Cambrian Park (San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos: for sale, real estate, leasing)

[nmguy]

I'm considering moving to the Cambrian Park area.

Can anyone provide an opinion of the quality of life there?

Are there certain neighborhoods that are good or bad?

What's the real estate situation there?

[sonarrat]

It is one of the better San Jose neighborhoods. It's close to Campbell and Los Gatos downtowns, the crime rate is pretty light and while I feel it's still pretty strip-mall-heavy, I always felt comfortable around there. Used to go to the Tower Records on Bascom until they shut them all down. I'm unclear on whether Cambrian Park is incorporated into SJ now, or still kind of an unincorporated island.

[si33]

Pretty much have to agree with sonarrat, This part of San Jose is one of the better areas of town..in fact, this area is where i myself grew up..so i can say with experience that it is definitely a Family-oriented part of town, Especially as you get closer to the Los Gatos, Blossom hill, and New Almaden neighborhoods..

Crime in the area is pretty non existant..or basically nothing major..though when a rare string of break-ins happens,..it seems everyone from Campbell to the Santa Teressa area is watching over each of their neighborhoods as neighborhood watches are often part of each area..

Real estate wise,..many of the houses are tract type and streets are tree lined..As you get into Los Gatos/Blossom Hill areas of Cambrian,..you'll see newer developments..most i watched be built through the years..

Situation wise, id have to say that compared to other areas of town..forclosure rates don't seem to be as bad on this side of town..sure, you'll see some..but its not 10 for sale signs on each street..they are more scattered about the area..

Neighborhood -wise, most are walkable.. and quiet with an assortment of shopping areas and parks being fairly close by..Plus, you always have pretty good views of the mountains just to the west and south of your front door..

One important thing i'll add is that compared to other parts of the valley,..this area is one of the least likely to suffer major damage in the event of an earthquake..as the area is built on a stable layer of rock..

In the 89 quake,..the most damage i encountered was a cracked chimney or a few items thrown around..and this was living in a neighborhood on the border between Cambrian park/Blossom hill and New Almaden..roughly 5-10 miles below where the epicenter of that quake was located up in the hills.

Lastly, i'll add that as you get further away from the hills and out into the valley..there is more traffic to contend with..and a couple of not so nice areas near highway 280 and s.w. expressway..but i believe that area is part of Campbell and not Cambrian..

On the opposite end..you can feel miles away from town on some of the roads winding through the hills here, especially down towards old Almaden and the outskirts of Los gatos..Some of these areas have a strange level of folklore about them as well

Other than that..its a great area to live..

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by nmguy

I'm considering moving to the Cambrian Park area.

Can anyone provide an opinion of the quality of life there?

Are there certain neighborhoods that are good or bad?

What's the real estate situation there?

I used to live in this area. Cambrian covers a large area with vague boundaries. It is mostly a middle to upper middle class area. Ethnically mostly white with a fair number of Asians and a few Latinos thrown in for good measure. There are some dumpy pockets in this area. Most parts of this area are incorporated into the City of San Jose but there are a few unincorporated pockets.

It is mostly tract homes but they seem to be somewhat better built and have a bit more character than the tract houses that populate many other parts of East & South San Jose.

The area bounded by Hillsdale on the north, Branham on the south, Jarvis on the east and Meridian on the west has some ordinary but well taken care of tract houses but also some lovely streets lines with mature deciduous trees.

Also the area between Almaden Expressway on the east and Cherry on the west; Hillsdale to the North and Branham to the south also has some of the better built tract houses (some even have partial brick!). Although not exactly architecturally inspiring, it stands out compared compared to most other SJ tract house neigborhoods.

This area isn't exactly upscale but is more expensive than other middle income parts of town (such as the "Blossom Valley" area).

Despite the real estate bust, homes are still quite expensive in San Jose relative to incomes.

[Bill Macy]

At one time it was a blessing to live in the Cambrian Park area. Neighbors worked with each other, would be pleasant towards one another and would look out for one another. That was 30 years ago. Today the area of Cambrian Park has changed greatly. The neighborhood has turned from people taking pride with their house, remodeling and up grading their house and even helping their neighbors paint their house.
Today in at least half the neighborhoods you will find people renting houses, leasing houses, junk cars in the front lawns and really not knowing your neighbor. The streets now are clogged with at least five cars per house not to mention the company truck(s), boats and campers. The neighborhood is no where like it was even 10 years ago. The Sheriff patrol more now then years past. Some houses got by the Planning Commission and look like hotels instead of houses.
I am ashamed to have guests over for fear they will not find a parking space close to my house.
I plan on living her for another 1-2 years and I am gone. It is not worth living in the Cambrian Park area. The low life's have taken over.

[jbunniii]

Originally Posted by Bill Macy

company truck(s), boats and campers

There's no shortage of this where I live in the Almaden Valley, either. It may look a bit shabby, but is it really harming anyone? I actually breathe a little easier in a neighborhood where vehicles like these are parked freely in driveways and on the street. Why? Because it tells me that there is no fascist HOA operating in the area!

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Bill Macy

At one time it was a blessing to live in the Cambrian Park area. Neighbors worked with each other, would be pleasant towards one another and would look out for one another. That was 30 years ago. Today the area of Cambrian Park has changed greatly. The neighborhood has turned from people taking pride with their house, remodeling and up grading their house and even helping their neighbors paint their house.
Today in at least half the neighborhoods you will find people renting houses, leasing houses, junk cars in the front lawns and really not knowing your neighbor. The streets now are clogged with at least five cars per house not to mention the company truck(s), boats and campers. The neighborhood is no where like it was even 10 years ago. The Sheriff patrol more now then years past. Some houses got by the Planning Commission and look like hotels instead of houses.
I am ashamed to have guests over for fear they will not find a parking space close to my house.
I plan on living her for another 1-2 years and I am gone. It is not worth living in the Cambrian Park area. The low life's have taken over.

Depends on which part of the neighborhood you're talking about. It's no surprise more people are renting these days. Home prices in the valley have been out of whack with incomes for at least the last 10 years. Even with recent price declines, home prices as a multiple of income are still quite high.

I haven't seen the junk cars on front lawns much. However, people do have those giant campers. I think it's a result of inflated expectations. People didn't have that stuff 30 years ago (or not as much). There have been some horrible home remodels. But when I lived there, most of the recent remodels were quite nice. But once again, I think it goes back to peoples' unrealistic expectations these days. It seems everyone wants to live in a mansion regardless of family size or whether it's feasible for the neighborhood or plot of land the house sits on. I guess that's the silver lining of this nasty recession. It has brought some people down to earth in terms of what's really important in life.

As far as people being more neighborly 30 years ago. That is probably true. But the decline of community spirit is (unfortunately) not unique to the Cambrian neighborhood.