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San Jose Experts, Please Come On In


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2018 Feb 24, 3:49pm   4,007 views  10 comments

by BayArea   ➕follow (1)   💰tip   ignore  

Hi guys,

I'm currently living in the Belmont mid-Peninsula area and considering moving closer to San Jose for work. To be honest, I don't know much about San Jose other than it has the highest population of any city in the Bay Area and there are something like 59 zip codes:

95101 95110 95111 95112 95113 95116 95117 95118 95119 95120 95121 95122 95123 95124 95125 95126 95127 95128 95129 95130 95131 95132 95133 95134 95135 95136 95138 95139 95140 95141 95148 95002 95103 95106 95108 95109 95115 95150 95151 95152 95153 95154 95155 95156 95157 95158 95159 95160 95161 95164 95170 95172 95173 95190 95191 95192 95193 95194 95196

I've spent some time in Campbell, Los Gatos, and South San Jose and have positive things to say. I've also passed through East San Jose and know to stay away. I've heard Almaden and Willow Glen are great too, but home prices have certainly gotten up there in those areas.

My wife and I have a 2yr old daughter and would like to have another child in the near future, so the school system certainly matter (or will soon anyway).

I'm hoping some of you guys who know the area well would be so kind as to share some tips and recommendations on the city, i.e. what zip codes to focus on, what zip codes to stay away from. We are not necessarily locked to San Jose and would consider surrounding areas if it makes sense.

We are on the fence between buying now vs renting for 1-2yrs before then buying once we get a better feel for the area. We are also open to being a bit on the perimeter of SJ where we might perhaps get a little more land (i.e. south SJ). Being centrally located is could be interesting too... just depends on the area I suppose.

Floor is yours guys. Much appreciated for any insight and thank you in advance!

Comments 1 - 10 of 10        Search these comments

1   Ceffer   2018 Feb 24, 6:36pm  

Willow Glenn is really nice, somewhat traditional type area for California and is centrally located. It's like a little Pasadena with nice well kept vintage homes.

Of course, Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Campbell are also nice, but some of these areas are "Dragon Mom" territory, your children could be terrorized by ultra achievers who will commit hari-kari or have nervous breakdowns if they don't get in to an Ivy.
2   BayArea   2018 Feb 24, 9:16pm  

1.West San Jose - 95008, 95014, 95050, 95051, 95070, 95117, 95128, 95129, 95130, 95131
2.Almaden Valley - 95120
3.Willow Glen - 95125 95126
4.Cambrian Park - 95124
5.Berryessa - 95132
6.Evergreen - 95135
7.Rose Garden - 95126
8.Santa Teresa - 95123, 95119, 95138, 95139
9.Blossom Valley - 95123, 95136
10.Downtown - 95110, 95112 and 95113
3   BayArea   2018 Feb 26, 7:30am  

Ceffer says
Willow Glenn is really nice, somewhat traditional type area for California and is centrally located. It's like a little Pasadena with nice well kept vintage homes.

Of course, Cupertino, Sunnyvale and Campbell are also nice, but some of these areas are "Dragon Mom" territory, your children could be terrorized by ultra achievers who will commit hari-kari or have nervous breakdowns if they don't get in to an Ivy.


The dragon mom phenomenon is certainly a concern. Lots of that around here, particularly as some of the smartest people in the word mate and have kids, raising the bar.
4   BayArea   2018 Mar 4, 4:51pm  

Will try one more time, was really hoping to get some more input since know there are SJ people here.
5   Hircus   2018 Mar 4, 5:12pm  

One area I've been curious about is south san jose, the south-most residential area around santa teresa blvd (near bernal)

I drove through there a few times and it seems nice an quiet, and...it's surprisingly affordable. Kinda far away from the city center, but the freeway is close enough.
6   BayArea   2018 Mar 4, 5:24pm  

goat, yes, my research shows that Santa Teresa is one of the few bargains remaining with low crime and decent schools.

Any idea what zip code specifically you are referring to that you've passed through?


I'm tempted to buy there, eventually.
7   RWSGFY   2018 Mar 4, 5:36pm  

According to a co-worker who lives there Sunnyvale has become a traffic hell due to all the office construction. He said it now literally takes him one hour to drive to the soccer field where his kids practice after school. It used to be a less than 10 minutes drive just couple of years ago.
8   Hircus   2018 Mar 4, 6:51pm  

This area: https://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/37.235607,-121.750681,37.210354,-121.791708_rect/14_zm/1_rs/

95139 & 95119

I haven't been in the residential area up by Monterey hwy - I drove around more in the area near the golf course / park.

It's too bad because 1-2 years ago I recall seeing many homes there in the 700's...they've really gone up.
9   epitaph   2018 Mar 12, 4:30am  

My advice is that you should wait a year or two. I think the market is going to be flooded this spring or next. South side has decent schools, but will tack an extra 45 min on to your commute, might as well consider Morgan Hill at that point. Willow Glen is probably one of the best looking neighborhoods but it's also the most overpriced. If I was going to buy in San Jose, I'd probably look at Naglee Park and enroll my kids in a private school. Downtown San Jose is in the process of being gentrified.
10   BayArea   2018 Mar 28, 7:39pm  

epitaph says
Naglee Park


Ah, near the convention center? That area is developing nicely but I worry about all the transient activity in that area.

Thank you for all the replies guys! Please keep them coming.

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