While many would argue the weather is the nicest thing about San Jose, what’s more unique and alluring is the fact that this is the Capital of Silicon Valley. The biggest tech companies in the world call San Jose home, from Apple and Google to IMB and PayPal. It’s a place that exudes innovation and entrepreneurship unlike any other, without the high-intensity stress of say New York City or San Francisco. It has a major downtown area, yet still encompasses your stereotypical California suburban feel with its charming, albeit very pricey neighborhoods, big homes with backyard space and pools, and nearly year-round sunshine.

San Jose has amazing weather; sports teams; upscale dining and shopping, including Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row; job opportunities; and culture. But at the end of the day it doesn’t have those buzzing vibes of a San Francisco, Los Angeles, or again, New York City. While there are some spots to go out, the nightlife isn’t popping by any means, and it can be a sleepy city despite having one of the biggest populations in the country. That said if you have a family, raising kids or past your drinking and dancing days, then you have nothing to worry about. Oh, and you  need a car, or be comfortable with a rentable scooter or bike, or Ubers/ Lyfts.



Entrepreneurship, start-ups and big-time tech players

LookyLOO Review of San Jose

If you’re in San Jose, you’re going to be living around some of the scrappiest and smartest people you’ve ever encountered. San Jose metro has more millionaires and billionaires per capita than any other city in the US, which makes sense when you consider that it has the highest cost of living in California as well as the US. The city does lean younger, with a median age of around 35, but keep in mind that the people who live and work here can be obsessed with their jobs. The city has been working very hard to create a social scene to try to compete with the popularity of San Francisco. There are more restaurants, events, and shopping now than ever before to try to lure the techies out for happy hours and weekend hangs. Also, it’s good news if you’re a person who dates men. San Jose has been nicknamed “Man Jose” because of the overwhelmingly large population of single men in their 20s and 30s who live and/or work there. 

If you want to see everything happening in San Jose check out the [**calendar of events**](https://www.sanjose.org/events. 

Lifestyle

Like we said before, this is the tech and startup capital of the US, maybe even the world, so if you’re working here, you’re going to be either living the Silicon Valley dream or working for the city. There are a ton of companies that call San Jose home, including the headquarters of Adobe, Cisco Systems, PayPal, Roku, and more. In addition to headquarters, many companies like Samsung and Apple choose to house their very elite and very large campuses in the city. There are plenty of jobs for cutthroat recent grads and seasoned tech pros alike. 

Worklife

The San Jose Unified School District has a pretty diverse performance spectrum across the broad landscape. Overall is scores a [**"B+" on niche.com**](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/san-jose-unified-school-district-ca/) with college prep an area of great strength. 

If you review the map for school performance you'll see most of the "A" ranked schools are on the southern side of the city and the C's are generally on the north side. If you care about standardized rankings then keep the schools in the neighborhood in mind when choosing a home. San Jose has a pretty traditional selection of schools, without a ton of the charter and magnets that can confuse a district. High fliers among the public school secondary options include:
-[**Leland High School**](https://leland.sjusd.org/); is an [**"A" ranked high school**](https://www.niche.com/k12/leland-high-school-san-jose-ca/?map) down in the Almaden Valley neighborhood. Leland scores an A+ in both Academics and College Prep. 
-[P**ioneer High School**](https://pioneer.sjusd.org/); Another [**"A" ranked high school**](https://www.niche.com/k12/pioneer-high-school-san-jose-ca/?map) located just north of Almaden Valley, that also gets high grades for Academics and College Prep. 

Schools

It’s always sunny in San Jose. It’s the perfect combo of suburban life and city life, (minus nightlife.) There’s diversity in culture (it’s home to one of only three Japantowns in the U.S., tons of great Mexican and Vietnamese food, and a Little Portugal); tons of options for outdoors activities, not to mention relatively close proximity to the mountains, coast, and San Francisco, Napa Valley and more; there’s fancy shopping and dining; diversity in people; and mostly everything you need to thrive mentally. No SAD here! If you’re a techie, engineer, entrepreneur or the like, there’s no better place for you. Another important thing to note, the area has tons of highly ranked high schools and some of the top universities in the U.S. including Stanford. So if higher education is important to you, San Jose is a slam dunk.


Life is stressful, San Jose isn’t.

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**love44**  
living in San Jose 
2y ago
✭✭

Just moved here last year from Toronto (originally from Vermont)

Like every place San Jose has its pros and cons.

Pros: I personally feel there are more opportunities in California. I have the best job I’ve ever had in my life and I haven’t had a problem securing a job since moving here (had to leave original company I transferred with). Obviously the weather is a huge pro and it’s close to many outdoor activities.

Cons: The driving is crazy. I thought Toronto was bad but MAN they don’t mess around here haha. Also, I actually don’t find it to be that friendly of a place. It’s not really a city like I thought where you take public transportation everywhere; you pretty much have to drive. I also don’t feel as safe as I have felt in other places BUT I felt worse in SF. I also wish I realized where SJ was in relation to the ocean but that’s my fault.

Ultimately, we are looking to move back to Toronto because we like that type of city feel more but I have enjoyed my time in California for the most part.


Reviews of San Jose from Locals

**The Best Thing About San Jose?** Entrepreneurship, start-ups and big-time tech players

While many would argue it’s the weather, what’s more unique and alluring is the fact that this is the Capital of Silicon Valley. The biggest tech companies in the world call San Jose home, from Apple and Google, to IMB and PayPal. It’s a place that exudes innovation and entrepreneurship unlike any other, without the high intensity stress of say New York City or San Francisco. It has a major downtown area, yet still encompasses your stereotypical California suburban feel with its charming, albeit very pricey neighborhoods, big homes with backyard space and pools, and nearly year-round sunshine. 



**The Worst Thing About San Jose?** It’s not San Francisco. 

San Jose has amazing weather; sports teams; upscale dining and shopping, including Valley Fair Mall and Santana Row; job opportunities; and culture. But at the end of the day it doesn’t have that buzzing vibes of a San Francisco, Los Angeles, or again, a New York City. While there are some spots to go out, the nightlife isn’t popping by any means, and it can be a sleepy city despite having one of the biggest populations in the country. That said if you have a family, raising kids or just pass your drinking and dancing days, then you have nothing to worry about. Oh, and you also almost definitely need a car, or be comfortable with a rentable scooter or bike, or Ubers/ Lyfts.



**How You Living?** In a super expensive home.

San Jose’s homes are insanely expensive, renting isn’t much better. That said it’s a city with some extremely beautiful neighborhoods like the Rose Garden neighborhood with its 19th-century homes; the namesake San Jose Municipal Rose Garden; and museums.There are historic neighbors like the 200-year old Alameda neighborhood or Mayfair, which is home to the Mexican Heritage Plaza, or bougier ones like Willow Glen. Despite high housing costs, it does come with perks. Such as tons of parks, outdoor space and over 60 miles of nature-filled trails.  



**Why You Should Move Here Now?** Life is stressful, San Jose isn’t

It’s always sunny in San Jose. It’s the perfect combo of suburban life and city life, (minus nightlife.) There’s diversity in culture (it’s home to one of only three Japantowns in the U.S., tons of great mexican and vietnamese food, and a Little Portugal); tons of options for outdoors activities, not to mention relatively close proximity to the mountains, coast, and San Francisco, Napa Valley and more; there’s fancy shopping and dining; diversity in people; and mostly everything you need to thrive mentally. No SAD here! If you’re a techie, engineer, entrepreneur or the like, there’s no better place for you. Another important thing to note, the area has tons of highly ranked high schools and some of the top universities in the U.S. including Stanford. So if higher education is important to you, San Jose is a slam dunk.


There might not be a better city for young professionals and recent grads to live. If you’re 
working in the tech industry you’re going to want to move here to drastically cut down your commute. If you’re looking to make your drive downtown easy without being directly downtown, you’ll want to check out Japantown. As one of only three Japantowns left in the US, it’s a cultural hub with amazing food, bars, and shops. There are a ton of high rises as well as townhomes and you’ll have a blast meeting people or catching up with friends at the farmers’ market every Sunday.
- Japantown
- Downtown
- Willow Glen


Young Professionals

Japantown

There is a ton to love about San Jose if you’re looking to settle down (for now) and start a family. Being in San Jose means you have more time at home and less time on those famous San Francisco commuter buses. If you’re moving to the city from outside the area, we’d suggest gently turning down the advice of moving to Downtown and instead starting your search in Willow Glen. It’s a charming residential area just south of downtown, which means it feels like a big city, but will still give you those small town vibes. It’s got boutiques, bookshops, the best restaurants, and a ton of different housing options to choose from.
- Willow Glen
- The Alameda
- Santana Row


Young Families 

Willow Glen

Families with older kids are going to have a lot to choose from depending on what you’re looking for. If you’re relocating to San Jose, our bets are that you’re relocating for work and want to make sure there’s enough house for your family. San Jose housing prices can be steep, so we’d start off in Willow Glen if you’re looking to stay closer to town or Evergreen if you want an oasis away from tech central. Evergreen features affordable, by San Jose standards, housing with parks, sports courts, hiking trails, and playgrounds. It’s on the Eastside, though, so double check that commute!
- Evergreen
- Willow Glen
- Silver Creek


Established Families

Evergreen

San Jose

**What is it like to live in San Jose, CA?**
**Christophilies**
Living in San Jose
1y ago

It’s my hometown. Frankly, it’s way overpriced for what it is: which is a college town that’s suffered from shit planning going back at least fifty years. The downtown district was starting to see some build up and then the pandemic pretty much flatlined that. Even then, because there’s a god damn airport right next to it, the city will never have an impressive skyline. Suburban sprawl combined with mediocre public transit has decentralized everything, so you’re forced to commute by car. That combined with the influx of people has created a traffic nightmare. Compounding this issue is the fact that the freeways were planned and designed decades ago to handle probably half the amount of traffic traveling at least 10 to 15 mph slower than how it is now.

For all its faults though, its still my hometown. There’s a very diverse ethnic population here, each with their own communities, so the dining scene has tons of variety. Its central location means you can be in a proper big city, a beach town, and hiking in the mountains within an hours drive. Typically, the weather is very mild. A cold day is in the 40s, and a hot day is in the 90s (barring the rare heatwave or cold snap).

All in all, my roots here run deep and when I really think about it, I don’t see myself living somewhere else.

**Would you move to San Jose these days?**
**roaringchicken42**
Living in San Jose
2y ago

When you move to San Jose, you are moving to a big city and everything it comes with: sky high cost of living, insane traffic, and rampant homelessness. Compared to other big cities, however, San Jose has great weather (when there’s no smoke :) ), diverse food (from Ethiopian to German, and everything in between), decent bike infrastructure, and good nearby parks.

Also consider the suburbs like Los Gatos and Campbell that have a more small city feel while being close to San Jose proper.

Just be aware that San Jose (and CA in general) has the potential for fires, earthquakes, and drought, and public transportation is severely lacking.

**How is living in San Jose?**
**Quabbie**
Lived in San Jose
4mo ago
✭✭✭

I moved here and loved it here. San Jose arguably has the best weather, with a diverse cuisine from around the world, tech hub (I work in tech/engineering so it’s for me.

It has its own set of problems, don’t get me wrong. High rent, cost of living, bad traffic, taxed to death, “Man José, etc

I think just how “boring” it is makes it a perfect place for me. I can just drive out to San Francisco for the night life/clubs/raves, Lake Tahoe to ski/snowboard, Santa Cruz/Half Moon Bay/Monterey for the beach, just some hours away from Yosemite. Great schools. I can go on but I don’t need to convince anyone.

San Jose, California