Opinion on Fairgrounds Neighborhood in San Jose - Please Help!!! (Los Angeles: house, neighborhoods)

[sb1981]

In our house hunt process we see that there are some newer homes in the Fairgrounds neighborhood. These homes seem to offer everything thats in our wishlist.

We are currently residing in Los Angeles and are not very familiar with the bay area. Can someone please provide their views about Fairgrounds Neighborhood in San Jose? I think the zip code is 95111...

We are a young married couple looking forward to start a family in a year or two. So this would be our long term home.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[sonarrat]

If you mean the area around Monterey/Lewis/Senter, it's poor, rundown, largely not English speaking. Closer to McLaughlin is a little nicer, but I think for the same price you should be able to buy in the Blossom Valley/Santa Teresa area.

[Siccished]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

If you mean the area around Monterey/Lewis/Senter, it's poor, rundown, largely not English speaking. Closer to McLaughlin is a little nicer, but I think for the same price you should be able to buy in the Blossom Valley/Santa Teresa area.

I live in the 95111.
The area he speaks of is NOT rundown! In general, the whole east side of san jose looks like the Lewis/Senter area, so if thats his opinion then he could also say that half of san jose is poor, rundown and not english speaking. This is OUR town and thats how it is.


I've lived in the Branham/Monterey area for more than 20 years. If your a long termed couple and can afford to, id move into a nicer area such as Monterey/Branham, Snell/Skyway, Branham, senter toward hellyer park, and of course anything around blossom hill rd.

I'm partial to south san jose i like it here. Latino, Asian, indian... Love having neighbors even if they dont speak english. Makes the neighborhood a better place.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Siccished

I live in the 95111.
The area he speaks of is NOT rundown! In general, the whole east side of san jose looks like the Lewis/Senter area, so if thats his opinion then he could also say that half of san jose is poor, rundown and not english speaking. This is OUR town and thats how it is.


I've lived in the Branham/Monterey area for more than 20 years. If your a long termed couple and can afford to, id move into a nicer area such as Monterey/Branham, Snell/Skyway, Branham, senter toward hellyer park, and of course anything around blossom hill rd.

I'm partial to south san jose i like it here. Latino, Asian, indian... Love having neighbors even if they dont speak english. Makes the neighborhood a better place.

I used to hang around Seven Trees a lot. I would drive up from Morgan Hill, park my car in the Seven Trees plaza and take the bus to SJSU (more eyes than the light-rail "park and ride" lots). Now I live in Evergreen and I go to the Fairgrounds area because my post office is there, and I shop at the Smart & Final on Monterey & Tully. I'm not just saying what I say out of contempt; it's just a fact that the area has more Hispanics than average and a lower income population, and it looks it.

[SickOfCalifornia]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

If you mean the area around Monterey/Lewis/Senter, it's poor, rundown, largely not English speaking. Closer to McLaughlin is a little nicer, but I think for the same price you should be able to buy in the Blossom Valley/Santa Teresa area.

I agree 1000%. Steer clear of the fairgrounds. Not where you want to raise kids. You should definitely visit and get a lay of the land. Driving up Curtner from the fairgrounds, the neighborhood goes from seedy, in disrepair, and filled with Spanish signs to lilly white, cute-as-a-button suburbia in just a few blocks.

What's your budget? Think carefully about the school district you choose, some are considerably worse than others. Before I had kids, I never gave a second thought to school districts. Research them thoroughly and let that guide your home buying decisions and everything else will fall into place.

[sb1981]

The properties specifically we are look at are:
1. ANGELONI Pl, San Jose
2. CORDE TERRA Cir, San Jose

Can anyone please let us know if these are places where you would like to call your home and have your kids growing?

[SickOfCalifornia]

No, not a good area for kids, and definitely not a good part of town. You want to be West of Hwy 87, the farther the better. I would personally avoid anything between 87 and 101. Type "95125, San Jose" into Google Maps. Start there and head west or south. 87 is like a border to the "other side of town."

[mstnghu2]

Avoid the area. I can respect that somebody who lives in that area may get offended, but really it's one of the dumpier parts of San Jose. That's not to say that they're aren't some good pockets, but just that as a whole it's not so nice. Almost the entire strip along Monterey Rd. from near downtown all the way south to Branham Ln. isn't so nice. It's just fact. I used to commute this route every single day and one of my best friends grew up off Senter/Lewis. There are definitely some sketchy neighborhoods. I think there are many better choices than anywhere near the fairgrounds for a place to live.
The 95111 zip code in general isn't one of the better zip codes in SJ. There are some neighborhoods east of 101 near Blossom Hill Rd. that are a bit nicer, but for the most part 95111 isn't so great.
If you're looking for more affordable, family-friendly neighborhoods, I'd probably search in Blossom Valley (95123/95136), Cambrian Park (95118/95124-slightly more expensive than Blossom Valley). These are a couple of the more reasonably priced areas of San Jose that are good for raising families.
San Jose is not LA big, but still very big and there are many different zip codes and neighborhoods to choose from ranging from dumpy to lavish to everything in between. I think you'll have to come visit and get a feel for where you'll feel comfortable.
And as far as the two streets, Angeloni Place and Corde Terra Circle, I personally wouldn't want to raise my family in those areas.
Since you're planning to raise a family, another thing to consider is schools...obviously, I'm sure you're already thinking about this. There's quite a broad spectrum in the quality of schools here, and the best schools tend to be in the most expensive neighborhoods. Almaden Valley (which happens to be one of my most preferred areas of SJ) and West San Jose have some of the best schools in the area and are also very expensive.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by sb1981

The properties specifically we are look at are:
1. ANGELONI Pl, San Jose
2. CORDE TERRA Cir, San Jose

Can anyone please let us know if these are places where you would like to call your home and have your kids growing?

It seems to me you're making the mistake of looking for the newest/largest homes at the lowest price. Remember the principle of location, location, location. You can always fix up an older home, but you can't move your house.

[sb1981]

Thanks a lot for the prompt response everyone. Our price range is arnd 450-500k. We know its lower than the average price of homes in Bay Area. Can anyone please help us in determining which locations in bay area are good for this budget? Since both of us travel a lot for work, we are open to any places in bay area right from San Francisco to San Jose.