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MrsOwen Jul 27th 2009 6:09 pm

Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
Hi

Husband and I are moving to San Jose later this year, just waiting for Visa's.

Hubby will be working near Santana Row but I have been offered a job in San Fran. I currently commute 2.5 hours a day into London so commuting isn't an issue and we would like to live near San Jose as we have friends in Los Gatos and love the area.

So my questions are: Where would you advise we look at in San Jose area, we would like a 2/3 bed place, budget approx $2000 per month. Somewhere walking distance to shops and safe and modern.

I have heard Willow Glen and Rose Garden are nice? Also can anyone recommend good sites to look for property? We have been looking on craiglist.com so far.

Also, what do monthly bills usually work out as? water, gas etc.

I am not sure if i would drive to san fran or get the train to work- anyone got thoughts on which is the better option?

I will be working in the financial district, near the trans america building on Montgomery.

Any advice would be most appreciated.

thanks all:thumbup:

malj Jul 27th 2009 6:35 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
Well, I don't live in San Jose so I can't help you with the housing part. Caltrain would be your method of public transportation if you choose to go that way. Check out caltrain.com. It runs from SJ to SF and there are a number of commuter trains (baby bullet) that run during the peak morning and afternoon periods. These baby bullet trains take 1 hour from end to end. If however, you miss one of these and have to take a local-stop train, it will take closer to 2 hours. You're looking at around $230 for a monthly pass (it is cheaper to buy a monthly pass than weekly tickets). Once you get into SF, to get to FIDI you will need to take the MUNI train - its about 6 or 7 stops to downtown FIDI - this is about $30 for a monthly pass. The train is great IMO - I take it to work every day (although I go from halway down the peninsula to SJ) - the baby bullet trains are quick, clean and easy. Like I mentioned above though - if you happen to miss one of the baby bullets, your commute will almost double. But it is a very viable and easy way to get to work. Plenty of people do it from SJ to SF.

As for driving, if you're looking at the Los Gatos area, your best bet will be to take I280 up to SF - it is much quicker and less congested than US101 - I would imagine it would take you 40 minutes to drive, however once you get into SF the commute can take quite a while - not to mention the prohibitive cost of parking (unless you have parking under your office building).

Hope that helps.

cluedweasel Jul 27th 2009 6:39 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
The Rose Garden is pretty nice. We have a duplex there and visit quite often. It's close to an 880 on ramp which will take you to either the 101 for SF or the 280 which also goes to SF.

The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) doesn't reach as far as San Jose yet. There are plans to extend it although I don't know the time frame - http://www.vta.org/bart/

malj Jul 27th 2009 6:42 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
[QUOTE=cluedweasel;7788675] The BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) doesn't reach as far as San Jose yet. QUOTE]

Yep. To the OP - I guess BART is an option if you end up living on the east side of SJ - you would have to drive up to Fremont though to catch it. It runs up the East Bay to Oakland and then crosses over to SF. However I would still advise Caltrain - much easier, quieter and quicker.

MrsOwen Jul 28th 2009 7:54 am

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
Thanks for the advice, Cal Train looks like a good option for me, just trying to work out what the total journey time would be.

We are coming over in August to have a look round and also look for property. What is downtown San Jose like as a place to live?

If i am commuting I would like to be able to walk to the station in the morning, is this feasible?

Anyone recommend some good streets etc?

thanks agains

penguinsix Jul 28th 2009 11:22 am

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
Be sure to check http://www.city-data.com/forum for some more advice.

Will schools be an issue eventually? Can help determine where is best to live.

Michael Jul 28th 2009 12:55 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
I live in downtown San Jose. It is quite small (a little more than 1 sq mile) and is very clean and quite safe. Since about 1985 the city has spent over $1 billion of public money revitalizing the downtown area. Most of the older buildings have been restored, sidewalks replaced, trees and vegetation planted, and roads paved. Businesses have probably spent at least double that amount in the downtown area during that time building apartments, low rise condos, high rise condos, office buildings, and joint ventures with the city to restore the old commerical buildings.

The west side of downtown is the business district and plenty of bars and restaurants. Between 2nd and 4th street is the main residential area and to the east of that is San Jose State University (SJSU - about 30,000 students). Scattered around downtown are plenty of museums, theaters, restaurants, bars, and some shops. All the food stores are on the east side of downtown.

The far west side of downtown is the 20,000 seat arena and the main train station (San Jose Diridon). There is a free shuttle (DASH) that circles downtown to the train station about every 10 minutes between 6:30 am and 7 pm.

http://www.caltrain.com/pdf/Weekday_...PAGE_01-02.pdf

http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_201LO_WK.html

Between 3rd & 4th and San Fernando (kiddy corner from SJSU) is one of the newer apartments in downtown. To see the prices, click on "Floor Plans" and then "Model Name". I suspect utilities (heat, air, electricity, and water) in those apartments should not exceed $100 per month (my 1700 sf condo averages less than $60 per month and is directly across the street from those apartments). Most if not all downtown residences have underground parking.

http://www.101sanfernando.com/

The light rail system runs up and down 1st and 2nd streets and has about 35 miles of tracks.

http://www.vta.org/schedules/SC_902.html

Restored apartments are mostly along 1st and 2nd streets. There are several new apartments and condos at the north of downtown as well as near the train station but you would have to walk several blocks to the businesses in downtown.

http://www.forrent.com/apartment-com...p=CAC-MyAptMap

Traffic downtown is never that bad and there is plenty of parking.

Surrounding downtown are old Victorian houses which are in historical preservation zones not allowing the downtown to expand outward. Some have been beautifully restored but others are in disrepair.

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings the downtown gets crowded with people going out. The one thing that might bother you is that there are quite a few gang bangers from the eastern part of the city (7 miles from downtown) in the crowds. However, there is a strong police presence during those nights so the gang bangers behave themselves.

If you have children, I probably wouldn't recommend downtown because the schools aren't very good in the downtown area.

If you prefer very modern instead of older restored buildings, then Santana Row would probably be more to your liking (but also more expensive) but getting to the trains would be much more difficult.

The flight pattern for the airport is over the west side of downtown. Usually you can barely hear the planes even with your windows open because the planes are usually in a landing pattern over the city. However, about 10% of the days the wind blows from the south instead of the normally from the north and it can get quite noisy if you have your windows open with planes taking off over the city.

MrsOwen Jul 28th 2009 1:33 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 
Brilliant, thanks Michael

That is really helpful. Those apartments look great too, will have to schedule a visit in when we are over in August.

I wasn't aware of the Light rail either, means we could still look at Campbell too, which was one of our preferred locations as we have been there before along with Los Gatos.

Out of interest, forgive me if its a stupid question, whats a gang banger?

many thanks:D

Michael Jul 28th 2009 1:58 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 

Originally Posted by MrsOwen (Post 7791348)
Brilliant, thanks Michael

That is really helpful. Those apartments look great too, will have to schedule a visit in when we are over in August.

I wasn't aware of the Light rail either, means we could still look at Campbell too, which was one of our preferred locations as we have been there before along with Los Gatos.

Out of interest, forgive me if its a stupid question, whats a gang banger?

many thanks:D

Gang bangers are people in gangs (drug pushers, etc.) and usually have tatoos all over their bodies. In San Jose they mainly live in an area about 7 miles east of downtown and are Latino.

If you are interested, I can show you around downtown when you come over.

Michael Jul 28th 2009 2:09 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 

Originally Posted by MrsOwen (Post 7791348)
I wasn't aware of the Light rail either, means we could still look at Campbell too, which was one of our preferred locations as we have been there before along with Los Gatos.

Campbell is ok but like Santana Row, the light rail or Caltrain doesn't go near by. You would have to drive or take a bus to either San Jose or Santa Clara to catch the train.

Giantaxe Jul 28th 2009 4:20 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 

Originally Posted by MrsOwen (Post 7790314)
Thanks for the advice, Cal Train looks like a good option for me, just trying to work out what the total journey time would be.

Where in SF will you be working? Be aware that Caltrain ends to the south of downtown near 6th/Townsend, meaning you may be faced with an additional commute unless you're working in the south of Market area.

Michael Jul 28th 2009 6:59 pm

Re: Moving to San Jose - working in san fran
 

Originally Posted by Michael (Post 7791437)
Campbell is ok but like Santana Row, the light rail or Caltrain doesn't go near by. You would have to drive or take a bus to either San Jose or Santa Clara to catch the train.

My mistake. I never took that route on the light rail so I didn't realize that it went to downtown Campbell. Seems that you are paying more attention than I am.


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