Bay Area NTers...Need Your Input Thnx

[ajiiiplatinum]

I accepted a job in San Jose and don't know much about the Bay Area (South Bay)
I would like to get input on housing and neighborhoods.
We are very social people so want to live near people in our age group 25-35.
I would like to live in a family neighborhood where the teachers, policemen, construction workers and nurses live. I don't want to live in a bad area but also do not want live with uppity tech engineers and high middle class people ( it seems those are the only areas recommended by online renting forums).

I have a son so I want to be around working class people that coach their local AYSO or baseball team. Since we don't know anyone in The Bay we want to get invited to kids birthday parties and back yard barbecues. You know the neighborhoods I'm talking about. The yards and houses are clean but they can get noisy with parties on the weekends...those are the neighborhoods I'm use to.

Thank you in advance for any input or advice.

 

[Nawzlew]

Ah, my city.

Just stay away from East San Jose and some parts of downtown.

Los Gatos, Almaden, Willow Glen, Campell are all nice areas.

You can also look into Cupertino/Saratoga

 

[ajiiiplatinum]

Ah, my city.

Just stay away from East San Jose and some parts of downtown.

Los Gatos, Almaden, Willow Glen, Campell are all nice areas.

You can also look into Cupertino/Saratoga

Los Gatos and Cupertino I thought were expensive?
They drive European cars there lol
I want to live next to the teachers that drive Honda accords lol

 

[510macblastfmt]

The southbay sucks. Move to the east bay or peninsula and commute. Los Gatos and Cupertino are expensive and the majority of people who live there make bank. If you want to stay in SJ willow glen and almaden are nice like dude above posted. Those areas are very middle class.

 

[yanky]

I can't comment on the SJ area but look into Palo Alto and Mountain View. Stay away from East Palo Alto. Places near Stanford if it's in your budget. If you're trying to commute the peninsula (Some part's of Redwod City, San Mateo) is a great area. Are you looking to buy/rent a house or stay in an apartment?

 

[hadowajp]

East bay all the way!!!! What's your budget that will probably give us a better idea where to point you... I live in benicia, and commute every day. It was a place I believed would be a safe/fun place to start my family but, I spend $100 a week on gas because of it

 

[hadowajp]

Mtn. View is nice and a very central location everything is nearby

 

[yanky]

Also Fremont has some cheap houses although the market seems to be booming right now so I'm not sure how cheap they're going for right now. Can't comment on the neighborhoods there but it's pretty industrial in that area and not much to do over there.

 

[offbad]

Also Fremont has some cheap houses although the market seems to be booming right now so I'm not sure how cheap they're going for right now. Can't comment on the neighborhoods there but it's pretty industrial in that area and not much to do over there.

i'm from east bay area and i would not consider fremont cheap at all. 

cheap in the east bay area is like san lorenzo/san leandro, live-no-more, dublin . and to an extent, hayward 
 

 

[andrewbeezy]

from san mateo. its pretty solid living here. right in between san francisco and san jose...either one is about 20-30 minute commute.
as far as what youre looking for as a community...san mateo is pretty much like that 100% lol friendly people and diverse. not to many fancy cars around here just your basic stuff. middle class. lots of variety over here. Can be kinda boring sometimes though lol

 

[spaceshipj]

san leandro and hayward are nice. Quiet, clean neighborhoods with a very middle-class vibe. Also you have the bay bridge, oakland, and other major metro areas that are within distance to commute for work etc.
 

 

[zapatohead408]

To whoever said Willow Glen is cheap is crazy. The average house will run over a million.

op. I don't think there's too many places like you're talking about. The best I can think about is deep south San Jose. What you're describing is more small town type ish. As much as I wish it were like that, it isn't.

I personally like the Westside more.

 

[zapatohead408]

Actually OP, if you can afford it. Willow Glen is most definitely the best place for you and does most definitely fit your requirements. Get your kid into sports in one of the Willow Glen leagues and they'll grow up with the community through high school without a doubt.

I went to school in the Willow Glen area. Although my middle school wasn't so much like that, I noticed the Willow Glen community like that in high school, having graduated from Willow Glen High School.


btw OP. Any questions feel free to pm me. I lived on the east side but was raised on the westside and lived on the deep southside for a while.

 

[shiznut123]

I would try hard not to commute from the East Bay. Going down 880, traffic is a nightmare. Every damn day I see the traffic at

 

[killthehype]

Ah, my city.

Just stay away from East San Jose and some parts of downtown.

Los Gatos, Almaden, Willow Glen, Campell are all nice areas.

You can also look into Cupertino/Saratoga

Stupid. East San Jose isn't dangerous. East downtown is dangerous.

The southbay sucks. Move to the east bay or peninsula and commute. Los Gatos and Cupertino are expensive and the majority of people who live there make bank. If you want to stay in SJ willow glen and almaden are nice like dude above posted. Those areas are very middle class.

East bay sucks. Boring AF. Couldn't stand living there. Ghetto too.

Stay away from there OP.

 

[zapatohead408]

Ah, my city.

Just stay away from East San Jose and some parts of downtown.

Los Gatos, Almaden, Willow Glen, Campell are all nice areas.

You can also look into Cupertino/Saratoga

Stupid. East San Jose isn't dangerous. I hate you people. East downtown is dangerous.

east downtown is a lot worse than east side. East san Jose isn't too bad, if you don't mind neighbors who allow their grass to die or grow insanely high, leave furniture they don't want out on the street, with abandoned cars in their driveway and three families living in one home with NO parking on the street. Oh, and in insane amount of people who don't know how to drive or respect a red light.

 

[moderndarwin]

Well, you haven't specified enough information except that you want to live a 1950's style life in modern America. It's rare man. People don't really get to know their neighbors that well unless you are in a rich area. It's why it is a rich area. People have good jobs, and buy a house to raise a family in.

How much can you spend monthly? I think what is a better idea is for you to get something close to your work with a 1 year lease, and spend the year learning about the Bay Area, traffic etc and then you'll know where you want to live. No one is going to be able to tell you exactly where is a good place as it is very budget based.

Do you want to rent a house? The scenario you are describing sounds like a house..but you probably don't want to buy something right away. You also didn't specify where you work. Having to drive 30+ to work everyday would suck. The schools are fine...for a year. I would recommend trying to get your kid enrolled in charter schools...i worked in a few in San Jose. They are so much much much much better academically, and in general, the type of people around your child.

 

[daprescription]

The schools in evergreen are good. Bright side, there are some addresses that are in evergreen district that aren't actually "evergreen". Campbell has some nice little neighborhoods also.

 

[4one5]

I have family in the Almaden, Berryessa, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara area. Almaden has the most middle class feel to it followed by Santa Clara just from my experience. Berryessa and Sunnyvale don't seem so bad when I go and visit either.

 

[an dee 51o]

East bay sucks. Boring AF. Couldn't stand living there. Ghetto too.

Stay away from there OP.

San Jose as a whole is way more ghetto than the East Bay. There are way more and nicer suburbs in the East Bay. San Jose is pretty much rich areas like Los Gatos and hoods like ESSJ. Let's be honest, man. East San Jose might not be as dangerous as East Oakland, but the hoods look the same.

Berkeley itself >>>> entire South Bay

OP, I would look into Sunnyvale and Santa Clara

 

[ajiiiplatinum]

Man this is good info.
I dont want to spend more that $2000/month on rent. I am only going to rent...had a bad experience buying a home plus cant afford it in The Bay anyway. I will be working close to the San Jose Airport.

 

[DadNboujee]

Man this is good info.
I dont want to spend more that $2000/month on rent. I am only going to rent...had a bad experience buying a home plus cant afford it in The Bay anyway. I will be working close to the San Jose Airport.

Stay in North San Jose if you can. you have easy access to everything, and it's not ghetto. and not over priced. and that is where the airport is. 

traffic is bad here, in the morning, everyone is trying to get into San jose, and in the evening everyone is leaving san jose. i work around the area and live in north san jose. 

other places worth looking, "milpitas & fremont" you could also look into "Alviso" its a small town outside of milpitas and san jose. close to the new niners stadium. there is two versions of the east side. the side that is referred to as "ESSJ" or "Evergreen area", so when people say "East Side" find out what area they are talking about. you dont want the ESSJ side unless you are about that life. the "Evergreen" area is the area you wont be able to afford. South San Jose is really far and youll be in traffic all the time. I don't know much about west san jose. 

what kind of an area are you coming from so its easier to situate it?

 

[4one5]

To be honest, I've never been to any part of San Jose where I didn't feel safe. I looked up what neighborhoods are in ESSJ and none of those places seemed as bad as people make it out to be when I'm over there. I don't live in San Jose but travel there pretty often since it's more convenient for family members as opposed to everyone going to SF to visit.

 

[daprescription]

I just recently moved back in with my Dad who lives on the East Side. There are bad neighborhoods, but I would say it's more people being rude more than anything. There are bad neighborhoods in every side of town, so I would focus on visiting the area first and seeing the neighborhood. There are undesirable neighborhoods in all sides of San Jose.

 

[danikerhino]

Compared to San Fran and Oakland. San Jo is different as far as crime. Less random violence, it's almost always gang related or a personal crime.