Anyone in the area? Whats it like? I am trying to move to Cali and I may aplying to that area. Any info appriciated. Thanks!
I know it's about an hour away from San Francisco Actually, I might be working down there as well. That commute is gonna suck but at least I'll be closer to hockey.
To be serious, I live in SC county, right outside Santa Clara city. I like it here. The general feel is sort of sleepy- cross between small town and city outskirts. Much less congested than SF or Oakland. If you want to go to either place, they are less than an hour drive away. Yes, there are no super fancy restaurants, trendy shops or cultural highlights. But I can live without those.
the irony is that we have been thinking about moving out of the city. I suspect it's because i'm ready to die. In all seriousness, I like San Mateo, San Carlos, Menlo Park. The peninsula is cool. At the risk of offending more people, I wouldn't live south of Santa Clara. ie: San Jose. yech.
yeah, it's very burbs in the south bay between san jose and millbrae. i am currently living in palo alto and working in mountain view. both these towns are nice, but can be pricier than santa clara, gilroy, or redwood city. are you working in the tech industry? it's pretty thick with engineers down here.
Why you hating on San Jose? So there's no downtown, so there's no real architecture (other then pockets of areas with beautiful old Victorians), and no art districts but SJ is in the center of the Bay Area.......little more then 1/2 hour to Santa Cruz for a little surfing, 45 minutes from downtown SF for nightlife and culture and you can always do worse......Salinas anyone?
The crack in BASK solidarity appears... San Jose has the Winchester Mystery House, which is awesome. End of debate.
Don't forget the weird/cheesy/cool Rosicrucian Museum within walking distance of the Winchester House! They gots mummies! Wait a minute. Santa Clara County let Frontier Village die. Happy Hollow, too. For these crimes against childhood there will never be forgiveness. San Mateo is nice. Most of it anyway, it covers a lot of terrain. Good mix of the old (it boomed in the 1930s) and the new (it boomed in the 1990s.) Great park downtown for the kiddies. Cute little miniature train ride and well-kept Japanese gardens. Good schools, good restaurants there and in Burlingame next door. Not so far from SF that driving to S7 is a hassle.
Happy Hollow had died, but they resurrected it a few years back! I live in San Jose, but I have no real ties to the city, it's more of a cost/close to work thing. I prefer the Mountain View and Palo Alto areas but the areas I like there are pricier than where we're at right now. And that's saying something since I'm in Willow Glen (which has it's own cute little downtown. My favorite thing about San Jose is actually Santana Row. Not for any of the stores, but because I'm a foodie and the restaurants there are amazing. The museums downtown are okay, the Rosecrucian is pretty cool but none of them are spectacular. Though, really, anywhere you go in the Bay Area is going to be close to lots of everything. There's good restaurants from San Francisco to San Jose, theater all over the bay (East Bay included), comedy clubs, night clubs, and lots of stuff to do in general. The only thing that's really specific to San Francisco are any vinyl shops, there aren't really any of those outside of the city itself. But ultimately, nothing is really more than an hour from anywhere. In general, you can pick anywhere in the Bay Area and you're going to win.
Move to San Francisco and live the dream with no compromises. The rental market is down as compared to a year or two ago. Rent control. If it does not work for you, at least you will have lived in the premiere city first.
Willow glen is awesome if you like the Joe Sharino Band. (You're practically down the street from me.) Anyway...it all depends what you are looking for. I live in San Jose and it's okay and has everything you would need for practical reasons. Much like any town. I moved here for job but probably wouldn't have chosen to live here on my own. If you want to go to San Francisco it's a quick drive and there are tons of things to do there. There are a lot of things within driving distance. It just really depends what you want. Big City or suburb. That's basically it in my opinion. You just have to ignore San Jose's Japantown. It's 2 restaurants, a grocery store and a few gift shops...sad..but there's tons of parking.
this is probably the best suggestion. if you are working in south bay it creates a commute that bay area folk complain about, but us east coasters know is nothing compared to trying to get in and out of NYC on any day of the week. I came from NJ and moved straight to SF and stayed for 3 years, it was worth it. Now, while I miss the big city, it doesn't feel like I'm missing out too much.