San Jose currently most expensive metro in USA (San Francisco, Walnut Creek: city hall, hotel)

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by duffdog

I do know how to have fun, and it involves me with attractive, thin, young women doing active things outdoors like boating, skiing, hiking, etc.

Welcome back to the topic duffdog, never stop being yourself

[Potion of Boredom]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

I was raised in SJ, but I was born in this city below:




I also lived for a time in this city below:



In San Jose we don't have a huge cliff front, so we won't get something like the town you just posted. It is just the way it is with the weather and the geography here.

We do have this:

So how would you call SJ any better, besides job market and perhaps climate?

[bobby_guz_man]

Of Note: The beauty of San Jose's geography lies in its hills, and recently Aquila Loops Trail high above Sierra Road has been opened to the public 2 weeks ago, affording the highest vista point (with proper parking) above The Valley without having to drive to The Observatory. You guys who live in the Valley should definitely check it out!!!

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by trollsack

So how would you call SJ any better, besides job market and perhaps climate?

I had to fix the image links. You can check them again.

Trollsack, no one in their right mind is arguing that San Jose is better than SF, Seattle, DC, etc. What some of us have problems with is that you and a few others like to insinuate that, because our city isn't exceptionally beautiful, it somehow equals the people being boring, bland, uninteresting. This is not true. It may not be a great looking place, but it is still a great place to live for a million of us, and it's not because we like to be around boring people

And it's not fair to compare San Jose to SF and LA, the cities whose pictures that you have posted earlier. SF was the largest city in the West Coast in 1906, with 400,000 residents at that time. San Jose had 100,000 residents in 1950. LA had 1.5 million residents by 1950. SF has at least 100 years head start before San Jose, AND it was blessed with a picturesque scenery to boot. LA had a million residents in 1930, 80 years before San Jose reached that milestone.

San Jose is a late-bloomer city. In terms of urbanizing, it is very VERY young. So in terms of architecture, it lacks behind the other cities. But it will change with as time goes by. But it had to change when people act on it, and affect the changes. It will mean you and me supporting local restaurants (good ones, of course), supporting local arts/venues/acts, being vocal at public design meetings for constructions/public works, and getting out there and enjoy the things that San Jose DO currently offer.

The location doesn't make you, you make yourself. Don't judge your self-worth by where you're from or where you're living. Living in some far-out Midwestern town does not preclude you (financial means being viable) to go to a library and open your mind, or do travels around the world to open your eyes. You don't have to live in Paris to be a more interesting person. To be interesting or not is up to you

But I am inspired by your posts to go out and take some pictures of this city. I've never done that before. So I just rummaged through my garage and found my Nikon again. Look for some very un-professional pictures in the San Jose Pictures section soon!

[leaningfizz]

Perfectly put. People forget that until very recently, we were just some podunk town in the middle of a massive rural area. This city grew fast, and has gained nearly 400,000 new residents in just my lifetime alone. Big time cultural hub cities didn't pop up overnight, it took many generations for them to grow into what they are. As far as big cities go, San Jose is still in its infancy, and that's not really a bad thing.

[Potion of Boredom]

What makes me unhappy is that they are not even trying to improve SJ's downtown, and it isn't any better than what we had 10 years ago in DTSJ. People made articles online in 2007 about urbanizing SJ, and still haven't done it.

I don't know why the people running the city were so stupid to make the airport that close to downtown. IMO that Mineta airport should be shut down because there is a much much bigger SFO airport just an hour north of it. So then they can actually improve the downtown.

[leaningfizz]

What are you talking about? There are dozens of projects downtown, either already underway or in the approval phase.

[nagleepark]

San Jose downtown is improving, just at a slow pace. There are areas of new development but they are still islands with areas of very old development. I'm also seeing a lot of places that were new development 10 years ago and now are in decline. In some cases, the old development doesn't look so bad UNTIL you see a new development next door which looks great in and of itself but doesn't fit into the neighborhood. There's a long running trend of building developments that are self-contained (the "Las Vegas effect") where the outer neighborhood is ignored and a developer-built, controlled neighborhood is created in a central courtyard of the "fortress" or on the lower levels of the high-rise buildings.

[Potion of Boredom]

@bobby_guz_man

So you're agreeing that San Jose doesn't look very beautiful or urbanized compared to SF or LA.

Then why would you want to live in SJ even if you know it isn't as cool as most cities? You didn't really give any reason. If your only reason is the low crime and good job market, that probably means you aren't a fun person.

[WillowGlenMom]

I find this whole thread really odd. I have lived in several metropolitan areas throughout the U.S. and I love living in San Jose. The weather, the diversity of people, the friendliness of our neighborhood, and the easy access to SO MUCH (beaches, parks, hiking trails, quaint downtown areas, trains, great playgrounds for kids, redwood forests, great shopping, great produce, San Francisco, Wine Country, Tahoe, Carmel, Monterrey, Yosemite, etc...etc...etc) are all things that make for a great quality of life for our family. I like taking my kids to the Children's Museum, the Tech Museum, and San Pedro Square and it being an EASY experience. I have heard that the Egyptian Museum is very cool too. I love the Rose Garden and the proximity we now have to the new Earthquakes stadium. Sharks games are also a fun treat...and so close by our neighborhood. Yes, the cost of living is high...for a reason! I have lived in other much cheaper areas and some that are as expensive. For our family, this is definitely the best fit as we love being outside and enjoying the amazing weather. I also am not a "tech-nerd" (and have never been called ugly:-) However, I am happy to have my children grow up in an environment where people place a high value on education...I guess some may call them nerds. Finally, many people I meet in San Jose (especially Willow Glen) have lived here for a long time. This is very different than other cities I lived in previously and it speaks volumes.