28 y/o single (and FUN) girl to live in SV/San Jose? (San Francisco: apartment complex, lease)

[BeanScene]

Hi!
I've just relocated from downtown Boston (10 years) to the South Bay for a job opportunity in Sunnyvale. At the moment, I'm in temp housing in Sunnyvale (snooze) and am struggling to decide on a permanent residence, one that has a decent 'younger' (late 20s-late 30s) population within walking distance to nightlife, good restaurants, live music, etc. I am extremely outgoing and coming from a wonderful neighborhood where I quickly became friends with the locals, I am hoping to live in an area at least where there is a decent amount of human energy around me.

Yesterday, I impulsive signed a lease with an amazing apartment complex in South San Jose (walking distance to Willow Glen) and the VTA rail stops literally within the complex grounds...I had a good gut feeling about the complex (which has amazing reviews on yelp), hence the impulsivity in signing a lease- which I can back out of within 72 hours. I am now suddenly having doubts because I read this article on San Jose: San Jose: The Deepest Tuck

:/

My questions are the following:

1) Is San Jose REALLY that bad? Even my colleagues who live in San Jose don't recommend it, but I can't really understand why not. There seemed to be a decent mix of cool people walking about here and there, but then the downtown area (on Saturday afternoon) appeared to be desolate?? Why is that?? Will I meet cool people living in San Jose?

2) Should I just live in Mountain View or Palo Alto which might have overall better energy for someone like me? I drove down Castro St in MV and it seemed decent enough. I will be checking out Palo Alto today.

3) Should I just bite the bullet and live in SF, where I know I'll have constant stimulation and human energy at my fingertips, but then deal with a horrendous commute on the Caltrain (Lawrence expressway stop is closest to my office) every weekday? There is no bullet train that goes to this stop, unfortunately.

Also, I have a bright orange scooter (yes, like a Vespa...does anybody ride those around here?!) and I can purchase a vehicle if I live in a more suburban area....which I probably will do, if I live in South San Jose.

Any input is greatly appreciated! THANK YOU!

[bobby_guz_man]

BeanScene,

There are quite a few threads here in the San Jose forum about this very same topic. I suggest you do a search, especially with the word "single" as the topic, you'll find a bunch I'm sure. There are some very recent ones of which many of us have already opined on, so do take a look at them.

In general, the rule to happiness in the Bay Area is TO LIVE AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO YOUR WORKPLACE.

Try to see if you can do your work from home 2 days a week, then you only need to take the train down to Sunnyvale 3 days out of the week, that would also make it a lot nicer as well. A lot of my coworkers who work in Downtown San Jose and live in SF has that arrangement, and generally management are very understanding.

If you think the commute on Caltrain is horrendous, try "driving" to Sunnyvale from SF. Caltrain would be like a smooth tiramisu compared to "driving".

[bobby_guz_man]

By the way, you did read the entire article right? And you see the disclaimer at the bottom which points to the article being a hilarious satire, right?

Because if you thought that what you read was the real thing...then...well, here are my answers for your questions:

1) You hit the nail on the head. San Jose is NOT that bad. But people who live in San Jose thinks it's BAD. It is a very weird phenomenon. Most people are proud of the city they live in, small towns to large cities. But people in San Jose are generally clueless to what this city has to offer, and want to get out of it as quick as possible. Their usual retorts is "There's nothing to do here".

Downtown San Jose is as large as most small cities around here, so there are places where it's dead and there are places where it's popping. However, Downtown San Jose is not a tourist Downtown where people from all over comes into visit. We don't cater to tourists, we cater to locals first and foremost.

But since most locals in San Jose hate San Jose, they never come to Downtown to support their own Downtown. Instead, most San Jose residents take their money elsewhere, to cuter places such as Mountain View and Palo Alto and Sunnyvale.

I have more issues with San Jose residents than I do with other cities' residents. I don't care if other people from other cities make fun of San Jose. It's when San Jose people make fun of San Jose itself, that gets me pissed beyond belief.

2) Mountain View and Palo Alto downtown are expensive but very nice. They have a lot of wealthy white people. And a lot of wealthy Asian people. Nothing besides those two groups, but that's OK, because anything besides those two groups are trouble anyway. The downtown areas are very safe, and full of cultures like wine tasting, coffee-sipping, book-reading, fish-petting, being-wealthy-ing, and snooty-nosing-at-working-class-people-ing. Stanford Mall is a very charming mall. Though if it was put in San Jose, it would be a very ****ty mall by nature of being in San Jose.

3) You should definitely bite the bullet and live in SF. Caltrain is not "horrendous". Driving could be horrendous, but if you manage to snag a place near SF Caltrain station, you're good to go

Best of luck! San Jose sucks a million ducks, so please don't come. You're just going to waste your time.

[bobby_guz_man]

Oh and tell your coworkers who live in San Jose that I say "thanks for promoting San Jose, or NOT! You bunch of fvckin ungrateful, lazy sloths who can't even muster up the courage to suggest the city that you live in! If you can't recommend it, then Get the Fvck Out!!!!!"

Fvckin bunch of bastards...

[bobby_guz_man]

Gosh I'm such a bitter ass today. That's what working on the weekends will do to you

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Bobby, she already likes south San Jose. Forget the article, and tell her what it's like there. Will she be safe? What will her commute be like?

I don't know, OP, or I would tell you.

I do think you would enjoy living close to Santana Row, though. It would be a shorter commute, too.

I did a Craigslist search with "Santana Row" in the title:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds "santana row" - craigslist

Santana Row

[bobby_guz_man]

Alrighty Snowy, I will get off my bitter pills

BeanScene, that apartment area you just signed for is, in my opinion, the BEST area for singles in San Jose. This is why:

1) It is in the middle of every "happening" spots in San Jose. To your east is Downtown San Jose (and the Shark Tanks and the San Pedro Square Market area, which is already a happening spot and will be more so in the next 2 years as the high-rise buildings complete and add a huge surge in urban residents to that spot). To your west is the now-famous Santana Row. To your north is the Alameda neighborhood, quaint, and charming, and home to Crema Coffee House and first Whole Foods with a brewery on the 2nd floor (it's being built right now, will be done in a year). To your south is the Willow Glen district. All of these can be reached via a 10-minute bike ride

2) Lightrail and Caltrain access. From your lightrail station, you can go into Downtown San Jose and Japantown. You can also go to Campbell downtown and Campbell's Pruneyard. You can take the lightrail to the Diridon train station, which has Caltrain access to your workplace. With Caltrain, you can also access Mountain View's Castro Street and Sunnyvale's Murphy Street. You can also bike to Diridon train station as well, no more than a 10-minute bike ride, if not less.

Thus, by living at the apartment where you have signed a lease, you really have NO NEED for a car to go to any of the South Bay's hotspots. LITERALLY.

Also, in terms of trails, for walking or for biking, your apartment area is pretty much in the middle of it all.

1) You can take the lightrail to downtown San Jose's Children's Discovery Museum and access the Guadalupe River trail, which will take you all the way to Alviso in North San Jose, where you can enjoy the view of the southern most part of San Francisco Bay. 9 mile trail in one direction. You can also bike to this trail from where you live.

2) You can take the lightrail south into Ohlone Chynoweth station in South San Jose and jump on the Alamaden Lake/Los Alamitos Creek trail. 5 mile trail in one direction.

3) If you take the lightrail all the way to its southernmost station at Santa Teresa, you will be a 10-minute bikeride away from Coyote Creek trail, which will take you all the way south to Morgan Hill. This is the longest trail. At the Santa Teresa point, it will be a 15 mile trail in one direction.

4) You can take the lightrail into Campbell's Pruneyard, and access the Los Gatos Creek trail that will go all the way past Los Gatos into the Lexington Reservoir in the Santa Cruz mountains. Something in the vicinity of 10+ mile trail in one direction. You can also bike to this trail from where you live by biking to Willow Glen and then jump on the trail.

[bobby_guz_man]

On the subject of safety, the area you'll be renting in is a transitional neighborhood, with a very 60's feel to it. The area is generally known as the Burbank neighborhood. It is relatively safe, as long as you're not an idiot, and that you are aware of your surroundings.

Don't leave valuables in your car. Your car has a trunk, USE it! This rule should go for ANY PLACE in ANYWHERE in THE WHOLE WORLD.

If you're hitting the trails, do it in daylight, bring a friend with you, and I recommend pepper spray if you're a woman. This goes for EVERY TRAIL out there, no matter if it's in SF or Boston or LA or San Jose. This does not mean the area is unsafe, but you want to protect yourself as much as possible from being a victim, even if the chance of that happening is very tiny.

[bobby_guz_man]

Oh wait, now that I re-read BeanScene, I have a feeling we're not talking about the same apartment area

But I can't really think of any other light rail station that is within walking distance to Willow Glen except for the area I'm talking about. Willow Glen is actually in Central San Jose, and that's a quite bit of distance to South San Jose.

BeanScene, are you north of Willow Glen or south of Willow Glen?

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Bobby, you are such a great San Jose resource!

I forgot to tell the OP that yes, people do have Vespa type scooters here. I personally know an old lady who gets around Santa Clara on hers. You don't see a lot of them, but they're here.