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But parking is absolute pain in the butt and it's simply not safe. Cars get broken into, it smells like Urine, Muni service is horrific, BART does not take you to all the major spots ... The quality of life in the city absolutely sucks. That is why 70% of people living in the city today will not be living in the city in 5 years. That's a statistical fact. People "experience" the city when they're young, but few rarely stay. They "grow up".
I absolutely agree with this. SF is great if you're really young or really loaded. None of us are young forever and few of us will ever be really loaded. Driving and parking in SF is an expensive hassle. Transit is poorly run and managed for such a densely populated city. Speaking of car break-ins...a friend of mine was in SF earlier this summer and had his car broken into (not that it doesn't happen in SJ...just sayin'). Another friend of mine who lives in SF and earns probably 200K a year has to live in a studio condo with no parking. And the condo association had to hire security to keep the homeless people from camping on the sidewalk. He's lived there just over 5 years and...surprise....just as Dantestein said, he's considering a move because he's tired of the hassles (homeless, parking, etc.). His job is in the East Bay and jobs in his field actually pay less in SF because so many people want to live there. Might as well move to the East Bay where he can get a 1BR condo with a parking spot for less money closer to work and visit the City on weekends.
San Francisco is more fun and exciting as far as arts, entertainment, scenery. But that stuff doesn't matter as much when you're working for a living. For working people your everyday quality of life is better in SJ. And the weather is better in SJ 90% of the time, except for the occasional heat wave or chilly winter night.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 08-30-2014 at 11:44 PM..
^ Then why does it have to be San Jose? There are plenty of non-chaotic towns in the US that are cheaper than San Jose and still have a decent job market. I don't see why we have to pay twice as much as the rest of the country in SJ just for nice weather, not as much chaos or crime, and the job market.
People who live in the South Bay literally just to get a tech job and nice weather are probably boring, no offense. There's probably a lot of people in SJ who live there for the sake of having easy access to tech jobs.
Nicely put! Both cities have their pros and cons, and in general it is agreed that SF is the place for younger folks and SJ is the place for more mature folks who want to build a family. It is just the way it is. Different cities for different folks, at different stages of their lives.
When I was in my early 20's I go to SF and Oak twice a week (besides hanging out in Downtown SJ and Santana Row every freakin night).
I stopped going up north the past 5 years, not because it isn't as beautiful or as desirable as SJ, but I just no longer have a need for that lifestyle. Whatever I want to see in SF/Oak, I have already seen. Whenever I need my nightlife fix, Santana Row and Downtown SJ fulfills it. If I need a little break from the San Jose scenes, I can go to PA or Castro or Pruneyard/Campbell.
Though I love my city of SJ, if I have visitors to the Bay Area, and they can only stay for 1-2 days, I'm taking them straight to SF to see the beauty of it. I'm not going to be a jerk and tell my visitors that I hate SF and I'm not taking them there--that's a dick move. But if my visitors have 3 days or so, then definitely I would squeeze in a day of SJ sightseeing into it besides the SF trip.
So you pro-SF monkeys need to hold your horses. No one here in SJ is saying that it's better looking than SF nor are more desirable. It's just a different city for different people. You just need to understand that and stop being a bunch of insecure little pricks.
Very well said.
I have always thought that San Jose was like an old shoe, ugly but very comfortable. When we lived in San Jose, we frequently had visitors and of course we had to take them to San Francisco. I think San Francisco is a very unique and interesting city and we love visiting but would never want to live there.
The boring angle is a little played out. If you are a boring person you'll be bored anywhere whether it's SF or SJ. Kids are the ones that usually complain "I'm soooo bored"...I don't tend to hear test from adults. It's also a very "millennial" whiny attitude.
^ Then why does it have to be San Jose? There are plenty of non-chaotic towns in the US that are cheaper than San Jose and still have a decent job market. I don't see why we have to pay twice as much as the rest of the country in SJ just for nice weather, not as much chaos or crime, and the job market.
A valid point.
Just for me personally, it's not easy to pick up & move, especially once you're established in a job, paying the bills, & are saving a decent amount. I'm well set up and live a block away from my job (No commute justifies higher rent in my situation). It would be hard to replicate this somewhere else (hard to do anywhere, really). I'm not a tech person, but my job in most other locales would probably only pay half to 2/3 of what I make here and the benefits wouldn't be as good. The details may be different, but other folks have similar types of things that keep them here. But I do agree, people tend to wait too long to make a major move, even when they know they need to...mostly because it's a major pain and they give in to inertia too easily.
Quote:
Originally Posted by trollsack
People who live in the South Bay literally just to get a tech job and nice weather are probably boring, no offenshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlUUu1Lk9JEe. There's probably a lot of people in SJ who live there for the sake of having easy access to tech jobs.
Ok, now this crosses the line into trollish hyperbole.
Last edited by mysticaltyger; 09-01-2014 at 05:07 PM..
Mature adults just don't speak like that. You sound like a 13 year old.
Maybe if the majority of SJ haters didn't come across as high schoolers trying to sound authoritative and cool, people wouldn't assume they're children.
Maybe if the majority of SJ haters didn't come across as high schoolers trying to sound authoritative and cool, people wouldn't assume they're children.
We'll just save them the time - they're children, or childish adults. Haters trolling the SJ boards are entirely repetitive and predictable. Boring, even.
I have always thought that San Jose was like an old shoe, ugly but very comfortable.
I don't even think SJ is ugly. It's only ugly in comparison to SF. Most other large cities in the U.S. aren't any nicer to look at. (Here's to you New York!).
A house across the street from me in downtown San Jose' just sold for $1.2 million. A nice 3 bed 2 bat 1900 sq ft house with 5,000 sq ft lot. A nice house, but nothing to brag about. That might sound crazy but I'm about to explain why it isn't. I bought my house for $399K back in 2008 during the bust and I also have a house in Noe Valley in San Francisco which I bought in 1998. Yeah, I'm old and I've been an engineer for a very long time in Silicon Valley and I made pretty good money. So I can pick and choose where I want to live because my work is in Redwood Shores (half way between SF and SJ). And I choose San Jose' and here is why.
San Jose' is not boring - Yes, most of San Jose' is boring. Mostly suburbs, malls, couples, kids ... Just like most of SF is boring. However, in the city, you do have the action of North Beach, Pier 39, Embarcadero, downtown Market st, Castro ... which I do frequent when I'm staying in my Noe Valley house. But parking is absolute pain in the butt and it's simply not safe. Cars get broken into, it smells like Urine, Muni service is horrific, BART does not take you to all the major spots ... The quality of life in the city absolutely sucks. That is why 70% of people living in the city today will not be living in the city in 5 years. That's a statistical fact. People "experience" the city when they're young, but few rarely stay. They "grow up".
San Jose' has the best of the both worlds. Santana Row, San Pedro Square, Shark's tank, now just a trolley ride away to Levi's (went to all the games, including the quakes game so far) ... Downtown SJ is a great place for a play (going to see Wicked this Saturday), SJ Opera, lots of bars, and literally thousands of young SJSU students which bring vibrance to the area. San Pedro Square is relatively new so not too many people know about it - but it's a really happening spot. In short, it pretty much has everything the city has to offer - but the beauty is that I can safely walk to this destination from my downtown house. And I can meet friends there because there is usually no parking hassle. And *compare* to the city, it's extremely safe.
So I have an option to live in both places - but I choose SJ and I only go up to my Noe Valley place on occasional weekends and when we have visitors who rather see SF than SJ. And I can understand why. SF has GG bridge, Lombard st, GG Park, Coit tower, China town, Pier 39 ... SJ will never be able to compete with that. However, for the quality of life, there is absolutely no comparison. SJ is exponentially better.
People complaining about SJ here are either very jealous because they can't afford to buy a house here or simply experienced South SJ or West SJ near Cupertino so they see SJ as just one big blah ... Well, there's lot more to SJ than that - just like there's lot more to SF than Hunter's point.
Also, weather is infinitely better in SJ than the city - that's not even a comparison. Not to mention I can ride my bike to SJC without worrying about long term parking. Guadalupe trail is a paved trail that takes you directly to SJC from our neighborhood. In fact, the trail takes you all the way to Alviso. Great run/bike/roller blading ... trail if you're into that - which I am. And I've only mentioned 1/100th of all the offerings in SJ. And this is just part of the reason my this modest home got multiple offers for over million dollars on my block. It isn't a fluke. And the diversity ... forget about it. Approximately 33% Asian, 33% Hispanic, 33% White (give or take few percentage points here and there). About the only thing we're missing is the African American population, native Indians, and other smaller ethnic group. But major ethnic groups are well represented in SJ.
Again, I have properties in SJ and SF and I choose SJ. SF is ok for tourists and young kids who wants to experience the city. But as I said, SF is a very transient city and people generally don't stick around. And there's a reason for that. People that move to SJ usually stick around for generations and generations. And there's a reason for that.
So to paraphrase the above statement: Because I am old and boring, I don't want to be around non-boring young attractive people who make me look bad and feel insecure, therefore I choose to locate myself near people who are even more banal and uninteresting than I am in order to feel "my age"... The fact that you used the word "rollerblading" in any context betrays every point you tried to make about San Jose being a cool place to live.
There is no diversity of any type in Silicon Valley, you have tech nerds and non-tech nerds who service the tech nerds. There is nothing else. The color of their skin or their nationality is irrelevant, what is relevant is that all of them are stuck in crippling traffic everyday going to and from their cube farms and overpriced small tract houses. And sorry to break it to you, but I am not 'jealous' of your modest home or that I don't want to pay 1.2m to live among a bunch of losers who spent their entire time in college watching other men date all the girls they could not.
The so called "offerings" you mentioned in San Jose are all nothing more than what one could find in Fresno or San Bernadino, in other words-- nothing special, with the side benefit of no attractive women around. But, I guess you are "into that" also.
I have a feeling that people just get stuck in SJ because they overmortgaged themselves and CAN'T leave, it was never their choice.
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