Working in Fremont- like Urban living- suggestions for SJ neighborhoods needed! (San Francisco: suburbs, commuting)

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Hence why I called you a troll in another thread

That's trolling? Come on...

[bigdave01]

I have no idea why no one has mentioned Oakland yet. It is a lot easier to access Fremont with BART from Oakland. Plus Oakland has some great urban neighborhoods.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

Fair enough, I can appreciate the fact that San Jose has developed quite a bit. I just really think the level of urbanity is extremely scaled down when in comparison to a city like chicago. This includes the amount of walkable neighborhoods and night life. That's not to say it doesn't exist in san jose.

That's true. But SJ isn't Chicago, a city of 2.9 million people vs. around 950,000 for SJ.

Yes, I do agree that a city of San Jose's population could/should have more urban living options (walkable neighborhoods, etc) and better mass transit. But the same could be said of a lot of America's larger cities (Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, San Diego, Los Angeles, just to name a few).

The City of SJ has been working for many years to provide a real downtown living experience and now there are real results to show for the effort. Will it ever be Chicago? No, probably not. However, it has improved and will likely continue to do so for the near and medium term.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by bigdave01

I have no idea why no one has mentioned Oakland yet. It is a lot easier to access Fremont with BART from Oakland. Plus Oakland has some great urban neighborhoods.

Yes, that's true. Oakland is more rough around the edges than San Jose, and its political leadership is pathetic. It is also farther from Fremont (although maybe not by much).

But I know Oakland has also worked on improving its downtown. And the BART station in Oakland is a plus. The cost of rent is also a bit lower there.

[NorCal Dude]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

That's true. But SJ isn't Chicago, a city of 2.9 million people vs. around 950,000 for SJ.

Yes, I do agree that a city of San Jose's population could/should have more urban living options (walkable neighborhoods, etc) and better mass transit. But the same could be said of a lot of America's larger cities (Phoenix, Dallas, San Antonio, San Diego, Los Angeles, just to name a few).

The City of SJ has been working for many years to provide a real downtown living experience and now there are real results to show for the effort. Will it ever be Chicago? No, probably not. However, it has improved and will likely continue to do so for the near and medium term.

True, but even with all the great things they have done in San Jose, it pales in comparison with places like Chicago, and trying to say that it is urban and highly walkable with tons of entertainment venue options only a walk or short transit ride a way, would be telling a lie. Which is why I suggested the OP look more towards SF. By the time SJ really finishes making a multitude of eye opening changes the op will be much older.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by NorCal Dude

True, but even with all the great things they have done in San Jose, it pales in comparison with places like Chicago, and trying to say that it is urban and highly walkable with tons of entertainment venue options only a walk or short transit ride a way, would be telling a lie. Which is why I suggested the OP look more towards SF. By the time SJ really finishes making a multitude of eye opening changes the op will be much older.

We're going around in circles here. SJ isn't in the same league as Chicago and never will be, so the 2 cities should not be compared.

SJ as a whole is not truly urban. Although the downtown is actually quite urban and more walkable than you make it out to be. Tons of entertainment venues? No. On that we agree completely.

If the OP wants to live in SF and commute to Fremont every day, he can be my guest. It's not what I would want. Even if he takes BART, it's a long ride; although many people in the Bay Area are willing to put up with worse commutes.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by bigdave01

I have no idea why no one has mentioned Oakland yet. It is a lot easier to access Fremont with BART from Oakland. Plus Oakland has some great urban neighborhoods.

I was thinking the same thing. Uptown or Rockridge have a density and liveliness that downtown San Jose still lacks. The problem that downtown SJ has is that most of the students at SJSU are commuters. In spite of the ample supply of apartments close to campus, many of them sit empty. The students seem to either stay in low-income housing at Ohlone/Chynoweth, or in east side SJ. I lived in Morgan Hill while I was attending, and I never once stayed past midnight.

[krudmonk]

Now that I live near downtown, the notion that SJSU is largely a commuter school has been mostly dispelled. I see college kids everywhere.

And Rockridge lively? Maybe compared to its counterpart, Willow Glen. On the whole, Oakland and San Jose are about the same scale, regardless of population.

[sonarrat]

It may have been helped by the Campus Village. When I attended, most of the people I asked lived way away from campus.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

I was thinking the same thing. Uptown or Rockridge have a density and liveliness that downtown San Jose still lacks. The problem that downtown SJ has is that most of the students at SJSU are commuters. In spite of the ample supply of apartments close to campus, many of them sit empty. The students seem to either stay in low-income housing at Ohlone/Chynoweth, or in east side SJ. I lived in Morgan Hill while I was attending, and I never once stayed past midnight.

It could be because the rents in said apartments are $800 to $900 a month for studios, which is an awful lot of a student, especially with the recent huge increases in tuition. 1 BRs are, of course, even more. A year ago, the vacancy rate for apts around campus was much lower. It seems landlords have not reduced rents enough to reflect current economic conditions.

There are more SJSU students/faculty/staff living close to campus now that they've built high rise dorms/apartments for students/faculty/staff on 10th street several years back.

Downtown SJ is more vibrant than even a couple of years ago. That said, I do agree that Oakland is more vibrant, although that may not be true forever.