Traveling to San Jose (maybe before moving there??)--need some tourist ideas!

[vadaseri]

I suggest you skip sightseeing and focus on neighborhoods. You will have plenty of time to check out SF after you move to bay area. Plan and spend your time wisely. You can rent a nice 1600 sq.ft house in Cupertino for $5000 (which is within your budget). Stay close to work, you'll thank me later.

[FioSJ]

Originally Posted by Local123

This is inaccurate information. There are several neighborhoods in San Jose that are more expensive than Santa Clara including Cambrian and Willow Glen. I get tired of saying this but SJ is a big city with a lot if nice areas. I personally would not choose Santa Clara or Sunnyvale over SJ. Start looking at price per sq ft people. Right now Cambrian is $648/sf and Santa Clara is $607/sf. You can't compare a city with over a million people with a town of 148,000 people. It makes no sense.

I agree. SJ is wider than people imagine. If the job is in Cupertino, they could even live in West San Jose (the area near 85 Degree Bakery that goes to Lynbrook) and they'd be super close to work and could pay around $900/sf.

[bobby_guz_man]

San Jose is a dump.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

San Jose is a dump.

Oh, Bobby.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by Local123

This is inaccurate information. There are several neighborhoods in San Jose that are more expensive than Santa Clara including Cambrian and Willow Glen. I get tired of saying this but SJ is a big city with a lot if nice areas. I personally would not choose Santa Clara or Sunnyvale over SJ. Start looking at price per sq ft people. Right now Cambrian is $648/sf and Santa Clara is $607/sf. You can't compare a city with over a million people with a town of 148,000 people. It makes no sense.

I totally agree. It's amazing how much "anti-San Jose" sentiment there is in this San Jose forum. Everybody always seems to suggest every city in the South Bay except San Jose itself. The nicest neighborhoods of San Jose are easily nicer than the nicest neighborhoods of cities like Sunnyvale and Santa Clara. I'd also say that the nicest neighborhoods in San Jose are on par with many of the surrounding upscale cities/towns.

[lynnc99]

If you can do only one "touristy" thing with your husband....make it the drive thru Big Sur. Breathtaking! Do a tiny bit of online research for a manageable hike or two and take good shoes so you can see what lies off the main road.

Other options for a workable road trip: North along the coast to Stinson Beach, Point Reyes, and Bodega Bay. (But IMO Big Sur is more beautiful).

Closer to San Jose/Cupertino you can go to Monterey/Carmel and take the 17-Mile Drive for some beautiful beach pictures and a meal at Pebble Beach at the end. (Saturday traffic heading toward Monterey can be heavy, especially if there is any kind of festival event going on.) If it's just the 2 of you, save the aquarium for a time the kids are with you and a little older.

In SF you can do "foodie" tours that look like a lot of fun and would be a good "date" activity. And did you know you can walk across the Golden Gate bridge?

As for house hunting, it's pricey and complicated. Many people rent. The recommendation above to look at $/sq foot is an excellent one - and don't even think of comparing that price to the midwest. It's pretty crazy by comparison. Coming from a distance, I'd definitely connect with a solid realtor to help navigate your first "look-see" trip.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by jlhermes

I'm aware, but this is not helpful.

I guess I have two motivations: 1, I need to check out the area for buying a house and raising a family. 2, I'm thinking, hey, Husband and I get four days' free vacation and want to do/see something touristy. Let's take advantage of it!!

Perhaps I'm biting off more than I can chew. To some of your points, perhaps doing touristy things should wait until we move. If we move. And with that big if, I wonder if it pays to do the touristy thing during this trip in the event that we don't take the job.

I have absolutely NO understanding of surrounding areas, distance, etc., so the latter posters have helped regarding distance and recommendations with driving and taking the highways--many thanks. I think I need to put "Milwaukee" where SF is and see how far cities are in relation to cities outside of Milwaukee.

I've experienced Chicago traffic before, but I've never been to CA. I get the feeling (even before you all said anything) that it's hairy.

And I have no clue what our budget would be as it relates to house-hunting. Right now we're in a 2200 sq. ft. 4 bed/2.5 bath house and we pay $1700 a month. I'm looking at the possibility of renting a house two-thirds that size in the Sunnyvale/Mountain View/Cupertino area for three times the price. House renting seems to be a bigger thing there than in Milwaukee.

Also...what's with all the foreclosures and houses up for auction?? Is there something wonky going on that I should know about?

Thanks again for all your help! And for dealing with my random questions!

Go into Google maps and model some commutes (also model some "fun" drives).

[comingbacktocali]

i moved back to SF from WI last year. i had previously lived in SF and commuted to santa clara a few days a week so while i had a general feel of the area i was not that familiar with the many towns amenities or differences that i passed along my drive. i suggest you take no more than 1 day to see some sights and devote the rest of the time to exploring the communities around the potential new job. you should be making appointments with realtors to get into houses in your budget or looking into rental properties. if this is your only opportunity before accepting the job this should be your highest priority rather than signtseeing, in my opinion.