Relocating 28-year-old woman- should I live in San Jose or commute? (San Francisco: apartments, condos)

[Rachel_K]

Hi,

I'm a 28 year old single female who is moving to California from Phily this summer, and I would love any advice.

I'm going to be working for an arts agency in San Jose, and I don't know anyone in the area. Ideally, I would love to be around other young people (i.e. not families and married couples). I'm not into the hard-core clubbing scene, but I like to go to cafes, bars with friends, art galleries, movies, poetry slams, etc. I also love to bike, hike, and go camping.

I've been told NOT to live in San Jose (hard to meet other young people, not much to do, etc.). I love S.F. so I was thinking about looking for a place in Berkeley or Oakland, but I don't know if the commute will be horrible. If I live in S.F. or the east bay, how bad would the commute be? Would it be a reverse commute? How long would it take?

Or would it be better to live in Mountain View, Palo Alto, or Cupertino? How are those areas for younger (20's and 30's) people? Are there other areas that would be better?

Any suggestions, recommendations would be appreciated!!!

Thanks so much!

Rachel

[lyndaloo]

Go for Mountain view or Palo Alto. The commute would be horrible in SF, Berkely or Oakland. Oakland is scary in my opinion. Also theirs the southbay, such as Los Gatos and Campbell which are quaint and nice for biking and cafes

[cntower]

is there really nothing to do in SJ? I keep hearing it over and over again...

[rubyskye]

Originally Posted by Rachel_K

Hi,

I'm a 28 year old single female who is moving to California from Phily this summer, and I would love any advice.

I'm going to be working for an arts agency in San Jose, and I don't know anyone in the area. Ideally, I would love to be around other young people (i.e. not families and married couples). I'm not into the hard-core clubbing scene, but I like to go to cafes, bars with friends, art galleries, movies, poetry slams, etc. I also love to bike, hike, and go camping.

I've been told NOT to live in San Jose (hard to meet other young people, not much to do, etc.). I love S.F. so I was thinking about looking for a place in Berkeley or Oakland, but I don't know if the commute will be horrible. If I live in S.F. or the east bay, how bad would the commute be? Would it be a reverse commute? How long would it take?

Or would it be better to live in Mountain View, Palo Alto, or Cupertino? How are those areas for younger (20's and 30's) people? Are there other areas that would be better?

Any suggestions, recommendations would be appreciated!!!

Thanks so much!

Rachel

I'd recommend the Santa Cruz area (it meets your criteria) but you'd have to be willing to do the brutal commute. Without traffic, I can get over the hill to San Jose from Santa Cruz in under an hour. But the morning rush hour from S.C. > San Jose and the afternoon rush going back to S.C. is not something i'd want to do on a daily basis. But if your job has flexibility regarding the hours you work, Santa Cruz may work for you.
If you could leave S.C. after 9:30 - 10:00 in the a.m. (or really, really early in the morning) and leave S.C. later in the evening (or early afternoon), you could avoid the traffic.
It's just an idea because you may really like Santa Cruz and find the scene a good one for you. It's a great place to live and people do that commute ever day but it's not an easy one. Just depends on your priorities i guess.
Good luck.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by cntower

is there really nothing to do in SJ? I keep hearing it over and over again...

I'm pretty sure the people who say that have never been to Willow Glen or Blossom Valley. I usually came up to SJ from Morgan Hill because I was bored.

[MikeSJ]

Although San Francisco has far more going on than any other place in the bay area, I believe some areas of the south bay has potiential for what you may be looking for. The following may be some areas that you would be interested in.

Downtown Palo Alto

Located near Stanford University. Downtown but plenty of shops, resturants, bars and tend to have street artists. Surrounding area is quite nice. Fairly expensive.

Los Gatos

Small city nestled next to the Santa Cruz mountians. Much of the city has old Victorian houses with a a historic downtown with shops, resturants, and bars. Fairly expensive.

Santana Row - San Jose

An urban village built in 2002 with plenty of shops, resturants, and bars. An intregated area with retail on the lower floors and condos on the upper floors. Plenty of people in the streets during the day and some night life. Very expensive.

Downtown San Jose

A city under development. Like many US cities, downtown San Jose was deteriating until 20 years ago when an effort was started to restore the downtown. The core downtown is less than 1 square mile but if the surrounding condos and townhouses are included, it is about 2 square miles. San Jose State University (enrollment of about 30,000) is right next to downtown and Santa Clara University is about 2 miles from downtown. The city is surrounded by old Victorian houses with no industrial areas like many other US cities.

The city of San Jose has spent over $1 billion over the past 20 years restoring historic buildings including churches, museums, theaters, apartments, and businesses. The city is very clean, relatively safe, and most historic buildings have been restored. The downtown includes 6 museums, 6 theaters, and the arena for sports and concerts. The downtown has plenty of bars, clubs, and restarants with sidewalk service. On weekend nights, the bars/clubs are packed and the streets are filled with mostly the under 40 crowd.

Cheaper than any of the other areas mentioned.

Commuting from San Francisco or Berkley

I would suggest that if you decide to commute you should check the Caltrain schedule to/from San Francisco or the Amtreck schedule to/from Berkley. Although the express train only takes about 1 hour to San Fransico, if your residence and business locations are not near the train stations, it could take you over 2 hours each way. Although San Francisco can be very nice, it can also be very cold even during the summer. Living in San Francisco is very expensive.

[Rachel_K]

Wow! This is all so helpful! Thank you so much everyone.

More and more, I'm leaning toward Palo Alto because I love the intellectual environment of college towns. But I really appreciate everyone's input!

Rachel

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by Rachel_K

Wow! This is all so helpful! Thank you so much everyone.

More and more, I'm leaning toward Palo Alto because I love the intellectual environment of college towns. But I really appreciate everyone's input!

I don't know that PA compares to the normal college town because it's anchored by an elite and rather expensive private university. It's definitely not a bad place to be, though.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by rubyskye

I'd recommend the Santa Cruz area (it meets your criteria) but you'd have to be willing to do the brutal commute. Without traffic, I can get over the hill to San Jose from Santa Cruz in under an hour. But the morning rush hour from S.C. > San Jose and the afternoon rush going back to S.C. is not something i'd want to do on a daily basis. But if your job has flexibility regarding the hours you work, Santa Cruz may work for you.
If you could leave S.C. after 9:30 - 10:00 in the a.m. (or really, really early in the morning) and leave S.C. later in the evening (or early afternoon), you could avoid the traffic.
It's just an idea because you may really like Santa Cruz and find the scene a good one for you. It's a great place to live and people do that commute ever day but it's not an easy one. Just depends on your priorities i guess.
Good luck.

Good idea Saddle the OP with a "brutal commute" (your words, not mine) on a windy mountain road that will waste about 2 hours of her time everyday.

[jhazz8]

I am a 30ish single male, professional, considering a job in San Jose as well. I am living in Denver, and while I'd prefer to stay here for family reasons, the jobs may/may not be available here. I love the outdoors, recreation, etc. While I enjoy nightlife, I find it's best spent with someone else...thus I don't feed off of it to meet girls.

I've only visited San Jose once, and as it seems nice enough, like Rachel K, I'm not sure how good it is as a single scene. Mixed reviews on the web. Some say there are plenty of singles, some say not. Denver is a little homogenous, albeit fun. I would be working in a hospital making good money, but my questions are (from not having been to the suburbs or knowing the area):
1) Are there events/activities/nightlife in San Jose and opportunities to meet young, professional, attractive women (non-divorced, etc)???
2) Living. Again, I don't know much about the area. There are some nice high-rise condos in the city (expensive), but I'm not sure if the clientele are old rocking chair types, married, or young/active individuals as myself. I hear Santana Row is nice, but no nothing about it.

To native San Jose guys/girl, any advice?? I lived in upstate New York for 6 years where there were very few young professionals and it sucked. I'm trying not to make the same mistake - although I don't think you can compare the bay area to upstate NY.

Thanx for any help you can offer!!!