San Jose is a great choice for anyone who’s planning to move to the heart of the Silicon Valley. The city offers unparalleled quality of life, a pleasurable spring-like climate year round to enjoy the endless outdoor activities and easy access to other top destinations in Northern California, including San Francisco (1 hour), Oakland / Berkeley (50 minutes), Napa Valley wine region (2 hours) and even Yosemite National Park (4 hours).
This San Jose relocation guide will concentrate on the highlights of this advanced and charming city where living, working and raising a family is a happy glitch-free experience.
Geography And Climate
With its 1,000,536 people (2014), San Jose is the third-largest city in California after Los Angeles and San Diego, tenth-largest in the United States, as well as the biggest city in Northern California and in Silicon Valley. It is located in Santa Clara County, approximately 50 miles (80 km) south of San Francisco and 390 miles (629 km) north of Los Angeles.
The climate is subtropical Mediterranean and San Jose residents enjoy moderate year-round temperatures – an average of 301 days of sunshine with an annual temperature of 60.5 °F (15.8 °C). On average, there are 3 nights per year with temperatures below the freezing mark. Snow is very rarely seen in San Jose – on February 5, 1976, a weather observation station measured no more than 0.5 in (1.3 cm) of snow.
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Being the largest city in Silicon Valley – a well-known area with large concentration of technology, computer and microprocessor companies, San Jose has earned the nickname “Capital of Silicon Valley”. Around 6,6000 high-tech companies employ more than 254,000 people of technical expertise in the area. As of December 2013, the top employers in the city are: County of Santa Clara, Cisco Systems, City of San Jose, eBay, IBM, U.S. Postal Service, San Jose State University, Hitachi, Adobe Systems and others. Samsung’s North American headquarters are located in the city as well.
San Jose residents enjoy the highest median income of any U.S. city with over 280,000 people. At the same time, the cost of living in the city is among the highest in California and the country.
Main Sights And Attractions
San Jose City Hall
It’s the fine brush strokes that turn San Jose into a masterful piece of art.
The City Hall is the heart of the local government of San Jose. The complex covers 550,000 sq. ft. (51,000 sq. m.), is environmentally friendly (efficient use of natural light and sun-shading structures) and has an 18 story tower whose very top is occupied by the mayor’s office. It opened in 2005 at a cost of US $343 million and is designed by Richard Meier – the architect whose other famous works include The Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art and the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
Plaza de César Chávez
Plaza de César Chávez is 2.2 acre park in Downtown San Jose. Throughout the entire year, it is the venue of live music, cultural festivals (notably the San Jose Jazz Festival), events and shows (the Christmas in the Park), concerts (a free concert every Thursday in the summer) and has an open-air theater and numerous water fountains.
The Tech Museum of Innovation
Also known as The Tech, this museum is located in downtown San Jose. The 132,000-square-foot (12,300 m2) facility, which opened its doors in 1998, has 3 floors and 4 major theme galleries: Communication, Exploration, Innovation and Life Tech. The Museum has tried to capture the technological spirit of the Silicon Valley – most of the exhibits of the museum are interactive and allow visitors to dive into the learning experience first-hand.
Lick Observatory
The “Great Lick Refractor” is an antique telescope built in 1888. Having a lens diameter of 36 in (91 cm), the refracting telescope was the largest one of its kind worldwide for 9 years. It is still operational today.
It is an astronomical observatory, owned and operated by the University of California. Situated on the summit of Mount Hamilton east of the city, it is the first continuously occupied mountain-top observatory in the world. The road leading to the Lick Observatory has exactly 365 turns and can be quite a challenge even for people known to be immune to motion sickness.
Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
Founded in 1877, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph is a big Roman Catholic church in Downtown San Jose. The original church was called San Jose de Guadalupe but its adobe structure was severely damaged by earthquakes. In 1846 a second church was built on the same spot, later destroyed by another earthquake, while the third one was engulfed by fire. The current structure is the fifth and final attempt, and in 1985 the church was elevated to a cathedral.
San Jose State University
Established in 1857, the San Jose State University is considered the oldest public institution of higher education on the West Coast. Located in downtown San Jose, the main campus is home to more than 50 major buildings spread along 19 city blocks. The university offers 73 bachelor’s degrees and 71 master’s degrees through its seven colleges. Currently two of the most popular graduate majors are software engineering and electrical engineering which provide the SiliconValley companies with a great number of engineering and computer science graduates.
History Park at Kelly Park is an indoor/outdoor museum in San Jose which has been designed to look like a small US town in the early 1900s.
Other San Jose attractions that are worth mentioning are: the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, the History Park at Kelly Park, the Circle of Palms Plaza, the San Jose Flea Market, the water theme park Raging Waters, the San Jose Improv Theater and the Winchester Mystery House.
Moving To San Jose
Accessibility
San Jose can be accessed effortlessly by air, road and rail.
By road: Three Interstate freeways (280, 680 and 880) and one U.S. Route (101) provide a convenient access to the city of San Jose. Also, the city is easily reachable by an extensive network of state highways, state routes and expressways.
By rail: Amtrak, Caltrain, ACE and a local light-rail system greatly facilitate transportation to and within the San Jose area.
San Jose Neighborhoods
Downtown – the central business district of the city. The buildings there are not to exceed 27 stories in height because of the proximity to the Mineta San Jose International Airport. Most of the notable city landmarks are located in the neighborhood – the San Jose Museum of Art, the Children’s Discovery Museum, the Tech Museum of Innovation, the Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph, the campus of San Jose State University and many more.
Shark sushi at Japantown.
Japantown – situated north of downtown, this historic neighborhood boasts excellent Japanese restaurants, Asian performing arts, martial arts schools and places of worship. The Japanese culture is celebrated there with live events while stores sell homemade Japanese specialties (tofu, manju, etc.) and traditional outfits (kimonos, geta slippers and so one).
Willow Glen – a picturesque walkable historic neighborhood with charming residential streets and a variety of restaurants and shops.
Other notable neighborhoods include: Rose Garden, Little Saigon, West San Jose, Los Gatos and Campbell.
Raging Waters San Jose is the largest water park in the state of California.
San Jose was founded on November 29, 1777 as El Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe.
35% percent of all venture capital funds in the country are invested in San Jose and Silicon Valley companies.
San Jose was the first capital of California when the latter gained statehood in 1850.
With a score of 48.1, Walk Score ranks San Jose the 18th most walkable U.S. city.
With an annual attendance of more than 4 million visitors each year, the San Jose Flea Market is the largest open-air market in the U.S. and has become a famous landmark in the state of California.
San Jose gets shaken by moderate earthquakes an average of one to two times a year.
Living up to its nickname, San Jose offers the best free public Wi-Fi Internet in the country. Named Wickedly Fast Wi-Fi, it allows thousands of people to stream simultaneously with no interruptions or congestions.
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San Jose is a great choice for anyone who’s planning to move to the heart of the Silicon Valley. The city offers unparalleled quality of life, a pleasurable spring-like climate year round to enjoy the endless outdoor activities and easy access to other top destinations in Northern California, including San Francisco (1 hour), Oakland / Berkeley (50 minutes), Napa Valley wine region (2 hours) and even Yosemite National Park (4 hours).
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