San Jose is actually larger than San Francisco? (Santa Cruz, Los Gatos: living in, shop)

[rimmerama]

Originally Posted by Downtown Truth Squad

San Jose is just an urban wasteland with no downtown. It has a large suburban tract area with strip malls. It's not a nice city to visit or live. The costs absolutely don't justify living there at all. Move to San Diego or San Francisco or even Sacramento.

Wait a minute... I'm in downtown San Jose right now... but it doesn't exist?! What's going to happen? Am I going to disappear?!

[Hwy phantom]

I noticed people often claim that San Jose has a population of 1 million or more but the reality is San Jose has never surpassed or even reached that mark. It's closer to 950k.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by Hwy phantom

I noticed people often claim that San Jose has a population of 1 million or more but the reality is San Jose has never surpassed or even reached that mark. It's closer to 950k.

Actually city/state estimates have been putting the population at about 974,000 for quite awhile now. San Jose has annexed quite a few unincorporated county pockets over the last few years so the population that is counted within the city limits has gone up even if that doesn't mean many new residents have moved into the city.

The population realistically is about 1 million now give or take a little bit. There are still quite a few unincorporated county pockets in and around San Jose where residents have San Jose mailing addresses while not technically city residents. Common sense says though that even though they don't actually live in San Jose, yes they really live in San Jose. If all these residents are counted, the population of SJ is most likely over 1 million.

[Heidi60]

There is also a huge vibe difference between W. San Jose and E. San Jose.

I agree with some other posters that it is hard to find a good pierogi in this area. There is a Russian deli on Almaden near Hwy 85 but that is just one compared to how many??? As far as I know there is only one Polish church in the San Jose area so get any European foods/culture you must leave San Jose. The City has much richer cultural activities than San Jose, but, San Jose has a better mayor!

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by Heidi60

get any European foods/culture you must leave San Jose.

Little Portugal. Hwy 101/E. Santa Clara St.

[Tomlcsc]

SF>SJ

-Better weather
-Better food, not even close
-Beaches
-Golden Gate Park
-China Town, North Beach, etc
-Gorgeous downtown
-Hills
etc,etc,etc

San Jose is a more liveable, doable city though overall. Still, I would pick SF over San Jose by a long shot.

[Harrier]

Since I am responsible for the resurection of this old thread(I love doing that!) I suppose I should contribute again. I am glad to see this debate going at full steam, hopefully someone will get useful info out of it.

Yes, San Jose has a downtown - if the above poster questions this - I wonder what strange definition they have for a downtown. I only visited San Jose (I won't say where I live because I will likely have bottles thrown at me - darn - I gave it away!) but the city definitely has a walkable, dynamic and cultural stimulating DT. There was a protest of some sort going on at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. I checked at the art museum which was first rate and went by both the Adobe House and Adobe Systems, walked along the Guadalupe trail, and visited out the library and Tech Museum.

Seems this thread pits those who think either SF or SJ is the better city. The thread is about San Jose being bigger then San Francisco. Since the SF crowd can't win this one I realize they have to argue about other things. Keep it lively!

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by Tomlcsc

SF>SJ

-Better weather
-Better food, not even close
-Beaches
-Golden Gate Park
-China Town, North Beach, etc
-Gorgeous downtown
-Hills
etc,etc,etc

San Jose is a more liveable, doable city though overall. Still, I would pick SF over San Jose by a long shot.

I think SF has a lot over SJ in many respects, but I strongly disagree with you regarding the weather. I lived in SOMA for 4 years (supposedly the best weather in all of SF) and while some days were occasionally nice, most were cold and blustery all day. Even the nice days got cold, windy and foggy by 4pm or so. Nights were frigid and windy. And this is supposed to be the nicest weather in SF! I'd visit friends in Pac Heights/Marina and even when it was warm in SOMA, it was frigid there. I really felt like I missed out on any kind of a summer.

Some people say that SJ is too hot, but I disagree. Most summer days are in the upper 70s and 80s, which is very comfortable, given the low humidity. If you have A/C in your house, it is always tolerable to sleep.

I do miss the SF vibe a lot, but I definitely do not miss the weather and there are other things I appreciate about the SV that you don't get in SF.

[JohnSoCal]

We lived in San Jose metro area for several years in the 70's and then again from 1997-2006. We lived in San Jose, Cupertino, Los Gatos, and Sunnyvale. We frequently visited San Francisco to play tourist.

The weather in San Jose is definitely much better than San Francisco. San Francisco can be downright frigid.

I think of San Jose as being much like an old shoe. It is not very attractive but is a very comfortable place to live. San Jose is one of our favorite places in the country and we have lived in many places across the country. It is very family oriented and down to earth.

It is ridiculous to compare the 2 cities as they are as different as night and day. It all depends on what you are looking for. I like San Francisco as it is a very interesting city. If you like a big city ambiance then San Francisco is the place. If you like warmer weather and a more relaxed down to earth place then San Jose is the place. Though we like San Francisco, we would not want to live there. We would rather live in Silicon Valley and visit San Francisco when we wanted the city life.

[City Dog]

San Jose is just an overgrown suburb that has surpassed SF in population. There's no central focus point or downown. It's basically a hole in the donut city with no major culture, at least not mentioned on noteworthy magazines. There is a few block long outdoor mall called Santana Row, which is adjacent to Valley Fair, a suburban mall. Otherwise, there are few towns like Los Gatos, where people go. There's not much in San Jose to offer