Thinking about moving to San Jose, CA and The Bay Area. Is it nice there?

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

You probably don't find that in San Jose, because so much of the earlier population there has been replaced by out-of-state and international transplants, but I grew up with that in Berkeley, and I still experience it out in the neighborhoods. I've run into it when visiting friends in Marin's small towns, too. I always thought it was part of Bay Area culture.

OTOH, probably no one outside of the South is "Texas friendly". It's all relative.

Air quality is good except for when there are wildfires to the east, or in the redwood forests to the south of SJ. Fortunately, it's only happened once in the redwood forests. Unfortunately, it happened once, and destroyed one of the largest parks south of SJ.

Shopping: downtown Oakland used to be the East Bay shopping mecca, but that's changed. For SJ, Palo Alto has a good shopping district. I was going to say San Francisco was the big draw for shoppers from all over the Bay Area, but a few major retailers have left, so I don't know where to recommend, now. Walnut Creek, I guess? It depends on what you're looking for. There are a couple of commercial streets in Berkeley that are great for shopping and lunching, if you like small artisanal shops for everything from clothes to books to housewares. North Oakland, too.

My husband and I spent five weeks back east this fall, the first week in North Carolina and the subsequent four weeks near Washington DC and Northern Virginia. First, we were shocked by how much more friendly people in North Carolina were than in San Diego, and we thought people are pretty friendly here, but then in Northern Virginia and DC, nobody ever smiled or said hello. I think California in general is on the friendlier side but not like the south.

As for shopping in the south bay, some of the very best shopping is right in the San Jose area. Valley Fair Mall in Santa Clara, according to wikipedia, " is the largest mall, by area, in Northern California and has higher sales revenue than all other malls in California, including the two in Southern California which have larger area than Valley Fair." It is also the 13th largest mall in the entire country and has tenants not found anywhere else in the region, such as Eataly.

Santana row, right across the street in San jose, is also not to be overlooked, as that has the coolest outdoor ambiance of any mall in the area.

[Suesbal]

Does the OP know the way to San Jose?

[510native]

As someone who has lived most of my life in the Bay Area since birth (except for periods when I was in grad school), including several years in San Jose, I will give my (obviously subjective) answers to your questions:

Nightlife in The Bay Area?
It's best in SF, although there are also some good spots in downtown SJ. However, compared to other metro areas I've been to, Bay Area nightlife is not the best, albeit not the worst. A lot of Bay Area singles (and I am generalizing, of course) are into daytime, outdoor activities like hiking, etc. more than they are big nighttime partiers. (Certainly, plenty of people enjoy both.) Btw, if you enjoy outdoor recreation, the Bay Area is hard to beat.
Job market in The Bay Area? Is it competitive? DFW is fiercely competitive, is The Bay Area also cut throat competitive as well?
In tech, yes, it is currently cut-throat, much worse than I have seen for quite a while. Also, if you are an American citizen, you will be competing with a huge population of immigrants on HB-1 visas who can be, and are, paid less by employers. (This applies mainly to software engineers.) That's not to say there are not tons of jobs in the Bay Area--there are. It's just that most of the ones which are easier to get (e.g. in the service industry) do not pay a living wage given the very high cost of living here.
Transportation? Can I get around without a car most of the time?
Absolutely not unless you live and work in SF, with the exception that if you can land a job with a huge tech firm like Google, Apple, etc. you can get a free ride to and from the Silicon Valley/SJ area each day on one of their commuter busses. If you are anywhere outside SF proper, and even in certain neighborhoods in SF, you will be hard pressed to do grocery shopping or any other errands without a car. If you are okay with taking Uber or Lyft everywhere, though, this won't be an issue.
Friendliness, Hospitality, & kindness, how friendly are the people? Are they Texas friendly? Much as I hate to say this about my home area, NO. I'd say most people are fairly polite but not especially friendly. Obviously, many people will be friendly if you are friendly to them, but in general, people here, whether American-born or immigrants, are not noted for their friendliness.
Shopping in The Bay Area?
You will have no problems shopping for anything you need/want, especially in SF or SJ. Be prepared to be shocked by the high sales tax, though.
Crime? I keep reading that the crime is really high in The Bay Area, but I think the media is portraying what isn't true. I think it's probably really safe there.
In terms of violent crime, that has increased the past few years, but in general, it's not a problem except in a few areas. Property crime is very high, much higher in my opinion than official statistics reflect. I say this because I know many people who do not even bother reporting property crimes anymore, e.g. a good friend who had his car windows smashed multiple times within a few months in SF. However, you can generally avoid violent crime by avoiding a few areas.
Ease of making friends and meeting people. Are people easy going? Is it easy to make friends? I don't know a single soul in the Bay Area.
It is not easy. I have many friends, but I've lived here most of my life and am an extremely outgoing person. Others tell me that they do not find the Bay Area an easy place to make new friendships.
Is The Bay Area a more aggressive area than DFW or least aggressive?
I know nothing of DWF so can't compare.
Weather?
Perfect, according to most people. However, if you live in certain areas in or near SF you may find it too foggy/cool for your liking. There is no extreme weather, though, like one finds in Texas.
Cost of Living? I know it's expensive, but you pay the premium. How much income would I need to survive there?
There are many online COL calculators which would give you better info than I can. It of course depends hugely on your lifestyle/interests/whether you are single/married/have kids, etc.
Traffic? I bet traffic is much less than DFW and probably flows faster, but I could be wrong. To me, the traffic here is horrible, but again, I can't compare it to that in DFW.
Air Quality? Is the air quality good or bad most of the time?
Again, this is one of those relative things, like traffic. Immigrants I know from places like China and India, FWIW, say they find the air here very clean compared to where they hail from...but I'm not sure that's saying much. I don't find it that bad.
Vibe? Is it more laid back?
More than where? The few times I've been to TX (though again, I have zero experience of DFW), I have found Texas and Texans to be far more laid back and friendly overall than the general Bay Area vibe, but your experience may be different.

[AnythingOutdoors]

None of these other concerns matter unless OP can afford the Bay Area.

OP, unless you already know people in SJ or are willing to spit a house/apartment with strangers, you're looking at a one bed rental.

The median price for a one-bed in SJ is currently $2500. This is about double the price of rent in DFW.

Paying 30% or more of your income is the threshold for being rent burdened, which means struggling to pay rent and having essentially nothing left for savings or having fun. At current rent prices you need around $100,000 of annual income to avoid being rent burdened. At less than $100k income you'll have a bad experience in SJ.

Paying 50% or more of your income on rent is to be severely rent burdened. At this level, you won't just struggle to pay rent, you'll be making trade-offs between essentials and falling further and further behind. Things like missing meals to pay rent, skipping medications, etc. At current prices $60,000 of annual income is severely rent burdened in San Jose. At less than $60k income you'll have a very bad experience in SJ and are fairly likely to end up homeless.

[jcp123]

In short?

I grew up next door to SJ, in Milpitas. It is heavily suburban, and while you may not NEED a car, you’ll definitely want one. Preferably something efficient - fuel costs are rather insane out west, more so than ever before. Speaking of traffic, it was bad when I left way back in the day and evidently has only gotten worse. Now, because I grew up with it, it’s a “normal” amount of traffic - and IMHO less than Los Angeles - but if you’re not used to it, it can be very frustrating. Aside from US75 out of downtown and 635, Dallas generally has what I would call less traffic than the Bay Area. Nightlife? Most of your big cultural stuff is up in SF, though that doesn’t mean there isn’t a bit in SJ. It’s certainly not a nightlife hub, though. Most people don’t really have an issue heading up to the city from the South Bay, however, and that’s probably the best use of BART. Shopping? SJ has tons, and what you can’t find there you again can probably find in SF. Easygoing is not a term I would say applies to the Bay Area, it runs at a very fast pace. I do find people generally pretty pleasant for a large urban area, although with the massive numbers of immigrants there, you may find a bit of culture clash with regards to what some folks consider polite. Weather is basically perfect unless you’re into having seasons, and air pollution isn’t great but it’s not constantly bathed in smog. San Jose is basically surrounded on three sides by hills which tends to trap some portion of the pollutants, but I don’t remember it being a huge issue.

[njbiodude]

Don’t listen to the naysayers. San Jose is the best city to live in the Bay Area.

Food is excellent—really good Asian and Mexican.

The weather is some of the best in the Bay Area. 70s-90s and dry in the summer and 50s and 60s in the winter. Occasionally you get frost at night but it’s usually not too bad.

You’re 35-50 minutes from the beach in Santa Cruz

Nightlife in downtown is pretty good. Pour House Bistro and Mama Kims downtown are good music places. San Pedro square is a hopping bar area. The comedy club is good and there’s a good symphony. If you like shallow hot boys or girls Santana Row is also a good option.

The main issues are you need a lot of money to enjoy what the area offers and the traffic is pretty terrible.