oakland and Berkeley.
And before you say I “don’t know any better,” note that I spent the vast majority of my life living in and loving NYC.
Those who say the “South Bay is boring” haven’t spent enough time in it. In fact, I have friends who specifically come down to the South Bay to do things. Furthermore, SF is only a 45 minute drive from Mountain View, about what it is from Brooklyn to Manhattan, so I get the best of both worlds, without the defection and the homeless.
Get over this trope.
If you don’t try to go out and look for things, I agree you won’t find them. I am very social, and have found no shortage of things to do. People who complain about this haven’t tried it.
Ones I've visited in San Jose are were extremely underwhelming.
Nob Hill on Grant Rd. in Mountain View.
I come from NYC, where we had fancier things than you’d find in SF, and the South Bay comes close. SF doesn’t.
Then you have to fight the crowds for your activities.
If not, it gives you access to an almost limitless variety of indoor and outdoor recreation.