New job in Santa Clara - where should I live if I'm 29 and single? (San Jose: apartments, rent)

[Elise920]

Hello! I am accepting a job with my company in Santa Clara (relocating from Boston). I would love to live in San Francisco, but the expense of rent and commuting is too high for me. Is it realistic to think that I can hang out in San Francisco on the weekends if I have a few friends there? Or, is it too far of a drive? I would like to spend around $1,200 - $1,300/month on rent, whether I live alone or with a roommate. I was looking in Palo Alto, but everything in that range looks sort of dumpy. How about San Jose? I've been told I will be "bored out of my mind" in Silicon Valley in general. I've also read horrible things about being a young, single female in Silicon Valley. Is this all true?! As much as I love the city, I don't think I will mind living in a suburb of SF as long as there are good restaurants, decent nightlife and a good yoga studio! I am a little concerned about the dating scene in Silicon Valley, however. Thanks for the help!

[ccm123]

For a single, Downtown San Jose, or Mountain View, which has a vibrant downtown area. $1,200-$1,300 a month will get you a roommate situation, but likely not a 1 bedroom in these areas.

[rmtwedze]

Ditto what ccm123 recommended. where did you check in Palo Alto? Its a pretty swanky areas since Stanford is located in the city limits so maybe thats why youre getting some notsoswanky places for your price range. anyway, i would opt for downtown san jose before mountain view though. much more hip.

[ccm123]

Palo Alto is not dumpy. Are you sure it was Palo Alto you visited?

[tilz]

Get yourself near a caltrain for trips up to the city, and near a light rail station if you can take that to work. I have no idea why you would be bored, those people obviously dont have good imaginations ;-)

I looked at Palo Alto when I moved but found it to be too expensive , although it does have some good bars/restaurants and the whole Stanford buzz thing going on.

San Jose is really picking up as a place to eat / drink with areas like San Pedro Sq. I love it there and have surprised many a friend from SF who 'doesn't come south' to a great night out.

There is a load of Hiking/travel to the beach/Yoga places etc etc so I would say you can pretty much do whatever you want.

Just be cautious about getting somewhere not close to public transport and if its far from your work then the traffic can suck, if you can work flexible hours then leaving after 9 helps a lot . I live by a light rail and use that to you for my drinking in San Jose :-) and then you can also then walk over to Diridon and go up and see your friends in SF. Or even better get them to come 'south' and educate them on the fun that is to be had in downtown SJ.

Good luck ...

[Elise920]

Sorry, maybe "dumpy" was the wrong word. The apartments I saw in that price range were not nice at all, though. I understand that Palo Alto is a nice area. Most of the places coming up on Craigslist between $1200-$1300 were in "east palo alto". Could that be why? My price range is probably too low. Do you think it's worth paying more to live in Palo Alto, or is San Jose a good area to live in terms of things to do at night/on weekends? Again, I don't mind having a roommate situation, but those seem to be few and far between on Craigslist as well, which makes me nervous.

Thanks tilz, great info.!

[bobby_guz_man]

Elise, a few folks will suggest to you this, but I am going to beat them to it! (sorry NoMoreSnow hehhehe)

LIVE AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO YOUR WORK.

It is the key to happiness in the Bay Area.

[bobby_guz_man]

That said, I would suggest Downtown San Jose.

It is really nice on its own and offers a ton of amenities.

But when you add in how close it is to everything else (Santana Row is 10-minutes-inside-roads driving away to the west, Alameda is right next door to the west, Willow Glen is 5 minutes southwest, and Japantown 5 minutes north, and they all can be reached by bikes or by lightrail relatively easily).

In downtown San Jose, you should look to stay on the western side, the northern side, and the area around the library.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by Elise920

I don't think I will mind living in a suburb of SF as long as there are good restaurants, decent nightlife and a good yoga studio!

San Jose, and the South Bay, are not "suburbs" of San Francisco And neither are Oakland and the East Bay.

That tiny little hamlet 50 miles up north is beautiful and historic, no doubt, but we don't give a fvck about it down here.

San Jose and Oakland are their own cities, with their own sphere of influence. The city that you will be working in, Santa Clara, would be considered a "suburb" of San Jose, in old "East-Coast" terms.

However, the "suburbs" here are not like in the East Coast, where they are dependent on the anchor city for their livelihood. Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Milpitas, and Santa Clara all have their own industry and residential that they can sufficiently carry on with. They have no dependence on San Jose nor San Francisco. And because of that, they are not "suburbs", but real cities of their own.

[otterprods]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

LIVE AS CLOSE AS POSSIBLE TO YOUR WORK.

It is the key to happiness in the Bay Area.

+256373
We say this over and over and over again and no one believes us. Believe it! Do it!!! Live right across the street or in their parking garage if you can.
Then get yourself on caltrain or 280 and drive up to SF on weekends... really easy, especially if you're willing to drive at off-times and/or take the baby bullet trains.
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