Fremont or Milpitas (San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley: apartment complexes, to rent, crime)

[googlietdr]

Hi experienced Bay Area members,

My wife's office will be in Pleasanton and mine in Palo Alto (closer to los altos hills).
Looking to rent an apt in a city that doesn't adversely impact either of our office commute.

Which one is better - Fremont or Milpitas?
How is the office commute in car from these places to pleasanton and paloalto?
How about Public Transportation? I could probably take DumbartonExpress (DB1) from UnionCity/Fremont to Palo Alto. How about public transportation between Fremont-Pleasanton, Milpitas-PaloAlto and Milpitas-Pleasanton?

Thanks for your time,
Googlie

[ccm123]

I would pick Fremont, and the southern side and the side closer to the hills is the preferred side of Fremont.

Fremont to Pleasanton is a reverse commute during normal business hours, no problems here. Fremont to Palo Alto is probably 30-45 minutes, depending on traffic (the contention points are near the Dumbarton Bridge).

[Ruth4Truth]

At least if you're in Fremont, you'll be near BART for trips to SF or Berkeley. There are some really nice parks in Fremont, including a regional park on the Bay, with bike trails. Otherwise, there's not too much different between Fremont and Milpitas. Location-wise.

[mstnghu2]

I'd say in most ways, Fremont and Milpitas are equal. Fremont is much bigger, so there are more neighborhoods to choose from.

From a commute perspective to Palo Alto and Pleasanton, they're pretty much a toss-up. Your wife will definitely have the easier commute, and it really won't make much differenence if she's coming from either Fremont or Milpitas. Your commute will not be fun no matter what. I don't have any personal experience with mass transit to and from either location.

I'm not sure if there are many other factors in deciding which city is best, but here's a bit of a breakdown. I'd say in terms of things like traffic, school quality, amenities, parks, overall quality of life, the two cities are pretty much equal. I'd say that overall crime is higher in Fremont than in Milpitas but is still reasonably low. Milpitas tends to maintain its public areas, streets, etc. better than Fremont does and it just feels like a cleaner city to me. Graffiti is almost non-existent in Milpitas, whereas I see it pretty much every day in Fremont.

Demographics are pretty much identical in both cities. They are both majority Asian population with Fremont having a higher ratio of Indian people and Milpitas tending to have more Chinese people.

Fremont has many more apartment complexes to choose from than Milpitas, so you may have an easier time looking there in that regard.

Both cities are in a good central Bay Area location with easy access to both the San Jose area and the Oakland area (assuming light traffic).

You really can't go wrong with either choice in my opinion. Good luck!

[googlietdr]

Thanks very much for the elaborate responses. Appreciate it.
I will probably stick to Fremont (somewhere closer to Decoto road and I-880).

I know Fremont is a big city and there are lots of communities. But for what it's worth, do you have any recommendation on preferable zipcodes or apartment communities that are at a walkable distance to Decoto road.

[ccm123]

I would try and find something in the Ardenwood area, though it's a pretty good walk from Ardenwood to Decoto Road and I-880.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Fremont is a better outfitted, more interesting, more varied place than Milpitas. It is a better overall transpo hub too (both public transit wise and car wise).

[Goober13]

Fremont would be better and a little cheaper too.

[hollykick]

No doubt fremont ... Milpitas stinks big time .. otherwise it does have all the amenities, but it stinks.

[ilkhd2]

Because of Alviso and the Sewage Plant? Southern Fremont also stinks, not much less.
Besides about cheaper - lately, last 6 mo or so, rent in Fremont went up very noticebly, so it is not a bargain anymore.
However, Milpitas and Fremont are indeed very similar.