Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Relocating to San Jose, California

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Relocating to San Jose, California

I am relocating to San Jose California. What should I know ?

Ummm, what do you want to know? It's very expensive to live here, traffic is a pain, but the weather is great and there are a lot of really nice day trips so your weekends will be full.

That's a pretty open ended question, Carl. Where are you coming from? You should know that housing is pricey compared to most places in the US. In what part of town will you be working? With so little info the best advice I can offer you is to try and live as close to work as possible, or if you are working downtown try and live in an area that offers light rail service into downtown. Don't fall for the realtors who say the commute isn't bad from Tracy, Gilroy, Livermore, Pinole, etc. It is.

How expensive is housing? I ' ve checked the web and prices are regular. Maybe theres something that I dont' know.Hom much 1br apart ? 3brd house ? How's life after work in San Jose ? Do I have to go every week to SF to see a city, or San Jose is a city... Thank You!

How expensive is housing? I ' ve checked the web and prices are regular. Maybe theres something that I dont' know.How much 1br apart ? 3brd house ? How's life after work in San Jose ? Do I have to go every week to SF to see a city, or San Jose is a city... Thank You!

My husband was born and raised in SJ. His 3 bedroom, 1 bath (approx 1200 SQ FT) childhood home was sold a couple years ago for around $400K. The man who bought it dozed the house and pretty much bought the lot for $400K. Unless you are already coming from NY, DC, CA, etc., the housing costs ARE very high.

Even after the dot-gone period, housing prices have remained constant, despite massive runups in prices over the past three years. 400K will get you a 3BR/1BA 1200 ft. starter home that may or may not be a shanty. Welcome to the left coast. A friend just recently purchased a 1400 square ft. Brady Bunch ranch in Fremont for 505K and felt like it was the deal of the century. Apparently, the previous owner was let go by another dot-bomb and had to sacrifice 150K off what he paid. OUCH!!!

The sad part is that after purchasing that house for that money he had to live in Fremont!

Carl, San Jose is definitely not a city! It is a spread out very large town, just like Los Angeles. The only true "Cities" on the West Coast are San Francisco and Seattle. Once you have gone to either one of these "Cities", you will know exactly what I mean. I lived in San Jose for over 20 years, and have to return once or twice a year for family reasons. It's the pits!! In fact, my wife (who was born and raised in San Jose) and I are going to San Jose the first part of April for a sick mother visit. Dick

Carl, The average 1 bedroom apartment in the city will range from $1200-1500/month depending on what area you want to live in and how new of a building it is. Finding a house in the $400K range is quite difficult. In this price range you are likely to get a 2 bedroom fixer upper. Last year my Aunt's house, which is a 2 br 1 ba with a detached 2 car garage that was on it last legs, sold for that much in the Rosegarden neighborhood, which is an upscale area. There are a number of new condominiums in Downtown(Center City)San Jose that have been built recently. Since they are in a desirable area with numerous restaurants, performing arts, museums, and nightclubs within walking distance, as well as public transportation they tend to be expensive. If you want city living, then Downtown would be your best bet. There are many other quaint neighboorhoods including Willow Glen and Naglee Park, in addition to the Rosegarden. In answer to your question about having to go to San Francisco to see a city, that would be NO. If you asked that question 20 years ago then I would have said yes. In the last 20 years San Jose, especially the Downtown, has become a destination, rather than a place to escape. In fact, San Jose is the biggest city in Northern California and the third largest in the State after Los Angeles and San Diego. San Jose has all the amenities of most major cities including Ballet, Opera, Reperatory Theater, etc, great restaurants(over 400 just in Downtown).If you crave Japanese food, you can take the Valley Transportation Authority (VTA)Light Rail up to Japantown. In addition, the Compaq Center (formerly San Jose Arena) is not only home to the Sharks NHL Hockey, but also the Sabercats Arena Football, along with many concerts and various other performances throughtout the year. The other nice thing about Downtown are the many festivals that occur throughout the year. Go to www.sanjose.org and www.sj-downtown.com for more information on the city. The advantage of living in the city is your proximity to the Monterey Bay(30 miles to Santa Cruz) which is a great escape during the summer. In addition, you can plan weekends down the Pacific Coast, or up to the Wine Country, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite.

Carl Obviously Dick has some deep seated dislike toward San Jose. Unfortunately, he must have had a traumatic experience. I would not let him influence your opinions about San Jose and Silicon Valley.

Carl, I would side more with Dick. I've spent a decent amount of time in the Silicon Valley area over the past 5 years and would never live there. On the other hand, I love San Francisco and would go there in a heartbeat but the living costs is a big deterrent and I live in the remote NYC metropolitan area. When I'm there on business, I head to either San Francisco if on the north side or Monterey if I'm near Gilroy, for dining and entertainment.

Carl, As has already been pointed out, housing in San Jose and its surrounding suburbs is very expensive. A word to the wise, if the price of a house/apartment/condo sounds too good to be true, it definitely is! Check out www.alainpinel.com www.coldwellbanker.com and www.era.com for more information on housing in and around the city. www.ci.san-jose.ca.us is the official website for the city.

I have lived in the San Jose/Silicon Valley region for over 25 years. The last time I was in San francisco was 5 years ago. There is alot to in San Jose, despite what some people may say.

Thank you for all the replies. Just one more question, since I am from another country and San Jose will my first american experience: how much is a «medium» salary in the San Jose area. 20 K 40 K or 100K ? Thank you again.

Carl, you can get all of this sort of data at the U.S. Census website. They can tell you the range of incomes, range of housing pricings, demographics and so on county by county. Far more reliable than asking strangers on a travel site too.

I am originally from San Francisco and back up in the Bay Area now. I lived in San Jose for five years as I started my career with a large multi-national company at a time when downtown renewal was in the condemnation stage. We have been back many times over the years on business and pleasure and have been amazed at the beautiful, vibrant City that has emerged. San Jose definately is a City and a very eclectic one. They have managed to save much of the old that was desireable and add quality modern buildings in a aesthetic way.

Carl, The most recent data shows San jose's average annual income to be $71,000. this is the second highest in the nation behind New York City. For more information about relocating to San Jose go to www.relocationcentral.com