Opinions on Willow Glen? (San Jose, Burbank: apartment, house, neighborhood)

[a2marina]

Like so many other posters to this forum, I'm relocating to San Jose for work. I'll probably be working near Branham Ln and Pearl Ave, but my job may move me between locations within the city from time to time. I'm single, female, in my late 20s. Ideally I'd like to live within reasonable walking distance of restaurants, stores, and cafes, and somewhere that's generally single-friendly. I'm not particularly interested in bars or clubbing.

I was thinking of living in the Willow Glen area of San Jose, since it seemed to be not far from my work and supposedly has a downtown of sorts. Does this sound like a reasonable plan? If not, where would you suggest in the surrounding cities/suburbs? Mountain View has been recommended to me, though I don't know how fun it will be to live there if I'm not close to Castro St (and I'm not seeing much posted that is close to MV's downtown).

I'm ultimately hoping for a commute that's no more than 40 minutes or so, and a 1 bedroom apartment that's $1400 or less.

[krudmonk]

Downtown WG is more quaint than lively. It's really nice and all, but for the 40-60 age group.

[Giosue]

However just to cover other good options...The Rose Garden area is amazingly beautiful, also the Alameda...for a more eclectic area that is still close to downtown and many conveniences the "Burbank" area as it used to be called (i would say most people say W. San Carlos) would be very fun and more unique...and you have the advantage of having an amazing selection of different restaurants and bakeries. And of course if you want to head to the suburbs Los Gatos and Saratoga are the most pedestrian friendly places in the So Bay with everything from bars and restaurants and good Caffe, to hiking trails and shops. these would be my suggestions...but defenetly Willow Glen is a great option...cant beat LaVilla

[a2marina]

Thanks for the input!

krudmonk: Are there really no young people in Willow Glen? What makes you say it's for an older set? As I said, I don't really care about the bar scene, but I would like access to restaurants, bakeries, shops etc.

[baggy]

Willow Glen is a great town, like the others have said, but more of a family atmosphere.

[MichaelinWA]

When I lived in SJ, Willow Glen was a favorite place to eat. Lots of interesting restaurants along Lincoln. I don't know if these are still open a couple of years later, but Willow Street (Wood-Fired) Pizza and a Mexican place called Aqui were a couple that I really liked.

Homes can be quite expensive in that desirable neighborhood, though.

[Luke9686]

Willow Glen is a very nice area. I agree it's more quaint than lively. I have noticed an older crowd also.

Downtown Los Gatos is nice, as is MV.

[a2marina]

baggy, MichaelinWA, and Luke9686: Thank you for chiming in!

Hmm, maybe I'll be happier somewhere in downtown then. I've gathered from other threads that some parts of downtown are better than others--what would the boundaries of places to avoid? Is the Burbank area mentioned above considered part of downtown (as in, when searching Craigslist)? Do others have opinions on that part of the city?

How is Japantown for a single person, both entertainment wise and safety wise?

Is my budget for a 1 BR reasonable? Should I be thinking studio instead?

[krudmonk]

Japantown is not as snooty as Willow Glen but has roughly that same small town look. It's also closer to to DTSJ. The area is not upper class at all, unlike WG.

Burbank is in between downtown and Santana Row. It's more like the former, though, in terms of people you'll find. The area is peppered with various establishments with no specific demographic in mind.

Another good, comfortable area is just west of downtown on The Alameda. It's a bit dressed up like WG but not surrounded by million-dollar homes.

[Luke9686]

Elegant Rose Garden Victorian, Open House 5/31 & 6/1 (broken link)

Magnificent 1903 Large Rose Garden/College Park Victorian-5bdrm/3bath