Have you relocated to San Jose? (San Francisco, Redwood City: renting, house, living in)

[NewChapter]

I've read a lot of great posts from people looking to move to San Jose, and those that are long-time residents.

But I'd love to hear the opinions of the Bay Area from people that have moved there recently.

What are your top 2 favorite things about living in San Jose?
What are your top 2 least favorite things?
What do you wish you knew before making the decision to move?
Are you glad you're there?

Thanks!

[sonarrat]

I'm a long-time Bay Area resident, but I've only lived in San Jose for 5 months. Before that I lived in Morgan Hill and South San Francisco, plus brief stints in Milpitas, San Francisco and Redwood City. My favorite thing is actually the fact that it's affordable. You can get a serviceable, detached house in a good area with 6,000 square feet of land for $400K. Renting is a little expensive but relative to property values it's not bad either.

Second best thing is the Asian restaurants. I only have to go a couple of blocks to get incredibly good Chinese, Vietnamese or Filipino grub. A close third would be the cheap bulk grocery stores like Smart & Final/Cash & Carry.

On the minus side, the traffic is pretty horrible in all corners of the city, and a couple nights I had a bum digging through my recycling at 12:30 am making a heck of a racket while I was trying to sleep. If I had known that my commute to the other side of San Jose could take 45 minutes some days, I would have been a little hesitant.

But yes, I'm glad I'm here. It's not for everyone, but I don't really mind its downsides and it gives me what I like.