I think I might be moving into a bad area of San Jose? (Sunnyvale: 2014, apartments)

[nerfgunx]

Hi everybody,

To make a long story short, I got a job offer and quickly accepted it. With such a short amount of time I quickly chose the Casa Verde Apartments on McKee Road(zip code 95116). After I signed the lease I've been reading reviews online about how the place 'm current residing in is a bad neighborhood and "the hood". I'm fine with living in the apartment, I'm sure nothing will be stolen, but what I'm really scared of is my car being broken into or stolen one morning where I have to go work. My car is a brand new 2014 civic.

Just wondering anybody with experience with this area on McKee Road and how I can prevent any future troubles(such as my car getting broken into). I'm planning on taking everything in my car with me back home so that way if they break into my car, there's really nothing to steal.

I've grown up in a hood area when I was a young child, and it wasn't pretty, and because of it I'm not really scared seeing gang members because it's natural. I'm just scared of my stuff getting stolen/broken into one night, and wake up the next morning with no transportation to my workplace/places I wish to go.

Thanks for the help for anyone who helps this young fellow whose new to the bay area!

edit- For reference, it's at McKee Rd and El Rancho Verde Dr. I remember there being a high school nearby, and a place called Kwikee Mart next to it.

[sonarrat]

Yep, that area is not the best it's not the worst either. The area between Jackson and Capitol a few blocks away is a lot worse. If you have street smarts, you'll find it's fairly tame, it's just not Mayberry. The thieves love to target older Hondas; the new ones are much harder to steal. I don't recommend alarming it because you're close to the main road, and unless you get a high-quality system every Harley or diesel pickup that goes by will make it go off. Besides, no one will give a crap about it even if someone does break in.

Check out Bite of Wyoming on the other side of the condos on Alum Rock.. damn good breakfast.

[Zeya]

That area is one of the worst in San Jose, I'm afraid. Sure, a couple streets away might be worse, but... not much worse. I would look into lining up a new place to move. I know you say you're sort of used to it or can tolerate it, but it will wear on you as time goes on. Trust me on that.

Hondas do get stolen, but like sonarrat says, older '90s Hondas are more prone to being stolen. Best bet might be to park it as close to a street as you can or if there's anywhere in constant view of someone (doubtful). Head units get stolen so if yours has a removable face plate, take it with you when you park. Don't leave anything at all loose in the car; even some nondescript item might look like a tasty goodie to steal in the dark.

[nerfgunx]

In the case of my car being broken into, should I be taking everything with me? Would I even have to take the manual, my registration, and the insurance cards in there?

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by nerfgunx

In the case of my car being broken into, should I be taking everything with me? Would I even have to take the manual, my registration, and the insurance cards in there?

That stuff is of no value to them, but you should definitely leave nothing visible from the outside. The thing that would concern me is within the past 30 days, there were 2 armed robberies at businesses on the 2100 block of McKee. When that sort of thing happens, you're going to have police confrontations on your doorstep, possibly violent ones.

[Zeya]

Originally Posted by nerfgunx

In the case of my car being broken into, should I be taking everything with me? Would I even have to take the manual, my registration, and the insurance cards in there?

In the vast majority of cases where a car gets stolen, it gets driven about an hour away and dumped somewhere, and often the radio head unit gets ripped out and the door gets busted. Of course anything interesting laying around disappears too. And then you're without your car for some amount of time (maybe a week) before it eventually gets reported and towed, etc.

Manual: Nah, just leave it in the glovebox. Replaceable, can probably find a .pdf version of it online for free anyway

Registration&Insurance papers: I'm not sure. Not the main concern, at least to me. They have your address on it, but that's about it, right? Not the most sensitive information to expose, just mainly creepy.

The main point is just to make sure you're vehicle isn't an easy target. If there's nothing visible in the car through the windows, just less likely they will steal it. If it's not an easy-to-steal car (e.g. older Honda), less likely to get stolen. If it's a manual transmission, much less likely to get stolen.

Make sure your insurance covers theft. Make sure your insurance deductible is on the affordable side (e.g. $500 not 1000).

On the plus side, chances are it will never get stolen. Don't stress too much about it. Insurance coverage and don't leave goodies visible inside.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Zeya

I would look into lining up a new place to move. I know you say you're sort of used to it or can tolerate it, but it will wear on you as time goes on. Trust me on that.

^^This is absolutely correct^^. I lived on the East Side for 1.5 years (near the WalMart on Story). East SJ is fairly livable as far as bad neighborhoods go, but, OP, trust us, it WILL wear on you.

Originally Posted by Zeya

Hondas do get stolen, but like sonarrat says, older '90s Hondas are more prone to being stolen. Best bet might be to park it as close to a street as you can or if there's anywhere in constant view of someone (doubtful). Head units get stolen so if yours has a removable face plate, take it with you when you park. Don't leave anything at all loose in the car; even some nondescript item might look like a tasty goodie to steal in the dark.

Break-ins are definitely a problem downtown where I live, so East SJ is probably worse; although I never had my car broken into when I lived there. Auto insurance rates are definitely higher for East SJ, though, and I'm sure there's a reason for that.

If your car isn't alarmed, I would definitely do that. They target cars that aren't alarmed. I learned this the hard way. Replacing broken windows multiple times gets expensive.

[Zeya]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

^^This is absolutely correct^^. I lived on the East Side for 1.5 years (near the WalMart on Story). East SJ is fairly livable as far as bad neighborhoods go, but, OP, trust us, it WILL wear on you.

Thanks. Just to commiserate, I lived in a neighborhood down by Hellyer Park, basically almost Seven Trees but I avoided calling it such. I never had any break-ins with the car or my house, thankfully. But like I said the neighborhood will wear you down steadily over time. What I mean is the constant noise (fireworks at midnight half the year), massive street parking shenanigans, trash dumping, graffiti, traffic, overcrowding/lack-of-privacy. These are things you can live with and tolerate, but they just wear you down and you get tired of it and eventually want to move.

I urge the OP to set a time limit and a goal. Maybe your lease is 6 months, so go ahead and start apartment hunting now. Maybe keep your non-essentials packed up in those boxes you haven't unpacked yet. Back in the day, I had an affordable single apartment in Sunnyvale in a much safer area. There are places you can move to that you can afford. Searching and moving yet again sucks but you'll be happier for it in the long term.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Zeya

Thanks. Just to commiserate, I lived in a neighborhood down by Hellyer Park, basically almost Seven Trees but I avoided calling it such. I never had any break-ins with the car or my house, thankfully. But like I said the neighborhood will wear you down steadily over time. What I mean is the constant noise (fireworks at midnight half the year), massive street parking shenanigans, trash dumping, graffiti, traffic, overcrowding/lack-of-privacy. These are things you can live with and tolerate, but they just wear you down and you get tired of it and eventually want to move.

Yes, exactly.

And to that list I'd add: shopping carts on the street, overcrowded stores, stores that didn't cater to native born Americans, idiots playing their car stereos at deafening levels (even with your windows up) as you drive by, heavier traffic on all the main streets because those neighborhoods were not designed for so many people to be living in them.

I didn't really have too many issues with noise or fireworks on my block, fortunately.

[Sj_408]

That area is pretty bad, and the traffic isn't ideal, I live in south San Jose nice and quiet, but I go to the east side pretty often both during the days, and at night like I say traffic sucks, as for you're car don't leave anything valuable laying around visible, or even hidden if you have dark tints, even on the front windows, the car thieves will wonder "what does this person have inside his/her car" due to the tints..

Depending on you're budget, try looking for another place, if possible..