potential move to San Jose - Male late 20's (Oakland: neighborhoods, college)

[frokilin]

Hi,

I am moving to the Bay area to work for a company in Fremont. I am thinking on moving to San Jose because of the commute.

How is life there for a male in his late 20's? I like neighborhoods with some bars, restaurants... something going on socially. I like sports, and going out for beers, have dinner and party every now and then on weekends.

What would be your recommendation?

Thank you!

[mstnghu2]

These days, commuting throughout the Bay Area is pretty terrible. There are plenty of cities/towns all over that have some sort of nightlife that would give you what you're looking for but unless you plan to go out every night, you should live close to work.

If you do want to live in a more urban and active social environment around bars/restaurants etc., downtown San Jose would probably be your best bet. It's mostly a reverse commute from downtown SJ but Fremont is actually a somewhat big city, so your commute times can vary quite a bit depending on where exactly your job is located.

If you don't mind living in a more "boring" neighborhood, you might be happier living closer to work. Traffic is bad all over the Bay Area and commuting far can get old quickly. Unfortunately, Fremont and the surrounding cities are all typical suburban communities with no real nightlife. There are plenty of good restaurants and local bars though. It's just not what you're probably hoping for.

[dogandcat]

Originally Posted by frokilin

Hi,

I am moving to the Bay area to work for a company in Fremont. I am thinking on moving to San Jose because of the commute.

How is life there for a male in his late 20's? I like neighborhoods with some bars, restaurants... something going on socially. I like sports, and going out for beers, have dinner and party every now and then on weekends.

What would be your recommendation?

Thank you!

Downtown San Jose.

[marcopolo666]

I'd suggest living fairly close to work (Fremont should be cheaper than San Jose anyways) and take public transport into town when you want to party. Drive to the closest light rail station, park and take light rail into SJ. Or, if you want to go to Berkeley/Oakland, drive to closest BART station, and take BART there. That gives you the added advantage of being able to detox a bit on pubtrans before getting behind the wheel.

Or just drive to where you want to party, and be careful. Traffic after 7pm isn't that bad, and you'll only be doing that once or twice a week. Driving to work in rush hour is hell, and you'll do that 5 days a week, twice.

[joey_mcmarbles]

You don't want to live in San Jose, it's called "Man Jose" for a reason. Even Milpitas (despite the smell) is a better place to live than San Jose.

[frokilin]

I will work at Tesla, checking the commute from SJ to there, it is about 20 minutes so I think is not that bad. But I really appreciate to, some days, have a beer after work and go out and see people and life.

I have also though to live somewhere else and take the public transport when needed. Any recommendation?

It is downtown SJ dangerous at all?

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by frokilin

I will work at Tesla, checking the commute from SJ to there, it is about 20 minutes so I think is not that bad.

I guarantee you it is not 20 minutes during rush hour. We have long rush hours here. Traffic starts getting heavy around 3 pm.

It's crazy to live in San Jose and commute to Fremont.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by frokilin

I will work at Tesla, checking the commute from SJ to there, it is about 20 minutes so I think is not that bad. But I really appreciate to, some days, have a beer after work and go out and see people and life.

I have also though to live somewhere else and take the public transport when needed. Any recommendation?

It is downtown SJ dangerous at all?

Completely ignore joey_mcmarbles. He's constantly trolling this forum.

As for the commute, since Tesla is on the south end of Fremont, the commute from downtown SJ really wouldn't be that bad. Coming from downtown SJ would mostly be a reverse commute. Getting out of SJ would be a little difficult, but by the time you got near Milpitas you'd pretty much be going the speed limit on the freeway the rest of the way to Tesla.

I'd consider downtown SJ to be mostly safe. It does tend to attract a somewhat rowdy college-age crowd on the weekends, but I've always felt safe there. Whatever events are going on at places like SAP Center for example, tend to determine what type of crowd is around at the time. Sharks games tend to be very family-oriented, whereas different types of concerts attract other different types of people. Whenever there are events going on, the bars and restaurants get pretty packed. There is also a somewhat significant homeless population downtown. Overall though, I'd consider downtown to be reasonably safe and clean and I wouldn't have a problem living there if I was young and single.

[dogandcat]

Originally Posted by frokilin

It is downtown SJ dangerous at all?

It is not a suburb style safety. But It is not dangerous for a man in his late 20's believe me ))

[treedroppings]

I saw a drunk 21year old on his birthday get beat up by two gangsta types at Paddy's a couple of years back. But he was slam dancing on them first.