Nice place to live in south bay (San Jose, San Francisco: apartments, to rent)

[valleybond]

New to california and looking for nice place to live in south bay. Could someone suggest me best place for single guy to live, any upscale apts /cozy studios to rent ?? Any suggestions would be highly appreciated, Thanks.

[sonarrat]

Are you after a quiet, exclusive suburban neighborhood? That'll be Los Gatos or Saratoga. Something with a bit of nightlife? Santa Cruz. Want to be around 900,000 other people, with all of the advantages and disadvantages thereof? San Jose. Like a bit of country flavor? Morgan Hill. Love garlic? Gilroy.

Anyone else have anything to add?

[valleybond]

Thanks a lot, you summed it up well .

Looking for something more of a nightlife, driving distance to sunnyvale (where i work), where I can socialize and meet nice people....If I could get all that @ quiet, exclusive suburban, that would be awesome too.

[sonarrat]

You can live in a quiet suburban area and drive/take transit to nightlife, but you're not going to find them in the same place. San Jose does seem to have more going on downtown now than it used to.

[humboldtrat]

If you want upscale, try Santana Row in San Jose Santana Row.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by valleybond

Thanks a lot, you summed it up well .

Looking for something more of a nightlife, driving distance to sunnyvale (where i work), where I can socialize and meet nice people....If I could get all that @ quiet, exclusive suburban, that would be awesome too.

I would think Mountain View or Palo Alto would be to your liking, if you could afford those places, as they are expensive, even by Silicon Valley standards.

Mountain View is the next town over from Sunnyvale. Palo Alto is a bit further but still a reasonable commute. Palo Alto is more expensive.

Sunnyvale itself has its pleasant areas, but much of the housting stock (apartments included) I've seen there are very bland and cookie cutter. However, Sunnyvale is large enough that there are probably some exceptions to this general rule. Same story with neighboring Santa Clara. Sunnyvale & Santa Clara are cheaper than Mountain View & Palo Alto.

Also, downtown San Jose would not be too far, either. They are putting up a lot of apartments & condos in the downtown. There is some nightlife downtown as well.

Beware however, that Silicon Valley is know known for its rip-roaring night life. For a large metropolitan area, it's very quiet (some would say boring) in that way. Many people like living in Mountain View or Palo Alto because those towns are closer to San Francisco (and its more varied social scene) than San Jose is.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Many people like living in Mountain View or Palo Alto because those towns are closer to San Francisco (and its more varied social scene) than San Jose is.

Bountiful? Definitely. Varied? Hardly.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by krudmonk

Bountiful? Definitely. Varied? Hardly.

Ok, but same general idea.