San Jose is L.A without beach and glamour (San Francisco: city hall, living)

[joey_mcmarbles]

No, people aren't trying to get to San Jose as we type -- they are trying to get to San Francisco and neighboring cities. Nobody wants to end up in San Jose, they settle because San Francisco, Menlo Park, Cupertino, etc. are too expensive. San Jose is NOT a world class city, not even close.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by the topper

Actually, San Jose feels a lot worse: 97 in San Jose feels like 120 sometimes. Phoenix is honest heat and not too bad.

Uh no. 97 without humidity, never feels like 120 without humidity.

Never.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by joey_mcmarbles

The comparison to the San Fernando Valley is a good one. There is almost no reason to visit San Jose unless you happen to live there. San Jose is completely eclipsed (both culturally and economically) by cities north of it, while SF Valley has the same relationship with the LA basin. There are a few places in San Jose which are livable (eg. West San Jose), but 95% of the city resembles a third-world country. That's also the case for the SF Valley (eg. Sherman Oaks).

"Cosmopolitan world class city" is the exact opposite of what San Jose is.

I actually used to think this, too, when I lived in Santa Clara, on the northwest boundary of San Jose. Now that I moved away, and came back and live in San Jose this time - I've come to learn that this is not true.

I've driven all over San Jose since I moved here in May, including east San Jose, and I haven't seen any areas that look like a 3rd world country. At all.

I've come to understand that San Jose is simply a city that kept incorporating the outlying towns and farmlands (that were developed) over time. This is why it's not a cohesive city, like many are used to.

The cool thing about this, though, is that within the city are a bunch of completely different neighborhoods that used to be separate towns. So, they have really different personalities.

No, San Jose will never be a destination city, in my opinion. Really, there is no tourist attraction other than Winchester Mystery House and the tech museum. But, that doesn't make it a bad place to live at all.

Plus, as far as traffic - you just need to learn the back roads/streets.

And Santana Row, is a really tiny development - it's not a tourist destination. It's a street about 1 block long, with restaurants and shops along both sides, with a movie theater at the end of it. With the Winchester Mystery House a block away. But, most people who go to Santana Row, who live here, use it as an excuse to dress up and parade up and down that one block, eat outside where people can see them wearing their designer clothes - and they don't usually spend any time at Winchester Mystery House.

It's kind of like going to the financial district in San Francisco, I guess, on a WAY tinier scale.

There are cool things to see within San Jose, for sure, but nothing anyone is going to save up all year to fly to see on their annual vacation. But, as I say, it's really a great place to live.

I've also found people here to be really friendly. Just today I was in a Dollar Tree and asked a few women in line where the best place was to buy tortillas for the best price. The checker even chimed in.

It's more laid-back, no designer threads normally required.

[the topper]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

Uh no. 97 without humidity, never feels like 120 without humidity.

Never.

San Jose is not a dry heat, and a very slight cool breeze near the bay fails to give rest of SJ relief. So it can feel so hot if you're in West SJ or Campbell. It can feel worse when it's 97.

[the topper]

Originally Posted by joey_mcmarbles

The comparison to the San Fernando Valley is a good one. There is almost no reason to visit San Jose unless you happen to live there. San Jose is completely eclipsed (both culturally and economically) by cities north of it, while SF Valley has the same relationship with the LA basin. There are a few places in San Jose which are livable (eg. West San Jose), but 95% of the city resembles a third-world country. That's also the case for the SF Valley (eg. Sherman Oaks).

"Cosmopolitan world class city" is the exact opposite of what San Jose is.

It's a world class city: the second most in the nation. This city is so culturally diverse. San Jose area is the economic and population of the Bay Area, along with the biggest transit hub. It's the best performing and most productive region in the country. Pay attention to the news over time, marble

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

As I've said before, SJ most reminds me of a somewhat cooler, wetter, version of the San Fernando Valley.

It looks really really similar in terms of architecture, City Planning, landscape, Etc. But technically, it's not wetter:

Average annual rainfall:

Canoga Park: 17.79"
Burbank: 17.45"
San Jose: 15.82"

To be fair, though, San Jose has 62 days of rain per year, while the valley has only 36 days of rain per year, which means it rains harder in the valley when it does actually rain. And you are right, it's somewhat warmer in the valley. Both areas have extremely similar native landscape though. I also find that the valley looks a lot like Contra Costa County where I grew up.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

This is actually not true. Every winter, there is snow on top of Mt. Hamilton and the surrounding peaks. There is also snow on Mt. Umunhum most winters too.

Anyways, I'm not sure why myself or anybody else bothers to respond to The Topper's threads anymore at this point. Apparently we all like being duped by internet trolls.

True, but only like one or two days a year, and almost never more than a couple of inches. It's just not high enough in elevation to don a serious snowy mantel for any appreciable time. The San Gabriel mountains are much higher and can have real snow depths for longer periods. One of the benefits of Southern California for the Casual snow visitor. While the Sierras are much taller and have all the great ski resorts, at least you can get to better snowball and sledding snow much closer in SoCal.

[tstieber]

While people keep nitpicking the comparison between the San Fernando Valley and the San Jose / Santa Clara area, of course they are not exactly the same. No two places are exactly the same. But they are aesthetically extremely similar for two regions that are not right next to each other. If you compare either one of them to, say, North Carolina, Chicago, Seattle, Des Moines, or Alabama, they would clearly seem much more similar to one another. Sometimes, our California myopia causes us to view the subtlest of differences as a giant chasm.

A few years ago, while visiting family in Europe, I turned on the TV and thought I was seeing the San Diego Bay, with its sailboats and palm trees. A few minutes later, San Francisco came into view, and I realized I was watching an episode of Mythbusters filmed from Treasure Island. At that point, I realized how looking at a map of the world, and viewing it from Europe, those two dots in California that normally seem so far apart were practically right next to each other. It's inevitable that's different parts of California will look like each other.

[joey_mcmarbles]

Originally Posted by the topper

It's a world class city: the second most in the nation. This city is so culturally diverse. San Jose area is the economic and population of the Bay Area, along with the biggest transit hub. It's the best performing and most productive region in the country. Pay attention to the news over time, marble

How many times do we have to go over this?

The "San Jose area" (better known as the Bay Area) is NOT the City of San Jose. Everything good in the Bay Area is OUTSIDE the City of San Jose. The City of San Jose is a DUMP for surrounding cities.

[the topper]

Originally Posted by joey_mcmarbles

How many times do we have to go over this?

The "San Jose area" (better known as the Bay Area) is NOT the City of San Jose. Everything good in the Bay Area is OUTSIDE the City of San Jose. The City of San Jose is a DUMP for surrounding cities.

Everything south of San Mateo/Santa Clara county is San Jose whether you like it or not. The same with L.A.: everything in L.A. county is L.A!