GS

Hi.

My husband & I are considering moving to the San Jose area. I'm seeking the following information:

In the past year, how was the weather? What are the avg temps in the winter/spring?

A ballpark figure: Rental of a 3/2 small townehome or house

What is there to see and do?

Thank You.

xxx

If you can even find a townhouse to rent, expect to pay outrageous rent.

Most seasons are nice, but the summer months can get hot.

Tom

I know an excellent realtor there, email me for more information and I will give you her email address. There are very nice areas in the San Jose area...bring a thick wallet. Tom

Monica

Don't know about the average weather, I'm sure there are web sites that address that. It seems that this year spring took a while to get here, but that's just a feeling I have. Rental of a 3/2 townhome or house, that is a toughie. Over $2000.00 per month, for sure. As far as what there is to do, San Jose is close to a lot of things, so there are a ton of daytrips to be taken on the weekends. We go to Capitola (just south of Santa Cruz), to San Francisco (not often though), Napa Valley, Tahoe (that's more of a weekend thing than a daytrip), Monterey and Carmel, etc. There are a lot of good restaurants in San Jose itself, and some truly great ones in Saratoga (Sent Sovi is a personal favorite). There are little downtowns in Los Gatos, Saratoga, Mountain View and Palo Alto that are fun to hang out in (shopping, strolling and eating). There are lots of places to hike and mountain bike and rollerblade. If you let me know your interests I can tell you more.

George

www.jvpinto.com gives some good information on the city and its surrounding suburbs. Also (www.sanjose.org) and (www.ci.san-jose.ca.us/about.html) are also informative.

Weather in San Jose tends to be Mediterranean, with warm, but not humid, and dry summers (average high temp. about 80). In the December the average high is close to 60. www.wdc.ndin.net/sjc/daily_records.html lists average temps. in the city throughout the year.

Average rent for a 3bedroom/2 bath townhome would be between 2,000 and 2,500 per month. It all depnds on what area of the city you would prefer to live in.

San Jose has amenities that are found in most big cites, opera, ballet, symphony, museums, theater companies,parks,good restaurants etc.) The other advantage is its proximity to the Monterey Bay Area(about 30 miles to Santa Cruz), Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, etc.

jim

.... forget san jose... check out the peninsula..and in particular san mateo county.... lots of variety... some expensive and some reasonable and the weather is not so hot in the summer...

JJ

The rents in the San Jose area have come way down. I've managed the same apartment complex here in Santa Clara for 13 years and have never seen so many vacancies (In fact that's why I'm home today...waiting for the phone to ring). I have a three bedroom/two bath and it rents for $1595. I'm not advertising just letting you know rates are low (for this area). Three out of my last four move-outs left the area. The weather is great and there are many places for day or weekend getaways...wine country, Tahoe, the City, the beach....welcome.

GS

Hi.

I appreciate all your help. My hubby works for might be getting a job transfer. He'd be working in Santa Clara and he does not want a long drive to work. We are looking for townehome or house rentals that accept dog/cats. What do yall think of the following areas? Pros/cons? Thanks.

Palo Alto
San Mateo
Berryessa
Santa Clara/San Jose
Los Altos
Willow Glen
Campbell.

GS

Hi.

I appreciate all your help. My hubby might be getting a job transfer and would be working in Santa Clara and he does not want a long drive to work. We are looking for townehome or house rentals that accept dog/cats. What do yall think of the following areas? Pros/cons? Thanks.

Palo Alto
San Mateo
Berryessa
Santa Clara/San Jose
Los Altos
Willow Glen
Campbell.

Sandy

There is no "LIVING" in San Jose. Only "SURVIVING".

JJ

GS: It's JJ again. As an apartment manager, I get calls often from people who are looking for a place that accepts dogs. It is almost impossible in this area. My suggestion to them is to try a duplex or sixplex as the owners sometimes accept dogs. Be preparred for a healthy pet deposit. BTW, our three bedroom units are 1100 sq. ft. and are updated with all ammenities. A good source is www.craigslist.com. Good luck.

SJNative

You might want to skip San Mateo - it's way too far. He'll probably have a 45 minute drive each way. I live in South Palo Alto and have about a 20 minute drive to San Jose/Santa Clara area each way when traffic's not too bad. Palo Alto is a great area, but expensive. A bit cheaper and closer is Mountain View. Has lots of nice neighborhoods right on the border of Mtn. View and Palo Alto. Los Altos might be a bit longer drive depending on where he's going to be working. It's a very nice area, high housing costs. Willow Glen and Campbell are nice and less expensive. You might also want to look at Los Gatos - i've always thought that area was beautiful. Santa Clara/San Jose are good, you just want to make sure that the areas are safe. As for Berryessa, I would skip it. I grew up around there, and I can say that the area has gone downhill, some neighborhoods aren't too safe. I'd say Santa Clara/Sunnyvale/Campbell/Cupertino offer the best for your money. When you move further north to Los Altos/Mtn. View/Palo Alto, you start getting more expensive.

Sam

I live in San Jose and have a business in Santa Clara. The city services in Santa Clara are outstanding and the city government is very good. No energy crisis last year as Santa Clara kept their own energy supply. As to living in San Jose'''''this is a great area. Really too much to do. Real estate is expensive but ulike other areas you will generally make money on your house as opposed to mid west cheap areas. Go for it! After a few months here you will be a native..............

Mel

Santa Clara was voted an All American City...I believe just one in seven or so. Could be wrong...but it's what I've heard.

San Jose

From San Jose and going *north* the rents and costs of housing gets more expensive because of their closer proximity to San Francisco.
Exceptions are the most expensive cities/towns within Santa Clara County itself which include, but not limited to: Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno.
Use the excellent search engine called Google at:
www.google.com
Type in:
San Jose Mercury News
That is the one and only newspaper covering all of Santa Clara County which is one of the 5 largest counties in California.
You can then access its real estate ads; in fact, ads of all types.
That will give you an idea.
Most employers realize and recognize the Bay Area which includes Santa Clara County as one of the most expensive areas in the entire United States.
Said employer is "expected" to come up with a big raise to entice you to move to that area to maintain the same "cost of living style" to which you are accustomed. So, do your homework with regard to salary required to maintain that life style you enjoy where you are.

Go to a AAA office and get a map of Santa Clara County which actually comes in 3 different detailed maps because it is so large. Using its scale, you can figure out how close you need to be to his Santa Clara office and have a minimum drive.

San Jose Again

You also sound as if you need to look at some cost of living details.
Go to the following website:

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/calc/salcalc.html

It shows cost of living comparisons between cities that YOU type in.

David

GS,

I would have to disagree somewhat with "San Jose Poster's" assessmant of real estate prices in the San Jose Area. At one time it use to be true that the closer to San Francsico you went, the higher the price except for certain cites such as Los Altos, Saratoga, Los Gatos, etc. But now the reverse is true due to the fact that the job center for Northern California is in San Jose. Therefore, going up the Peninsula to
Redwood City, San Mateo, etc. except for some exceptions like Atherton or Woodside, you will find lower rents and prices for homes/condominiums. Being that my family owns an apartment in San Mateo, I know this first hand. We could get significantly more rent if the building were down in San Jose or Mountain View.

Los Altos and Palo Alto are both very nice places to live, and expensive. Main Street in Los Altos is the center of downtown. The analgous counterpart in Palo Alto would be University Avenue. Both areas have lots of character and are great places to stroll. The main disadvantage is the high price of real estate.

The Willow Glen area of the city also is very nice and tends to be on the more expensive end. The nice thing about Willow Glen is the character of many of the older homes in the neighborhood. Lincoln Avenue is the downtown area for this neighborhood with many restaurants/cafes and shops with a quaint character.

Berryessa area of San Jose tends to be more middle and also upper middle class depending on the area. East of Piedmont Road in the Foothills there are expensive homes/townhomes, some with great views of the city.

San Mateo, as I mentioned is where my family has an apartment building. Avoid the area east of El Camino Real. West of El Camino is where you will find the better areas of San Mateo.

Campbell tends to be mostly middle and upper middle class also and is located just west of San Jose. I do not know enough about it to comment much more.

Mountain View, which is where my family lives, is less expensive than Palo Alto or Los Altos, but does have desirable areas. Most of the townhomes/condominiums are North of El Camino Real near the downtown area(Castro Street) and near San Antonio Shopping Center. There are some nice townhomes and condos. off of Whisman Road called Whisman Station which are right on the Light Rail line to San Jose which are quite new. Also near San Antonio Shopping Center there are a number of newer places near the Cal Train station. If you prefer a high rise apartment, Avalon Apartments has jus opened a building on El Camino Real just east of the San Antonio Shopping Center near Showers Drive.

San Jose, being that it is a big city, there will be lots of variabilty in the neighborhoods. As I have already mentioned, Willow Glen is a nice area. In addition, I would consider Naglee Park(just east of Downtown SJ), The Rosegarden District, West San Jose, Downtown, as well as Cambrian. If you prefer a quieter area further from Center City I would look into Almaden, Evergreen, and Blossom Valley. The disadvantage of Almaden, Blossom Valley, and Evergreen is that in the summer it tends to get warmer there than most other areas of the city since they are in the foothill areas.

Santa Clara is a suburb west of San Jose and also has some nice areas not too far from Santa Clara University off of Washington Avenue.

Monica

GS: Berryessa--blech. Scratch that off of your list. I think your best bet is Santa Clara itself. There are a lot of nice safe neighborhoods with older small ranch houses that might rent to people with a dog (my FIL owns one such rental). Santa Clara is also a well-run city. Another option is Sunnyvale, there are many three-plexes that might allow dogs. You're going to have trouble finding affordable rentals in Willow Glen, the Rosegarden and Naglee Park. I live in Naglee Park and walk my dog around our neighborhood daily and there is very little in the way of rental property and what there is will be pretty pricey.

David

Monica,

I think that your points about Willow Glen, Naglee Park, and the Rosegarden are well taken, but I think that any desirable area in the City will not be very affordable, including the suburbs of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. Unfortunately, that is the price we pay for living in the great place we call Silicon Valley.