Everything I know about San Jose I learned from Dionne Warwick

April 17, 2012 10:11 AM

Asking for a friend: looking for reasonably priced, gay-friendly neighborhoods in or near San Jose, CA.

A good friend is contemplating a promotion that will take him from Denver to San Jose. He says he thinks he probably won't be able to afford San Jose proper, so is open to considering surrounding areas. Any other tips, insight, etc. appreciated as well. Thanks!

posted by scody to Work & Money (4 answers total)

Honestly San Jose is both big, with a lot of variety in terms of price and neighborhood, and in general, one of the cheaper cities in the bay area. If you want to go cheaper than San Jose, you're probably looking at Fremont or Hayward or somewhere over there. The whole peninsula is more expensive and the parts of Berkeley and Oakland that you'd want to live in are more expensive. The whole bay area is pretty gay-friendly in terms of acceptance, but if you're looking for things like gay-specific nightlife, you're going to want to be in San Francisco, which is the most expensive place in the area.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 10:15 AM on April 17, 2012 [2 favorites]

The low-key gay neighborhood in San Jose runs along The Alameda, however San Jose prices are creeping up to dot com levels again.
posted by doncoyote at 10:43 AM on April 17, 2012

Another option is roommates. It's really common for people to have roommates here (particularly in SF itself), even if they're, say, in their mid-30s with careers.
posted by needs more cowbell at 10:45 AM on April 17, 2012

San Jose doesn't actually require a car but it's sure nice to have. There is a fairly useful light rail and buses, but they don't go everywhere. If his work is next to light rail it might be useful to look for housing on it.
Naglee park is kind of a mixed bag. Close to the college it's kind yucky and loud, farther away, it's pretty nice. There are several halfway houses near the college, too. I would avoid living too close to one, the one I lived across the street from was very loud and on AA night our streets would get completely parked up. Not horrible but it made hanging out outside kind of unpleasant.
posted by doctor_negative at 8:19 PM on April 17, 2012