Moving to the area

I would suggest South San Jose...Cambrian,Blossom Valley,Almaden Valley(this is high end)Santa Teresa. Area codes for these areas are 95118,95119,95123,95124,95135,95136. If you're concerned about the crime rate go to www.crimereports.com and use the area code to do a search and you will see what has happened in that area. There are probably more areas that can't think of at the moment, but this is a good start. You do want to avoid East San Jose (high crime rate) and North San Jose is more of a business area and much older homes. I know nothing about West San Jose. I hope this helps and good luck.

Yor're Welcome.....Glad it helped

I have lived in the Los Gatos area for 3 years, also Saratoga, Campbell is a bit less expensive I have found, nice and very cute down town area, lots to do! they are very nice upper scale communities, affordable apartments or home for rent (for california ), check craigs list.com for homes for rent that is where I found this little house with a yard Im renting in Los Gatos I work as a nurse and I can afford this area and Im not broke yet! Palo Alto is very nice but way too expensive there...just keep asking!! I love it here!
Good luck!

I think people will just tend to tell you to move where they are. It's a tough question. I have lived in and around San Jose my whole life. I was a residential real estate agent for a couple years and now all I work on is commercial real estate. I know most of the neighborhoods around here. What are you looking for? Nightlife? Schools? Great church? What do you do for work? I'm happy to help to give you advice if you want.

I will be working at the HP Pavilion, but I'm willing to drive a ways if it means affordable housing! I am a recent college graduate, so money is obviously tight. I have never lived in an urban area, so I have no idea what to look for! Thanks for the help!

I moved here in 2005 from Alabama ALL BY MYSELF when I graduated from college (I graduated in December 2004). All my friends and family are back home AND I moved here sight unseen. Therefore, I know how you feel.
Out of curiosity, where are you moving from?

You have not said if you want to rent or buy. Or, do you know where you will be working, how far do you want your commute to be (if you have a hybrid you can ride in the HOV lane).
Know this now ... when you move here you aren’t moving here because it’s inexpensive, it’s well known this part of the country is one of the most expensive places to live.

At the same time, because of the mortgage meltdown/credit crisis there are many shifts going on in the housing and apartment markets:

When the mortgage meltdown/credit crisis first hit, and all the peoples homes were being foreclosed on, these people were being driven into apartments. This caused our rental rates to skyrocket.
NOW that unemployment is getting out of control (in this area) all the people who have lost their jobs cannot afford to pay their rent, thus having to move out of apartments in mass. I see a couple of moving trucks every weekend, not only that, I have seen the same apartments vacant for a long time. This is VERY unusual for this area and Santa Clara in general.
Because of this, it is causing a readjustment of apartment prices. Unfortunately, I still have to pay $1,765 for a 856sq ft apartment. However, I bet a person off the street would not. There are signs up advertising that there are "Luxury Apartments Available" these signs have NEVER been put up in the whole 3 years I have lived here ... until now.

OH one more thing...
Do you have pets?
Because this is a VERY pet friendly city, but it is hard to find a place that will take TWO dogs. I know from experience.

I would never have suggested South San Jose and/or East San Jose (there are 2 streets in particular that I always see on the news in San Jose that are always involved in crime, I can not think of them right this second). I want to say one of the streets is called STORY ROAD. In fact, anything that has East before it around here, just avoid it (such as East Palo Alto).

I would recommend Willow Glenn, Rose Garden area, Los Altos, Los Gatos, San Jose (North Side), Santa Clara (city in general because when you say county that includes a whole bunch more), Cupertino, parts of Sunnyvale are nice but there are shady parts of Sunnyvale.
Cambrian and Willow Glenn are often grouped together (such as on Craigslist). However, I did not think this was considered the South part of town. I have never really understood why Cambrian and Willow Glenn are grouped together. I know many people who live in Willow Glenn and when I ask them how far away Cambrian is they make it sound as if it is far.

So, as you can see there is a lot to think about =)
Feel free to email me, because I have been in your shoes!

Wiht an 8 year absence, I've lived in San Jose for the past 40 years. "East" Sanjo isn't "all" bad. I grew up in the Alum Rock and White area, and it's still a good East SJ part of town. So for East SJ, stick to Alum Rock and White area.

I currently live in Rose Garden area in a 2 BD/1 BA, 900 sq ft apt - hardwood floors through out, a 7x7 store room and covered parking, well-maintained grounds, swimming pool. The draw back is this is an old complex, built in the 40's. That means nothing modern. The kitchen is very basic - no dishwasher. HOWEVER, I only pay $1300 per month.

Thnk that's high? I searched for almost a year, until I found this place - if you want to know where they're located, send me an email - you won't find them on craigslist or any newspaper.

BTW, the apt complex is about 1 mile from the Pavilion. Don't drive! Think of all the $$ you'll save on gas. A bus will get you there in 2-3 minutes. AND, a monthly bus pass is currently only $61.25.

Hope to hear from you.

Respected,
I am busy now a days If it is too much costly tnan you can stay in shelter thant help you to save your money and by saving your money you can use it for ferther development i will come and visit but i donot know when thank you for your invitation.
sincerely,
prashant God bless you and I wish you Happy and Healthy Newyear
*********** 2009 ***********

There is a place by Bascom that fix cameras (exit on HW 280 turn left on Bascom). I'm not sure if they fix camcorders or not.

If you're working at HP Pavilion, there are some good opportunities downtown, if you're looking for a condo or apartment. They've just finished a bunch of new high rise condos - just in time for the housing downturn - so you should get a pretty good deal. I'm between Japantown and St. James Park - it's super convenient to downtown activities (~ 1 mile to HP Pavilion - you can bike there in 5 minutes, or walk in 20). Crime isn't out of control there ... the main downside is the # of homeless. Transit is great in the area. It's a bit cheaper than Willow Glen or Rose Garden.

Here's a website for the area:

http://www.stjameshistoric.org/

Oh - I didn't see that you just graduated from college ... Look at some place downtown near San Jose State. There would be affordable housing there, and it's not too rough.

I would not recommend living near San Jose State just because you just graduated from college. You dont know anyone here, so there is no significance. Plus, it is LOUD being near college age kids because they like to party. I know because I moved here in 2005 when I graduated from college and I wanted to stay away from that. There is also a train track that runs right through that area. I have seen a lot of homeless people around there. Not good.

Ah, but the poster is college age - and they may be looking to meet people. Whatever they like ... there's probably something in that vicinity that's not unreasonably loud. 3 or 4 blocks from campus, and they'd be away from the noise. The main place downtown to stay away from is south of 280 - that neighborhood's rough (in San Jose terms; it's not like Oakland.)

But - another consideration is that the arena is across the street from Caltrain. That opens up a lot of great places to live with really quick access to work - really, a place near any of the stations at a downtown area are good - Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Palo Alto. It's a long train ride, in theory they could take the baby bullet train all the way from San Francisco, if they wanted to put up with at least an hour commute each way.

I actually live less than a quarter of a mile from the HP Pavilion... in the apartments "Avalon at Cahill Park". The apartments are pretty good, they are not old, and the leasing people are very nice. They are dog friendly and have nice amenities.You should definitely request leasing information from here.

Palm Valley in South San Jose near Santa Teresa Kaiser is very nice. It is right next to the light rail which would take you downtown. I live in the area(single-family home) with my children. Great neighborhood. Also, it is a pet-friendly complex