Best beach towns to live in? New job in San Jose. (San Mateo: sick, house)

[jilligan07]

I'm thinking of taking a job in San Jose and would like to live on or near the water/ocean. Do you have suggestions on the best areas to live that would allow me to be very close to the water (5 minutes), but not too far from San Jose. I'd like to keep the commute under 45 minutes. Oh, I'm single and 40 so I'd like to be in an area with nice outdoor spaces, wonderful scenery, restaurants, etc. Thanks.

[humboldtrat]

Santa Cruz is the closest beach town, but the commute between Santa Cruz and San Jose is not fun! Hwy 17 between the two towns is a windy 4-lane road (NOT a freeway!) over the mountains and I think the speed limit is restricted to 50 mph - but often you won't be able to go that fast. There is a lot of truck traffic on this road also. I would guess about a 45 min drive under good conditions.

[jilligan07]

How about best towns near the bay?

[krudmonk]

Santa Cruz and Capitola are your best bets. They're great towns. Bayfront areas here are mostly protected wetlands.

[humboldtrat]

Krudmonk is right about most areas along the bay being protected wetlands or some cases salt evaporating ponds owned by Cargill. There are some parks along the bay such as Shoreline Park in Mountain View which offer open spaces with walking trails. Also, there is Coyote Point Park in San Mateo which has access to the bay. North of San Jose, there is Redwood Shores and Foster City, developements on the bay with the most expensive house on waterways. In the east bay, there are some open spaces including one near the eastern end of the Dumbarton bridge (Hwy 84).

[jilligan07]

Thank you both for your ideas on areas to live. I'm originally from Newport Beach in SoCal but have been living in the desert of Phoenix for 6 long years and am very homesick for California and beach/water-side living. I'll definitely check out the areas that you suggested. Cheers.

[halfmoonbaygal]

Welcome back to CA. I work in Cupertino down through the north end of San Jose and I live in Half Moon Bay. It's a 45-50 minute commute for me and I don't mind it at all. You're going against the commute, 280 is a great highway, and 92 isn't that bad during the week, especially if you have a little bit of leeway i.e., can leave work by 3:30 or so or you can go in later and come home after the evening commute, because 92 does get backed up. It is a commitment to be sure, but I love it here so much that it is worth it. Of course, I'm a teacher so I do have lots of time off from that commute. It's worth a look or a visit, in any case.