23 yr old working in Newark, CA-where to live?? (San Jose, San Francisco: rent, how much)

[mmackm]

I'm moving from the midwest to work in Newark, CA in May. I'm used to living in larger cities and am looking for an area with a downtown area, good restaurant and bar scene, preferably with other young professionals. I've heard San Jose is a good larger city. Any suggestions for neighborhoods in San Jose or other cities to live in?

Any suggestions or advice would help!

Thanks!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by mmackm

I'm moving from the midwest to work in Newark, CA in May. I'm used to living in larger cities and am looking for an area with a downtown area, good restaurant and bar scene, preferably with other young professionals. I've heard San Jose is a good larger city. Any suggestions for neighborhoods in San Jose or other cities to live in?

Any suggestions or advice would help!

Thanks!

San Jose is dull for a large city but there are certainly things to do. It should be somewhat more interesting than Newark or it's neighboring city of Fremont.

One advantage living in Newark/Fremont would have, though, would be close access to a BART train station so you can to to Oakland/Berkeley/San Francisco on the weekends. Those cities have more of an urban "scene" than San Jose (BART does not go to San Jose).

San Jose has some nightlife but is hardly a hotspot. For that, a lot of people go to San Francisco. Palo Alto also acts as a closer "fill in" for young professionals in terms of nightlife etc...although some criticize it as being shallow as in "Shallow Alto". I'm too old for that scene, so I don't know how true it is, althrough there's probably some truth to it. A lot of people like Palo Alto, but it is quite expensive. Mountain View (right next to Palo Alto) is a slightly cheaper alternative, but is still expensive.

Living in an expensive place like the Bay Area...it's really all about what trade offs you're willing to make.

Rent would be cheaper and your commute shorter and less stressful in Newark/Fremont and you could always drive or take BART to the other places around the bay on nights/weekends.

Living in San Jose or Palo Alto/Mountain View would mean a pain in the a$$ commute every day (although lots of people do worse), and paying more rent for the privilege of living in those places.

In general, the East Bay cities (places like Newark/Fremont) tend to attract professionals from a wider variety of industries, so it's a more balanced group. Silicon Valley professionals are dominated by engineers & programmers, which attracts a certain type of personality, which you may or may not like.

I, personally live and work in downtown San Jose & love it. It's large enough and has enough things to do to feel like a real downtown without the intense crowdedness you get in other big city downtowns. However, if I had to commute to Newark every day, living here would lose a good bit of its appeal. Why live in a downtown only to commute 1/2 hour or more to work every day??? Your mileage may vary.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Living in San Jose or Palo Alto/Mountain View would mean a pain in the a$$ commute every day (although lots people do worse), and paying more rent for the privilege of living in those places.

Actually, living in Palo Alto/Mt. View and commuting to Fremont/Newark isn't too bad - about 25-30 minutes depending on location, because the direction of the commute is pretty favorable (either via 237 or the Dumbarton Bridge). I live in Palo Alto and used to commute to Newark via the Dumbarton, took me 25 minutes each way, relatively painless.

Now if you live in the Fremont area and had to commute to Palo Alto/Mt. View, that would be difficult.

But I would agree with mysticaltyger on the relative merits of living locally in Fremont/Newark and working nearby - you'll save money and time both in terms of housing and travel time.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by silverkris

Actually, living in Palo Alto/Mt. View and commuting to Fremont/Newark isn't too bad - about 25-30 minutes depending on location, because the direction of the commute is pretty favorable (either via 237 or the Dumbarton Bridge). I live in Palo Alto and used to commute to Newark via the Dumbarton, took me 25 minutes each way, relatively painless.

Now if you live in the Fremont area and had to commute to Palo Alto/Mt. View, that would be difficult.

But I would agree with mysticaltyger on the relative merits of living locally in Fremont/Newark and working nearby - you'll save money and time both in terms of housing and travel time.

OK, I admit I'm totally spoiled and I now think a 25 minute commute s*cks, even though it's totally normal. I walk 1 block to work and hope I never have to commute again (although I know that's probably not realistic ).

But I do wonder, how much are those bridge tolls for the Dumbarton? Add in the cost of living in pricier Palo Alto/MV, plus the bridge tolls, and we're talking some serious money over time.

But overall, we basically agree. Live close to work in Fremont/Newark where both rent & commuting costs are cheaper and drive or take BART around the Bay to do fun things on nights and weekends. It may sound dull, but it's better for one's sanity & pocketbook in the long run.

But if living in an urban area is a must, then downtown San Jose would be my choice (assuming a person doesn't want to commute from San Francisco).

[silverkris]

The bridge tolls are now $4.00 westbound, and yes, they can add up.

While Fremont doesn't have a central downtown (a legacy of being incorporated from something like 5 small towns - Centerville, Decoto, Irvington, Warm Springs, Mission San Jose), it does have a ton of diversity in terms of people. Its residents hail from over 30-40 countries speaking more than 50 languages. Great place for cheap ethnic eats if you know where to look!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by silverkris

The bridge tolls are now $4.00 westbound, and yes, they can add up.

While Fremont doesn't have a central downtown (a legacy of being incorporated from something like 5 small towns - Centerville, Decoto, Irvington, Warm Springs, Mission San Jose), it does have a ton of diversity in terms of people. Its residents hail from over 30-40 countries speaking more than 50 languages. Great place for cheap ethnic eats if you know where to look!

Yes, I knew Fremont was pretty ethnic, which is cool. The weather is probably the best in the Bay Area, IMO (warm enough summers, but rarely 90F). The downside is it's just dull as all h*ll. The BART station is an asset, though.

Palo Alto is great if you can truly afford it. I had a next door neighbor who lived there. I, personally, thought he was stretching too much to pay the rent to live somewhere trendy, especially considering he worked in downtown SJ. Not worth it unless you can keep the rent to less than 25% of gross income, IMO. I suspect there are alot of people in PA who are stretching more than they should in order to be able to live there.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by silverkris

The bridge tolls are now $4.00 westbound, and yes, they can add up.

While Fremont doesn't have a central downtown (a legacy of being incorporated from something like 5 small towns - Centerville, Decoto, Irvington, Warm Springs, Mission San Jose), it does have a ton of diversity in terms of people. Its residents hail from over 30-40 countries speaking more than 50 languages. Great place for cheap ethnic eats if you know where to look!

Actually the toll is $5.00 now.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

Actually the toll is $5.00 now.

Wow! I haven't been over the bridges in awhile, thanks for the update.