A Love Letter to San Jose
San Francisco gets all the press. And, sure, they have a great bridge and some cool companies and neighborhoods (and sea lions!).
When it comes to the Bay Area though, San Jose is the true heart – the financial and technological center of the tech world. It’s a great place to work, to live and to enjoy all the area has to offer.
What do we like most about San Jose? Its convenience, practicality, diversity and more – we love our city and if you’re considering moving to San Jose, we’re confident you’ll love it as well.
Access to the Great Outdoors
San Jose has a wonderful park system. Some of our favorite highlights include the Japanese Friendship Garden, with its koi ponds and quaint bridges, and the Rotary Play Garden, part of the Guadalupe River Park Conservancy.
And, as you spread farther beyond the city, you have easy access to some magnificent hiking trails, with views that are well-worth the climbs. A few of our favorites include:
- Eagle Rock, a 4.1-mile walk with some of the best views in the area. The best part? You don’t have to face a super-challenging climb to reach a suitable height and take in some excellent views.
- Bayview Loop, a 4.9-mile paved trail that’s perfect to incorporate into your regular walking schedule.
- Seven Springs Loop Trail – A tree-lined trail without too much elevation, Seven Springs Loop Trail is a great hike for beginners or for folks who want to get out and explore without getting too sweaty.
- Almaden Quicksilver County Park – Perfect for biking, this moderately difficult 10-mile trail is home to beautiful conflagrations of wildflowers. The park also contains plenty of history in the form of old mining relics.
Cultural Diversity
As a base for a number of international professionals and a hub for tech workers, San Jose is home to a highly diverse community.
One feature of San Jose that’s particularly unique is the city’s language diversity, with almost 50 percent of the population speaking a second language.
Along with unique languages and perspectives, residents of San Jose have also brought with them their unique points of view and historical viewpoints. The Little Portugal neighborhood, for example, is home to the Five Wounds Portuguese National Parish, a beautiful combination of California architecture and more than 30 installations of classical stained glass depicting Portuguese royalty, saints and Biblical figures.
And, as with any melting pot, the food is something worth sampling. San Jose boasts a wide variety of flavorful, global dining experiences, from Adega, a Michelin-starred Portuguese restaurant to any of dozens of excellent sushi restaurants (we personally like Mizu Sushi and order the dragon fire roll).
A Commitment to Inclusion
The City of San Jose recognizes the importance of internet connectivity for education, job access and more. As such, the city has developed a commitment to getting people connected and online.
The San Jose Digital Inclusion Fund is San Jose’s commitment to making sure “no one is left on the wrong side of the digital divide.”
Programs to get homes connected have been actively utilized this year to support families and remote education for local children. The program’s investment in the community is intended to continue over the next several years.
Great Weather
No need to worry about temperature extremes in San Jose. The weather is pleasant year-round, although winter can be a bit rainy. However, the summer sun and low humidity more than make up for a few days of drizzle each year.
And, with so many nice days for outside excursions, you can surely find an opportunity to play outside on the life-size Monopoly board!
A Thriving Economy
San Jose can be an expensive place to live. However, while housing is expensive, San Jose also boasts the highest average disposable income in the nation, which makes it a little easier to stomach the high housing costs.
And, the convenience of moving to San Jose can’t be beat, especially when you have some of the biggest and brightest companies in the world recruiting talent to the San Jose area. Major employers in the city include PayPal, Cisco Systems, HP, Adobe and eBay.
Diversity in Home Choices
If you want to live a downtown lifestyle, there are plenty of well-appointed apartments and condos that will suit your needs and let you thrive in the city center.
Love being out and about and need access to outdoor spaces? You might love moving to West San Jose, where you can easily access parks, trails and more, while still maintaining an easy commute.
Want to soak in some beautiful nature scenes and enroll your children in a thriving school? Los Gatos is home to Vasona Lake County Park, where you play, boat and picnic to your heart’s content. And Hillbrook School, located in Los Gatos, is a haven for curious, maker-oriented children, as well as the home of the Scott Center for Social Entrepreneurship,
Access to Bay Area Sports Squads without Frustrating Bay Area Congestion
San Jose has just enough to do to be a great place to live, work and explore. And, it has just enough space and freedom to keep from becoming overcrowded and congested.
Take our sports teams for example. San Jose is home to two professional sports franchises – the San Jose Sharks (National Hockey League) and the San Jose Earthquakes (Major League Soccer). We’re proud of our hometown teams and Sharks attire is de rigueur on game days.
With only a short drive, though, San Jose residents can also gain access to a well-rounded slate of other sports teams.
In the mood for baseball? The Oakland Athletics and the San Francisco Giants both play only a short way away. Football fans can cheer on the 49ers, and hoops fans can choose between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings.
It’s easy enough to make a jaunt over to one of these sports stadiums for a game or match, then to be thankful to be back home in San Jose after your team has secured their victory.
So, if you’re considering San Jose as a place to make your home, you’re going to have plenty of options and plenty of opportunities to become connected in this thriving city. When you’ve picked your perfect new residence, we’ll have our San Jose movers available to get you settled, share their favorite sushi spot and make sure you’re feeling at home in our city.
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Photo by Mo.
