San Jose, CALIFORNIA: Beautiful, But You Can't Afford It

Episode 5: We visited San Jose, California.

Travel Vlog 311

[fishobob]

I spent the 70's as a teenager living on the eastside of San Jose. The house we lived in was a small 1600 square foot 4 bedroom house that my Mom and Dad paid $45k for in 1971 and sold in 1979 for 75k. This was before the Silicon Valley boom. I looked on Zillow and it says it is now 1 million 300 thousand! I had driven by it about 4 years ago and it did not even look well cared for at the time. Crazy!! Love your Videos!

[DaveSchmrdr]

I'm glad you found your way to San Jose.

[JayJay]

As a Brit, I had the upmost pleasure of visiting California and I stayed in a family home in San Jose. I got to see San Francisco and loved going to the Bay Area and looking at the sea lions basking in the sun. I loved the trip to Alcatraz. I was completely in love with the state, the food and the hospitality of everyone I came in contact with. I didn’t actually recognise much in this video but, obviously it’s a big place and my trip was back in 1986. All I know is I flew back to the U.K. grateful and with joy in my heart that I’d been made so welcome by the public and felt like I was part of the wider American family.

Thank you Joey for allowing this old gal to revisit those very happy memories. God bless America & God bless my King.
❤🇺🇸🇬🇧❤❤

[johnrubino]

Joe has developed a real steady hand in his camera work. Crystal clear images and nice editing. Fun to watch.

[stephenoshaughnessy]

In 1977, I stopped in San Jose on a Greyhound bus as a young student. The city was still a dusty quiet town dedicated to farming. I know people who were born in San Jose in the 1940s who remember it as rural orange groves.

[LyleFrancisDelp]

I have an internet friend who lived in San Jose for many years. A modest but lovely house...he shared pics of it, and his wife had a garden there. They wanted out of California and moved to Ivans, Utah...near St George. I'm pretty sure they made a mint on the sale of their house, and the Utah home was much less expensive. Plus, he's far enough away from the light pollution that he can do his deep space stargazing in his backyard.

Oh, and his wife loves hiking in the rugged wilderness nearby.

[annheckenbach]

My brother and his wife lived in San Jose for many years, she was a Human Resource Officer in the Tech Industry. I ended up through various circumstances living outside of Santa Cruz for five years in the Redwood Forest. There is no cheap place to live in that part of the country, but I lasted five years, spent much time in San Jose. Best time in my life.

[wmalden]

Welcome to my city!
I’ve lived here 53 years which is the only reason I can afford to live here.
My house was purchased for $42k in 1970.
Now, house prices and rent prices are CRAZY high.
I love the weather and the wide variety of places to eat, things to see and do, etc.
Enjoy your stay!

[justmyopinion]

San Jose is a beautiful city. Thank you for the tour.

[reginapryor]

You found your way to San Jose (cue Dionne Warwick). My husband & I both moved here from Oakland to attend San Jose State University in 1977. We were determined to move back to the east bay after graduation because back then SJ was still mostly an agricultural city. The Silicon Valley boom was just started to take off. We found it too rural & too slow. ( Wish you would have shown a little of SJSU on your tour.) We married our sophomore year, started a family in 1984 and bought our home in South San Jose in 1992 for $207k. The homes in our mostly nice middle class neighborhood are now selling for 1.2-1.5 million. We are flabbergasted at how much property prices have increased. We thought we’d only stay until we graduated but found it a great place to raise a family. With two incomes, it was possible to stay. Our daughters no longer live in the Bay Area but my husband & I have never lived anywhere else. The weather is the best in the country, the diversity, location to the ocean, mountains and the Sierras plus the Napa Valley wine country can’t be beat. However, if we were starting out today, we could never afford it. My husband wants to sell & move somewhere cheaper but we have prime real estate that many people would die to have. We live near open park spaces perfect for outdoor activities, libraries & community centers with good public transportation. I can walk to most of these places. We’re only an hour from both Oakland or San Francisco. The one drawback is the disparity in the wealth gap which has created a huge homeless population. Surprised you did come across this in your video. Thank you for showcasing our beautiful city. If/when you return, please don’t forget SJSU & our prized shopping area, the beautiful Santana Row.

[alfredocenteno]

Moved to San Jose in October 1973, and in April 1974, bought our 3-bedroom, 1.5 bathrooms house for 24K. Great place to live. The housing area you´re showing was a Portuguese neighborhood in the 70s.

[clarkleakins]

That's all for San Jose????
You missed so much!
The Tech museum!
Egyptian museum!
Many nice parks!
Santana Row across the street from Winchester house.
SJSU!
Shark Tank!
History San Jose park, Happy Hollow Zoo!
County natural parks, and MROSD. One of the major draws to live here.

FYI for decades that restaurant WAS a pizza place with theater pipe organ Angies). Then a breakfast place.

Nice of you to visit, stay longer and see more!

[davidmacias]

I was born in San jose hospital in 1961. The hospital no longer exists but i remember it well. I lived by the east foothills and could drive 3 minutes and be in those beautiful hills. We had cherry, apricot and plumb orchards all around. Though most of the orchards are gone i was very blessed and fortunate to grow up here. And whats amazing is that the city has kept its self up pretty good after all these years.

[bluBlaq]

I’m from there and now live in Los Angeles. My entire family is still there. I’m 32 now. When your in your teens and early 20’s you will call it boring. But when your ready to settle down it’s heaven. Peaceful and sweet people, kind people everywhere you go. I feel very lucky to be from such a peaceful place. Especially westside San Jose where I’m from. I miss the simplicity and peacefulness of my town.

[bunacat]

Born and raised in San Jose and still live in the area in Morgan Hill which is the next town south of San Jose. My parents bought their home in the early 60's and my Mother still lives there. It was a wonderful place to have a childhood with the open spaces and orchards. Unfortunately, the orchards are all gone as well as the open space. I have been to the Winchester house only once about 20 years ago. They had flashlight tours on Friday the 13th and Halloween, not sure if they still do that. It is horribly expensive here and if I hadn't bought a place in the 90's, I would not be able to live here. Most folks that I am close to are leaving and moving to either Nevada or Idaho. It is a beautiful area, although there are horrible areas here, just like everywhere else. We are in close proximity to major sports teams as well as natural beauty such as the mountains and the beach.

[BigMamaKab]

If you come back to San Jose take a drive down Dry Creek Road, the houses there are beautiful! Also check out Willow Glen, they have some of the cutest houses around here.

[joemeyers]

Love the contrast of the episodes on your channel - from ghost towns in Texas to this beautiful, wealthy city. Safe travels.

[jameswesterman]

San Jose is one of the biggest cities in the United States that you never really hear a lot about it.

[Brenda-iqsm]

You do an absolutely amazing job showing your viewers the sights of wherever you are visiting. Your voice is also very calming, you give a lot of information & make your channel the best we have viewed so far.
My husband and I can watch the same video over & over, we never get tired of it as there's information we missed the 1st.
Nicole should have an exercise channel as it is obvious she has kept her body shape up over the years & exercises daily.
I would give you a 10/10 for your channel.

[LarryHeagren]

This weeks video presents us with this interesting paradox, Money is required to live in San Jose - but having wealth doesn't mean you will be free. San Jose is a very beautiful city and the Winchester Mystery House is very quirky. Mrs. Winchester employed a staff of carpenters who did all the work on the house throughout her life. She believed that the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles were after her and so she turned her house into a maze to confuse them so they couldn't find her. You would think that having unlimited wealth would be liberating. But here this woman was trapped in her house by the source of her money. And you need money to live in San Jose! But money can be a source of entrapment like in Mrs. Winchester's case. Joe knocks it out of the park once again. Another beautiful video.