Moving to Silicon Valley from LA (San Jose, San Francisco: apartment complex, rent, loft)

[ComingFromLaLa]

Hi everyone,

I need some advice on places to live near Milpitas (where I will work). I am single, in my late 30s and would love to live in an interesting community near Milpitas. I am not interested in a scene but I would also not want to live near a lot of families with kids. Ideally, I don't want a long commute (15-20 mins max) and I would like to keep the rent in the $2,100-2,500 range. In addition, I have big furniture to move so wide open loft spaces would be ideal but not a necessity.


Can anyone help me out? Where would you suggest I live? And please let me know about any of the loft/apartment communities in the area. Thanks everyone

[ccm123]

Well, Milpitas is basically a family oriented city (bedroom community), but it is safe and your commute will be nice within Milpitas.

Mountain View would probably be a good place to look, there is a nice downtown with singles. You would have to commute to Milpitas though on 237, in the opposite direction of traffic, so it shouldn't be too bad. (Coming from LA, you will find traffic here to be much better, except during rush hour.)

I also like Campbell and Los Gatos (nice downtowns), but your commute would be further.

[ComingFromLaLa]

Thanks ccm124 for your advice. What I saw of Milpitas didn't seem like my scene. But I saw a limited area. I've lived probably only in major cities my entire life, in the downtown areas of major cities with a lot to do within walking distance. That is probably the type of scene I would be most excited about. Is there something similar there? Obviously, SanFran would be perfect but it is too far of a commute for me on a daily basis. Thanks again for your help!

[Azmordean]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Well, Milpitas is basically a family oriented city (bedroom community), but it is safe and your commute will be nice within Milpitas.

Mountain View would probably be a good place to look, there is a nice downtown with singles. You would have to commute to Milpitas though on 237, in the opposite direction of traffic, so it shouldn't be too bad. (Coming from LA, you will find traffic here to be much better, except during rush hour.)

I also like Campbell and Los Gatos (nice downtowns), but your commute would be further.

Mountain View is great, but well out of OPs price range if they want to be easy walking distance to Castro St. I live in Mountain View myself, about 2mi from downtown. I'd love to live somewhere walkable, but the approximately $1000 per month premium it commands is not even close to worth it. Downtown Mountain View is nice, but the price of entry for the few complexes that are both nice and in easy walking distance is about $3500 for a 2br, close to $3000 for 1br. To save $1000 extra a month I can drive and park.

LaLa - the unfortunate reality is the whole of Silicon Valley is basically a giant car culture suburb. Yes, there are very nice little downtown strips in most of the towns, but many have few nearby residential options, and those that do exist tend to be prohibitively priced. Milpitas itself, while nice, does not even have one of these downtown strips as far as I know. The closest you could get to walkable would be to live near the town center shopping center.

One possible exception to this rule that you might consider is Downtown San Jose itself, or the area just across the train tracks along the Alameda. DTSJ is no San Francisco, but for daily life it isn't bad - there's a Safeway, some gyms, good restaurants, San Pedro Square Market, some bars, etc. I'm not sure how the commute would be - but it may be worth looking into because the distance certainly isn't far.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by Azmordean

LaLa - the unfortunate reality is the whole of Silicon Valley is basically a giant car culture suburb.

WRONG. There is a city there, called San Jose. It's a suburban-styled city, but it is not a suburb. Get that right HUZZAH!!!!

One possible exception to this rule that you might consider is Downtown San Jose itself, or the area just across the train tracks along the Alameda. DTSJ is no San Francisco, but for daily life it isn't bad - there's a Safeway and the huge Coleman San Jose Market Center, some gyms (a boxing club, a jiujitsu dojo, yoga dance, City Sports gym, Bally's Gym, a rock climbing studio), 200+ decent-to-good restaurants (and several excellent ones such as Nemea and Back A Yard), San Pedro Square Market, a world-class arena hosting NHL's San Jose Sharks and hundreds of concerts every year and a soccer stadium for MLS's San Jose Earthquakes, some bars (probably around 20 bars, I wouldn't call it SOME), one of the largest public libraries west of the Mississippi, and seven venues for performing arts etc. I'm not sure how the commute would be - but it may be worth looking into because the distance certainly isn't far.

Fixes and additions are in BOLD

I would stay in North San Jose, though it maybe more expensive than you like. Light rail into Milpitas would be about 20 minutes, and for fun you can take light rail into Japantown (about 20 minutes), San Jose Downtown (about 30 minutes), Downtown Willow Glen (about 45 minutes), and Downtown Campbell (about an hour). You can also take light rail into Downtown Mountain View from North San Jose (about 40 minutes).

Prices in North San Jose is quite costly, but for the conveniences I think it's hard to beat. All the apartments there are brand new (several thousand units clustered around Tasman/1st Street) and is walkable. You also have access to the fully-paved, beautiful Guadalupe River Trail, which goes about 6 miles into Downtown San Jose. And being all apartments, it means the chance of you meeting single folks in that particular area is pretty high. I see the ladies/guys out biking and running on the trail around there all the time, or playing soccer at the huge lawn by North Oaks apartment complex.

[ComingFromLaLa]

Thanks so much everyone. This is extremely helpful!

[ComingFromLaLa]

Have you heard anything good or bad about these developments:

1. Domain (SJ)
2. 360 Residences (SJ)
3. Misora on Santana Row SJ)
4. Epic (SJ)
5. Elements. (SJ)
6. Domicilio (SJ)
7. Aire (SJ)
8. Magnolia Lane (Sunnyvale)
9. magnolia Square (Sunnyvale)

[ccm123]

North San Jose or DT San Jose would be good choices, as stated also. There isn't much of a "scene" in North San Jose, but you would be able quickly commute to places that have some type of activity through VTA (light rail) or car.

The main thing is that you want to be reasonably close to Milpitas, because the traffic coming in and out of the area is heavy on weekdays. Many employers are in the area and many commuters come in and out of the area, so the traffic is concentrated around this area.

[ketch89]

As others have noted, downtown San Jose is by far your best bet. It's no WeHo or SaMo, but if you have to work in the South Bay, that's where you want to be for urban amenities.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by ComingFromLaLa

Have you heard anything good or bad about these developments:

1. Domain (SJ)
2. 360 Residences (SJ)
3. Misora on Santana Row SJ)
4. Epic (SJ)
5. Elements. (SJ)
6. Domicilio (SJ)
7. Aire (SJ)
8. Magnolia Lane (Sunnyvale)
9. magnolia Square (Sunnyvale)

For Domain, I heard there were some plumbing issues, due to the modular way the complex was built. Make sure you ask them about that. But it has a top floor terrace that wraps all around the whole building, extremely unique. It's like having your own super huge balcony!

360 has a bunch of Niners guy

Elements is in Midtown but borders Willow Glen. Midtown is a gritty but cutely charming neighborhood. Willow Glen is $$$$$$$$$$$. Elements is also built right next to a lightrail station, and from Elements you can just walk 10 minutes into Downtown Willow Glen. That lightrail there will bring you into Downtown San Jose (10 minutes) or Downtown Campbell (30 minutes).

Some parts of Aire is still under construction, so you might have to deal with heavy equipment noises.