San Jose, California, known as the capital of the world-famous Silicon Valley, is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country and the largest in the San Francisco Bay Area. With incredible food options from both traditional American and international cuisine, cleaner air than many big cities, stunning natural spaces, excellent job opportunities in the field of technology, culturally diverse, and known as one of the least discriminating and inclusive cities thanks to its very race-diversified population, this city is sure to attract young professionals and families.
With all the good things surrounding this area, it can be hard to find the right neighborhood for you! Will you choose a busy and upcoming neighborhood filled with the trendiest shops, or are you more of a quiet homebody looking for a place to lay down roots?
If you’re looking for the best neighborhoods in San Jose, you’ve come to the right place! Here are the top five San Jose neighborhoods.
What are the Best Neighborhoods in San Jose?
- Rosemary Garden
- Castro
- Willow Glen South-Lincoln Glen
- East Virginia
- Cedarville-Giannotta
Rosemary Garden
(Average monthly rent: $1,195 for a 1-bedroom apartment)
What Vibe Will You Find?
It has pride for its charming, well-maintained neighborhoods with unique, older houses. It has a very homey charm, making it a good choice for families with children. It is a well-established community with many dessert shops around to satisfy those with a sweet tooth.
Great Things to Do
It’s close to the airport, light rail, and a Japan town where you can stop by. Not a lot of traffic either so transportation won’t be a problem at all. Places nearby are Rosemary Garden Park, Guadalupe River Park & Gardens, Guadalupe River Trail, and Townsend Park, which have different kinds of recreational facilities for kids and adults year-round.
Castro
(Average monthly rent: $1,200 for a 1-bedroom apartment)
What Vibe Will You Find?
This place within the city of tolerance is a lively, friendly, internationally recognized neighborhood that supports and welcomes LGBT and related communities. Castro also hosts several festivals annually, many of which are related to queer culture and films, and is quite a well-known event in the region.
Great Things To Do
The Castro Theater is a designated historic landmark in San Jose and has become the symbol of the neighborhood. The unique Slide down Seward Street Slides can also be found in this area and is popular with people of all ages. Other than that, there are plenty of bars and great restaurants around the bright neighborhood with eye-catching street art made by different artists.
Willow Glen South-Lincoln Glen
(Average monthly rent: $1,300 for a 1-bedroom apartment)
What Vibe Will You Find?
Willow Glen holds various events during the summer and Christmas season, making the community pretty tight-knit in general. Just going on evening walks is enough for you to meet and make friends with many neighbors in a day. Public schools in the area are also known to be great, with an extremely friendly culture and a wide variety of restaurants.
Great Things To Do
The farmers market on Saturdays and visiting Bertucelli’s La Villa has been a staple in the neighborhood and is a great way to get to know locals. The residents also meet up a lot to learn different stuff together like lawn bowling and frisbee. Willow-Glen is also close to many good places like downtown, transportation hubs, and entertainment areas so there won’t be a shortage of activities to do in this community.
East Virginia
(Average monthly rent: $1,495 for a 1-bedroom apartment)
What Vibe Will You Find?
Most homes in East Virginia, San Jose are occupied by renters, making it an area best for people who keep to themselves generally. Its summers are long and comfortable and the winters are pretty short and characterized by cloudy skies. The area is also developing pretty fast to keep up with the pace of the city, but that’s not a drawback as it also makes things more convenient for the residents.
Great Things To Do
There are a few parks and playgrounds in the neighborhood with clean recreational areas such as the Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose, Monopoly in the Park, and River Glen Park. People can sit out front listening to live bands and drink outside and there are plenty of parks and hiking areas for people in the summer or enjoy being out with nature in general.
Cedarville-Giannotta
(Average monthly rent: $1,500 for a 1-bedroom apartment)
What Vibe Will You Find?
The community is very diverse with a majority of Asians living here. The city is quite safe as it has small amounts of crime rate and the residential areas also have an old-school-neighborhood vibe and offers a lot of greenery which is soothing after a long day at work.
Great Things To Do
Parks available in Cedarville-Giannotta are Overfelt Gardens Park, Townsend Park, and Commodore Park where families can spend time together during weekends or summers. It is also close to daycare centers such as Genius Kids, Rainforest Adventure Daycare, Early Learning Preschool, and Action Urgent Care, making the area a suitable place for young families who need help tending with children.
San Jose Weather
The city is known for its unbeatable weather, numerous hiking trails, and safe, quiet, and calm suburban neighborhoods. It is notable for its typically Mediterranean climate and gets slightly warmer in the summer but not as warm in other areas such as Los Angeles.
San Jose Transportation
Proximity to job opportunities is one of the greatest appeals of San Jose, which contains the headquarters of many technological worldwide companies such as Cisco and eBay, hence the city was made with excellent transportation links that are easily accessible and convenient for its residents.
Cost of Living in San Jose
The cost of living is pretty high in San Jose, mostly thanks to the boom in technology, but much more affordable than in other cities such as San Francisco. The city is a center of innovation, which contributed to its affluence and also influenced the cost of living in the area. If you work in San Jose, the wages are also higher as compared to other cities thanks to hundreds or even thousands of start-ups being founded every day in the city.
