San Jose is will always be the Bay Area's prosperous underdog. (Los Angeles: homes, job market)

[PixelatedTherapy]

The problem with San Jose is that its city limits are too big and broad, which lends people to thinking it’s something that it’s not. You hear that San Jose is the biggest city in the San Francisco Bay Area, and you imagine this crazy metropolis, more in line with San Francisco and Oakland. Then you get to San Jose, and you realize that it’s a ton of suburban sprawl that has more in common with Sacramento than it does San Francisco. That’s another problem, people think it’s really close to San Francisco. While San Jose sits on the southern shore of SF Bay, it’s 50+ miles away from San Francisco proper. San Jose is really cool for what it is, and has a ton of stuff to do. The problem is people compare it to SF directly, and that’s just not fair. Most big cities are like San Jose. I’ve been to Vegas, Portland, Seattle, even America’s second largest city, Los Angeles is largely suburban. Outside of Downtown, streets are quiet and relatively empty. Most places aren’t ultra dense like SF/Oakland or NYC… lol Long winded semi-rant over.

[marcopolo666]

Thank you for your opinion.

[nobodysbusiness]

San Jose is a pit.

It used to be cool.

In the 1950's!

There was an actual, vibrant downtown.

There was interesting architecture (I know - you would NEVER believe it!).

Then Valley Fair was built and all of the businesses moved out of town.

Many of the interesting buildings were destroyed, and strip malls were constructed.

There was no urban planning, hence the endless suburbia.

There is still not much to do (just made a list of stuff - around 10 things, and all the same 10 things from years ago).

It's not a cool city.

At all.

[roadwarrior101]

Here are the things that I think are holding SJ back and will continue to do so.

1. SF seen as the center of the Bay Area - Yes, SJ has a larger population and a robust job market. However, SF is and will continue to be the social/tourist/international influential hub of the Bay Area and of Northern California. People view SF as a destination, whereas SJ is a place to work or live. This is a major drain on the influence/perception of SJ.
2. SFO - This is the major airport hub for the Bay Area/NorCal. Not going to change, especially since SJC is locked in by space, a single runway and the flight path being close to downtown. Again, this leads to perception.
3. Skyline - SJ's skyline will never match SF's, especially with the flight path to SJC requiring buildings to be 30 stories or less. This leads to a stunted downtown look, which doesn't reflect what you'd expect for a city of 1M+. In addition, SJ cannot compare to SF's iconic views in every direction.
4. History - SF was the first major city in California during the gold rush. SJ sprung up from a small farming down much, much later.
5. Transportation - SF has much better transportation options with BART, Muni underground, etc. This could be more balanced when BART extends to SJ and HSR goes to both cities, but right now, its heavily in SF's favor.
6. Culture - The tech culture brings in a lot of money, but doesn't exude the coolness factor of SF. SF is starting to get more of the bland tech culture as well, but its really still where the cool start ups are, whereas SJ is where the more established companies exist in larger corporate campuses.
7. Sprawl - I see how this isn't unique to SJ in the US, but there just aren't many cool places to hang out in SJ as you do in other sprawling cities (e.g., LoDo Denver, Midtown Atlanta, West Hollywood LA, etc.). On top of that, given that SF is anti-sprawl, its a tough comparison.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by nobodysbusiness

San Jose is a pit.

It used to be cool.

In the 1950's!

There was an actual, vibrant downtown.

There was interesting architecture (I know - you would NEVER believe it!).

Then Valley Fair was built and all of the businesses moved out of town.

Many of the interesting buildings were destroyed, and strip malls were constructed.

There was no urban planning, hence the endless suburbia.

There is still not much to do (just made a list of stuff - around 10 things, and all the same 10 things from years ago).

It's not a cool city.

At all.

I don't really feel like taking the time to pick this entire post apart, but I'll throw in my $.01...not even my $.02

Today's downtown is actually DRASTICALLY better than it was when I was growing up. It's even much better than it was 10 or even 5 years ago. And honestly, I think most of the high-rise developments that have gone up recently and are currently being built look pretty good. They're still somewhat low-rise due to the proximity of the airport, but actually most of the buildings look nice.

To call San Jose a pit is absurd. Obviously, it is a lot of suburban sprawl and office parks...like MANY other U.S. cities that grew up over the last 50 years. There are still however many great older neighborhoods with character- Naglee Park, Rose Garden, Shasta-Hanchett, Willow Glen...etc.

I grew up in the South Bay and am more than qualified to make criticism about the region. There is far more good than bad though. Every city/region in the entire country (or world for that matter) has its pros and cons.

[the topper]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Here are the things that I think are holding SJ back and will continue to do so.

1. SF seen as the center of the Bay Area - Yes, SJ has a larger population and a robust job market. However, SF is and will continue to be the social/tourist/international influential hub of the Bay Area and of Northern California. People view SF as a destination, whereas SJ is a place to work or live. This is a major drain on the influence/perception of SJ.
2. SFO - This is the major airport hub for the Bay Area/NorCal. Not going to change, especially since SJC is locked in by space, a single runway and the flight path being close to downtown. Again, this leads to perception.
3. Skyline - SJ's skyline will never match SF's, especially with the flight path to SJC requiring buildings to be 30 stories or less. This leads to a stunted downtown look, which doesn't reflect what you'd expect for a city of 1M+. In addition, SJ cannot compare to SF's iconic views in every direction.
4. History - SF was the first major city in California during the gold rush. SJ sprung up from a small farming down much, much later.
5. Transportation - SF has much better transportation options with BART, Muni underground, etc. This could be more balanced when BART extends to SJ and HSR goes to both cities, but right now, its heavily in SF's favor.
6. Culture - The tech culture brings in a lot of money, but doesn't exude the coolness factor of SF. SF is starting to get more of the bland tech culture as well, but its really still where the cool start ups are, whereas SJ is where the more established companies exist in larger corporate campuses.
7. Sprawl - I see how this isn't unique to SJ in the US, but there just aren't many cool places to hang out in SJ as you do in other sprawling cities (e.g., LoDo Denver, Midtown Atlanta, West Hollywood LA, etc.). On top of that, given that SF is anti-sprawl, its a tough comparison.

You forgot downtown: real cool place to hang out, along with Willow Glen and Santana Row. What planet are you from?

[the topper]

there's also Japantown, Alameda, Midtown and Los Gatos

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by the topper

You forgot downtown: real cool place to hang out, along with Willow Glen and Santana Row. What planet are you from?

There are a few hang out spots, but "real cool" is a bit of a stretch for all of those locations. Decent would be the terms I'd use, but seems severly underwhelming for a city of over 1M residents.

[nobodysbusiness]

Can't understand who is promoting SJ as "cool." It is awful.

I feel sorry for those people who are overpaying crazy amounts for cheap track homes with no character, situated in bland suburbia - where everything looks the same.

[the topper]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

There are a few hang out spots, but "real cool" is a bit of a stretch for all of those locations. Decent would be the terms I'd use, but seems severly underwhelming for a city of over 1M residents.

Have you been downtown? It's really cool there.