Fremont? (San Jose, Oakland, Scotts Valley: crime, homes, YMCA)

[TexasT]

Is it dangerous? Will my children get an education should I be scared? PLS help.
thx

[sonarrat]

Fremont is not dangerous. There are better and worse areas, like Niles vs. Grimmer/Blacow, but it's all pretty much middle class suburbia. The exception is Mission San Jose which is extremely expensive and has some of the best schools in the state.

[mstnghu2]

Sonrrat summed it up pretty well. Overall, Fremont is just your typical mostly middle class bedroom community. There are some not-so-nice parts of town, but none that I'd consider unsafe...just a bit run down and dumpy looking. It's the fourth largest city in the Bay Area by population and covers quite a large area of land, so there is plenty of economic diversity. As previously stated, the Mission San Jose district of Fremont is definitely the exclusive area of the city. There are some pretty unbelievable multi-million dollar estate homes in the hills and the local high school, Mission San Jose High School, is one of the top rated schools in the entire country. Personally, I also really like the Niles district of Fremont. Niles has a very strong community sense and feels like a small town that is separated from the rest of Fremont. If your budget is no issue, then I'd say Mission San Jose is the place to be. If you're looking for a more inexpensive location, Niles is an excellent choice. Crime is very low to almost non-existent in both areas.

[nmguy]

Gertrude Stein could have applied her description of Oakland to Fremont as well. It doesn't have a 'there'.

[SilentAllTheseYears]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Fremont is not dangerous. There are better and worse areas, like Niles vs. Grimmer/Blacow, but it's all pretty much middle class suburbia. The exception is Mission San Jose which is extremely expensive and has some of the best schools in the state.

erm... We just moved near Grimmer/Blacow. Um... so are you saying that Niles is better and Grimmer/Blacow is worse? I don't know much about the area yet and I think I would generally agree with you - but it seems relatively safe here, albeit a bit dull (at least in comparison to what I'm used to). I seem to be able to bicycle around safely at least, though Grimmer is a bit hair-raising to ride my bike on. Niles is kind of cute, though it also seems somewhat of a little ghost town. I like the Essanay cafe there though...

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by SilentAllTheseYears

erm... We just moved near Grimmer/Blacow. Um... so are you saying that Niles is better and Grimmer/Blacow is worse? I don't know much about the area yet and I think I would generally agree with you - but it seems relatively safe here, albeit a bit dull (at least in comparison to what I'm used to). I seem to be able to bicycle around safely at least, though Grimmer is a bit hair-raising to ride my bike on. Niles is kind of cute, though it also seems somewhat of a little ghost town. I like the Essanay cafe there though...

Dayum bro, ya herd? Mean streets of the 5-1-0. Better recognize.

No, I'm kidding.. it's just that specific intersection has some issues, but the surrounding area is fine. It's just not Niles or Mission San Jose. It's like the area where I live in San Jose, where I don't like to hang around Capitol & Silver Creek after dark but would feel comfortable walking on my street at any time.

[SilentAllTheseYears]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

Dayum bro, ya herd? Mean streets of the 5-1-0. Better recognize.

No, I'm kidding.. it's just that specific intersection has some issues, but the surrounding area is fine. It's just not Niles or Mission San Jose. It's like the area where I live in San Jose, where I don't like to hang around Capitol & Silver Creek after dark but would feel comfortable walking on my street at any time.

Thanks - I appreciate the feedback. Being new to the area and not really knowing much about Fremont before we moved here, I was a little concerned when I read your post... But the corner of Grimmer and Blacow looks pretty benign to me - but I'm not commonly hanging out at Thrift Town long after dark though. I was born in Michigan and there are certainly places in Detroit where I wouldn't want to *drive* through during the day - and I haven't come across anything like that in Fremont, as of yet. Oakland, maybe... but not in Fremont. Sure, I've seen spray-painted tags on signs that indicate either some kind of gang activity maybe or else some bored teen with a can of spray paint - but that's the worse I've seen as of yet.

By the way - since you seem to have the news around here... Do you have any suggestions for doctors in Fremont (just a family doctor). We're also looking for a new pediatrician too.

I was considering joining the YMCA nearby too - but it seems kinda run down maybe and not worth the price of admission - the sign up fee or monthly fee. I had a better gym in Scotts Valley! But I was still considering it because I thought I could go there temporarily, just for some of their classes... But I don't know if that would be worthwhile. Anyone have any two cents about that?

One more thing: I rather enjoy ice skating. I visited the local Sharks ice skating rink, but I was wondering what other ice skating might be available in the area - and if there was a way I could sign up for a class somewhere, like at a nearby community college or something of the like - so I don't end up paying the price of admission every time I want a little exercise and a spin around the rink. I'm not that good... I only know how to ice skate, from my roller skating days as a kid. So a class might be nice in any case. I know the Sharks ice skating rink offers a class for adults that will be coming up in January. But I was hoping to start sooner than that.

At this point - I should probably post this as a separate thread, eh?

Thanks!