Long Distance Moving to San Jose, California

Way back in1968, Dionne Warwick and Burt Bacharach asked the immortal question, “Do You Know the Way to San Jose?”

Now, they obviously had no way of foreseeing the rise of Google Map, which would show everyone the most direct route to San Jose. They also did not foresee the size of the ear worm that song would create. You’re probably humming it now. We’re very sorry.

However, given what the city has going for it, it was a fair question to ask back then, and time has only improved on it. The city now offers sunshine, Vietnamese cuisine, hockey, and enough tech companies to make the city look like a West Coast extension branch of Silicon Valley.

So why should anyone consider relocating to San Jose? Let us count the ways.

Living in San Jose
Demographically speaking, the city of San Jose has a unique blend of Caucasian, Asian, and Hispanic/Latino cultures. Only 40 percent of the city identifies as Caucasian, while Asian cultures command 34 percent and Hispanic/Latino rounding out the main three demographics at 32 percent. While those demographics create a unique cultural fusion, everybody has practice in dealing with earthquakes.

Living in San Jose means dealing with earthquakes in the same way that living in South Florida means dealing with hurricanes and living in New England means dealing with Patriots fans. We should clarify, however, that dealing with earthquakes does mean having to perpetually deal with the damage and destruction caused by massive earthquakes on a routine basis. Most of the quakes tend to be small rumblings, the seismic equivalent to a heavy but brief rainstorm. In that sense, they can be similar to hurricanes in that they are not all created equal.

Patriot fans, on the other hand, tend to be more or less the same, so that’s a win for San Jose.

At different points in history, the city of San Jose had the distinctions of serving as the capital of California, being the largest city in Northern California, and for being home to the housed the world’s largest canning and dried-fruit packing center. These days, it gets by for being a tech industry giant.

Working in San Jose
The Census ACS 1-year survey reported the median household income for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara California metro area was $117,474 in 2017. San Jose median household income was $45,669 higher than the median California household income and $57,138 greater than the US median household income.

In other words, living in San Jose ain’t cheap. The median home price in San Jose clocks in at around (we’re not kidding) $949,000, according to Zillow. And while that’s pretty expensive, keep in mind the median house price stood at $1.085 million just a few years ago.

You don’t get to be known as a center of innovation and affluence by offering small price tags on the houses.

A big reason for those big home prices? The aforementioned tech industry. More Fortune 500 tech companies call San Jose home than any other place in the U.S., and the salaries show in the housing market. At the same time, that means anyone looking for work in the tech industry will find San Jose most inviting. eBay started here, and both Adobe and Cisco operate out of the city.

Unfortunately, transportation continues to be an ongoing challenge for San Jose residents. Partly it’s just popularity; when everybody wants to be somewhere, everybody tries to get there by car, and they all end up sitting in gridlock.

How bad is traffic in San Jose? If you’ve ever seen movies that prominently feature Los Angeles traffic jams, you’ve got a general idea of what to expect.

San Jose’s Typical Weather Forecast
Another reason so many love San Jose? The weather. If San Diego has the reputation for hosting the nicest weather in California, San Jose runs a close second. The area features a Mediterranean climate, which means hot and dry summers followed by mild and cool winters. In other words, lots of sun and no snow, a winning combination offered by cities with expanding populations.

Summer highs can reach the 80s and 90s while winter lows generally tend to bottom out at the mid-40s, so if you’re relocating to San Jose from the Midwest, you can probably put the ice scrapers and snow boots in the garage.

The concentration on technological innovation makes more sense when you consider the weather. It’s hard to imagine a company doing cutting-edge computer operating in the frigid north. It’s doable, of course, but if you had the choice, you’d probably pick somewhere with a warmer climate.

Things to do when you Move to San Jose
In addition to rooting for the San Jose Sharks, the city offers Christmas in the Park, where the Plaza de Cesar Chavez gets turned into the city’s version of the Griswold Family Light Display. And while the housing won’t be cheap, the San Jose Flea Market offers bargains on food, clothing, and anything else one desires.

And if you’re going to eat fast food, you’ll probably take advantage of an In-N-Out burger more than a few times.

San Jose Culture
The city’s Asian culture influence extends to the food, where Vietnamese offerings can be found far and wide, although Japantown makes its influence known, too.

With low crime rates, the city consistently ranks as one of the top safest large cities in the country, which many enjoy by walking around and interacting with each other.

San Jose stores also charge a minimum of $0.10 to place your purchases in a plastic or paper bag. To avoid these fees, invest in a few reusable bags. They’re stylish, their cheap, and they’ll cut back on the paper and plastic products.

Come on, it’s California. Going green should be expected.

Long Distance Moving to San Jose
Even though the cost of housing seems intimidating, San Jose has a lot to offer. Ready to relocate but not sure how to go about the task? We can help.

We get that moving down the street can be stressful, and moving to a new state can be downright horrifying. But Colonial Van Lines has the experience and the expertise to make sure your moving experience will be straight forward and stress free.

Call a Colonial Van Lines professional and find out how to start your journey to San Jose.