Moving to a new city requires you to do a bit of research about the area to ensure it is a good fit in terms of safety, career opportunities, and economy. Even if you are moving to a well-known city, such as San Jose, it is important to learn as much as you can before making that big move because things like weather, traffic, or the price of groceries can have an impact on your long-term happiness. Be sure to read a comprehensive San Jose CA moving guide or two, research local real estate, research the best moving services in San Jose, and consider these pros and cons of living in SA:
Pros
1. Weather
San Jose is a great place to move to if you love the outdoors, gardening, and abundant sunshine. For instance, this city boasts over 300 days of sunshine each year. The summers are long and comfortable, with the average temperatures reaching about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. For those wanting to escape a cold climate, San Jose’s comparatively mild winters bring, on average, 60-degree days, which will make you feel as though you are living in a dream.
2. Employment
San Jose is recognized for its technology-based job opportunities, which are offered by the likes of Adobe, Google, and Facebook. Additionally, the San Jose area is touted as providing the highest level of work satisfaction and happiness.
3. Food
Along with San Jose’s diverse population comes the amazingly diverse food scene. You can experience new cuisine from a different part of the world almost every day. From Asian to European cuisine, the choices abound, and the food is 100 percent authentic. However, if you lean towards a more Caribbean cuisine, you will not be disappointed.
4. Things to do
From wine tasting to swimming in the ocean, the region surrounding San Jose offers seemingly endless activities and outdoor fun. However, you can also enjoy a variety of city parks covering up to 16,000 acres. If you like indoor activities, you can visit a variety of art museums. Of course, once you are back outside, you can take the family to Raging Waters for an action-packed day at northern California’s largest water park.
- San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
- Japanese American Museum of San Jose
- San Pedro Square Market
- Heritage Rose Garden
- Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
- Education
In addition to the highly renowned universities in the area, including Stanford University and The University of California, Berkeley, the city itself is home to San Jose State University, which is a popular choice for students interested in business, science, and engineering.
If you are relocating with your family, there are several school districts to choose from along with some stand-out elementary schools, including James Franklin Smith and Carolyn A. Clark. In terms of high schools, Los Gatos and Saratoga High come highly recommended.
Cons
1. Traffic
This city ranks among the worst in the nation when it comes to traffic. One of the main reasons for excessive traffic is due to suburb-to-city commuting. Fortunately, there are a variety of routes available, making it a bit easier to find the perfect path to bypass rush-hour traffic.
2. Cost of living
To say the cost of living for this city is high is an understatement. To help put things into perspective, compared to an overall index of 100 for the United States, San Jose comes in at a whopping 214.5 with the state of California coming in at 149.9. A large part of the high cost of living is because the median home value is around $1,000,000.
3. Meager nightlife
When compared to the multitude of things to do during the day, San Jose nightlife can be perceived as sparse. Therefore, if you enjoy late nights filled with dancing and live music, this city may not be for you.
4. Cityscape
Although this city has a lot to offer when it comes to beautiful architecture and gorgeous homes originating from different periods, you may not appreciate the increasing number of more modern buildings.
5. Grocery bags
Whether you choose paper or plastic, you will be charged, at a minimum, 10 cents per bag at the grocery store because of an increased emphasis on protecting the environment. Therefore, it is highly recommended that you bring your own bags each time you go food shopping.
