Santa Clara - single life? (San Jose, Oakland: apartments, for rent, safe neighborhoods)

[gohigher78]

In thinking about relocating to Santa Clara, as a single just out of college male, would anyone have recommendations on the best areas for renting (at first) for:
- single neighborhoods with other people in their 20s, no matter what the cost?
- moderately priced but SAFE neighborhoods, 20s or not?
Considering either Santa Clara neighborhoods or towns nearby, within 20 minutes drive or 30 minutes max drive.

Thank you very much for your thoughts.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by gohigher78

- single neighborhoods with other people in their 20s, no matter what the cost?
- moderately priced but SAFE neighborhoods, 20s or not?

The area around SCU has plenty of young people, obviously.

We'll need to know what you would call 'moderately priced', since SC doesn't figure to have much the isn't normally considered quite pricy.

[Billy Millennium]

Moderately priced apartments basically don't exist around here. For "moderately priced" you'll need a roommate or two.

As the poster above said, that area would be your best bet. But even then I wouldn't consider it a young area. SCU is a small school. But again, it's the best you got for Santa Clara.

If you consider dtown San Jose, that will have a younger vibe due to a much larger university and some entertainment options.

[roadwarrior101]

I would say that Palo Alto is probably your best bet for young professionals in the Silicon Valley. However, by and large, the single life for guys in the Silicon Valley is not the best. That's why many people choose to live in SF and do the commute down to the Silicon Valley.

[ccm123]

I'd say Mountain View has pretty decent nightlife compared with the surrounding areas.

[gohigher78]

I very much appreciate all of your thoughts, thank you!

If you had to rank these, would anyone like to venture which they would do in terms of single friendly?
Also, how would you rank these in terms of costs and proximity to public transportation (Cal Train, etc.)?

- Downtown Los Gatos
- Santana Row
- Downtown San Jose
- Downtown Campbell
- Palo Alto - not sure best parts?
- Mountain View - not sure best parts?
- Willow Glen?
- Any other single friendly(er) areas?

Thanks so much, my goal is for this to help me and hopefully other people looking here too!

[roadwarrior101]

My ranking:

2 - Downtown Los Gatos
7 - Santana Row
4 - Downtown San Jose
5 - Downtown Campbell
1- Palo Alto - (University Ave)
3 - Mountain View - (Castro Street)
6 - Willow Glen
- Any other single friendly(er) areas? (SF would win if you're willing to commute long distances)

[gone down south]

- Downtown Los Gatos - small and snooty. Not much happening past 10pm
- Santana Row - small and trashy, lots of slutty girls who hang out with you until the coke is gone.
- Downtown San Jose - obnoxious crowds, some decent bars and lots of ghetto clubs.
- Downtown Campbell - very small, not much action past 10pm
- Palo Alto - good restaurants, sidewalks roll up at 10.
- Mountain View - same as PA
- Willow Glen? A little more middle aged/settled down than you're looking for.
- Any other single friendly(er) areas? Yeah, SF, Oakland and Berkeley are really it for reliable fun times for singles.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by gone down south

- Downtown Los Gatos - small and snooty. Not much happening past 10pm
- Santana Row - small and trashy, lots of slutty girls who hang out with you until the coke is gone.
- Downtown San Jose - obnoxious crowds, some decent bars and lots of ghetto clubs.
- Downtown Campbell - very small, not much action past 10pm
- Palo Alto - good restaurants, sidewalks roll up at 10.
- Mountain View - same as PA
- Willow Glen? A little more middle aged/settled down than you're looking for.
- Any other single friendly(er) areas? Yeah, SF, Oakland and Berkeley are really it for reliable fun times for singles.

I don't have personal experience with Santana Row girls and coke...but this post seems pretty accurate. The South Bay's club/party scene is weak for such a populated area.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I don't have personal experience with Santana Row girls and coke...but this post seems pretty accurate. The South Bay's club/party scene is weak for such a populated area.

The partiers go out and party, the geeks stay home. There just happens to be a high geek ratio here.

Referring to a previous post from gds, I would dispute the notion that there are many ghetto clubs in downtown SJ: If anything, more silly yuppie dance clubs that don't last very long, and what live music venues are left are pretty good. Caravan is a quality lowbrow dive bar from the sixties - not ghetto. Much better than cheesy, plastic Satanic Row.