NorCal Peeps - Moving to the Bay Area

Aight homies, I'm relocating for work to the Bay Area and working in Fremont. What do you guys and gals think about the Campbell area? How about the San Jose golf course and south to the 680/101 area?

I'm from SoCal and I have not lived in NorCal since my UC Davis days in the mid to late 90's. I'm hella excited for the move and I can't wait to start exploring the area with my my boy Blue.

Any tips on food, off-roading trails, and places to explore? I rented a few hotels in Hayward and Union City, no thanks. Campbell appears to be more of my pace and vibe. Living in Alhambra these past 10 years, I've learned that I love the food and the diversity in the community I live in. I would like to find a community/neighborhood that has the same mix of people/cultural cuisine as Alhambra.

Thanks in advance for the input.

Edit: fix auto correct errors and I'm a little tipsy.

 

I lived in Campbell for a while. It's nice in the sense that everything is close by. I really wanted to live in Los Gatos but couldn't afford it. Getting from Fremont to Campbell on the other hand can be a chore. You might want to think Newark/Milpitas or Fremont itself.

 

Born and raised in Fremont...all 38 years and still here...for now.

From everything you said, I would look for a place in Fremont. I would avoid traffic as much as possible and living in Fremont allows that since you're working here. I've seen what it was back then and what it is now...the traffic is no joke. It's more bearable because of covid but sooner or later, that is going to change. I know people say WFH this or WFH that...imo, it's not going to be forever.

There are better parts of UC on the West side closer to Fremont near the 94555 zip code.

Since "diverse" food is your thing...and I assume you mean chinese/korean/viet/japanese food since you're from Alhambra, Milpitas/San Jose is your spot even though Fremont has a few good places. It's only a 20-30 minute drive south without traffic unless you are trying to get deep into San Jose.

Fremont does not have a big town feel like SJ. It's pretty much young families starting out so you're not going to be finding any clubs or lounges if that is your thing. It's a suburb afterall.

For offroading, I would say you're better down south because of the OHV park and easier access to other areas in central CA.

Just as a FYI, the weather swings heavily in the bay area. Fremont could be 75F but 90F in SJ. It's weird like that. If you like hotter weather, down south is more your style.

 

Fremont is the Long Beach of the yay area.

 

Thanks for taking the time and providing me some feedback. I have appointments to view some rentals this weekend in the 95131 zip code area. From this area code, I would have about a 10 mile commute to work in South Fremont(Warren/880). I'm accustomed to the weather fluctuation from the beach to the inland locations, so no worries there.

I'll probably get a hotel in North San Jose next to test the waters.

 

I think you will like north san jose...which is basically milpitas. A lot of newish construction and less of the congestion of the south bay. Are you going to be working at Tesla by any chance?

 

Nessal nailed it pretty much. Lived in Fremont for a few years and it's great for young families. There is diversity in food, but you will have to drive a bit. Fremont hub has changed a lot since I've lived there. Automall definitely has some variety to suit your needs as well. For the most part, it was Indian, Asian (Vietnamese, Sushi, etc.) and American foods that Fremont had. It's also very quiet, if you're looking for any kind of night life this is not the city.

 

Not Tesla, I'm in the EHS field specializing in Environmental regulations.

I drove to the automall area for lunch the past two days, pretty hectic area during lunch hours

 

I live in north SJ and work in north Milpitas. Stay away from 101/680 area if you can. @otis24 does the Campbell to Fremont commute, so he might chime in. Traffic northbound on 880 isn’t bad in the morning for me, but southbound can suck in the afternoon.

 

I lived in Campbell for a couple years (in the area around Westmont High School). I liked it.

I also had a 4-minute commute to the office on suburban streets, so YMMV...

 

I lived in the Bay Area most of my life. Now live in the north Central Valley. My opinion based on 50 + years there, the Bay Area has changed a lot over the years and not for the good. I find the Bay Area is all of the following - super expensive, everything is expensive from houses and apartments to food and entertainment. It’s crowded and noisy and traffic congestion is unbelievable. Crime has skyrocketed over the last several years. There are places you have to learn not to go to to avoid being a victim of crime. A couple include Richmond, Oakland, Hayward and several others. I grew up in Oakland and wouldn’t drive down the street I grew up on for safety concerns. Oakland did me make one bad ass sob though.You have diversity but diversity just means people mostly stay in their own little diverse groups. I know this isn’t the information you requested but just thought you should know it ain’t the wonderful place you may envision. Good luck, I hope you find it a good place to reside.

 

I did the Campbell to Fremont near Warren and 680 commute for 5 years.
Now I'm doing Sunnyvale to Fremont.

I'm usually on the road in the morning by 5am and leave work by 3pm so this probably doesn't apply to you.

Early in the morning it's pretty nice. The only downside is 880N people drive 55mph to 95mph so it can be a little crazy. Cars travel in packs so I like to find empty spots and hang out there. Especially if I'm riding my motorcycle.
In the afternoons in the before times traffic starts to back up at the 101 interchange and 280 interchanges around 2pm and only gets worse as the day goes on. Nowadays it's no problem.

I'm pretty familiar with both Campbell and Fremont. Both are nice. I personally wouldn't live in Fremont or over in this area because all the good mountain biking is closer to Campbell (which I really need to do more of). But Fremont is closer to the Sierra for weekend camping and wheeling get aways. But Fremont has Mission Peak which can be a shitshow on the weekends. I go after work during the week.

 

Getting PTSD thinking about 880S to 101S interchange

 

Lol…yup, I don’t understand how people deal with getting onto 101S from 880S.
That interchange is sooo bad!

Luckily I go past it.

When traffic returns I’ll probably ride my motorcycle more.

 

I also grew up in Fremont and still live in the area, but IMO food is better in Socal compared to Bay Area. Set your expectations. Campbell has a nice downtown area, with some decent eats. Although I am not specifically familiar with the Alhambra scene, I still prefer Socal foodie scene over anywhere in the Bay Area. A 10 mile drive could translate into a 30-40 min commute. If you're driving from Fremont to Campbell during work hours and enter the 880s Freeway towards Campbell around Mission or Warren, you end up hitting traffic around Montague all the way to 101. The 880 to 101 exchange during commute hours is a sh1tshow. You live in Socal now so I don't think dealing with traffic will be new to you.

There is an OHV park in Hollister. Otherwise, not much off-road to explore...you pretty much have to drive several hours out of the Bay Area for something like that.

 

Except without the awesome beach and good food.

 

Let me know if you’re on the peninsula. I live in Pacifica and can recommend a spot for great fish tacos and strong margaritas

 

Campbell is very nice, I lived there for 5 years. Downtown was fun but then it for kinda trendy and crowd changed. If I was going to work in Fremont I would live somewhere closer. The commute traffic is not worth it. There are some nice spots in the East Bay as well.

 

Or the cool people.

 

Use Brokaw. You're welcome.

Moreso when riding, I won't ride the 101/880 unless I'm in the #1 lane.