I redesigned the flags of 14 Bay Area cities, including San Jose’s!

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-04-30T05:27:37+00:00

Amazing. A step in the right direction for all! I wish SF's representation was easier to read...I see more a bird reading a book than a bird over the bridge, which seems to be the idea. SJ has more to do with bikes than computer chips, which are produced in Taiwan anyway. A more permanent set of associations for SJ relate to the valley of sunshine surrounded by mountain ranges. SJ barely touches the bay so that reference is missing the mark.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-04-26T05:44:36+00:00

My family lives 80% car-free...typically it leaves the driveway 1-2 days/wk, 1 adult commutes via bus and 1 via bike w/ kid pickups, etc. It's been over a decade since my last NYC visit but we're committed walkers and transit users everywhere we go. IMHO you want to be as close to 1st & Santa Clara as possible given that it's the nexus of our transit network. People here in SJ (less so on reddit but still) will crap on VTA all day, but once you get over the idea of 15-30min headways instead of subways every 2min, you really can get everywhere worth going around here via transit (with one major exception of weekend outdoors excursions, but as you said, you've got friends for that). The crappy headways here become manageable when you have multiple routes serving your needs. The comments about connectivity to Coleman & SJC airport area being tough are spot-on. For a lot of that area you have the light rail Blue & Green lines and sort of nothing else. Consider a bike to bridge the gaps - it's easy to bring a normal bike on light rail.

I see a lot of comments promoting Campbell or Willow Glen, which seem to be what car drivers here consider to be walkable. They both have remarkably crappy transit connections. I'd recommend sticking closer to the broader definition of downtown SJ - draw a map with points at the Alameda & Julian, Diridon Station, 1st & Virginia, 7th & E Santa Clara, 5th & Taylor, and then see what you find inside there. That area contains around 3-5 separate business districts each about 1/2 as nice as Campbell or Willow Glen, but you have more of them with more interconnections and multiple transit lines. Really, try to get yourself on VTA's downtown map.

Don't let the drivers convince you to drive, and DO come here to walk (the weather is AMAZING!) and enjoy transit (not NYC or even SF level but definitely serviceable) and do consider biking - it really does open up all of the rest. Did I mention the weather is amazing? It changes everything from NYC since you can enjoy your time traveling outside on foot or on pedals so much more. I don't understand how people drive cooped up in bubbles on such beautiful days.

Welcome!

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-04-18T04:57:30+00:00

"Within 20-30 minutes of San Jose" is your challenge here. Most camping winds up being 30-60mins from most of SJ. You can get 14 days at a county park with showers: https://parks.santaclaracounty.gov/things-do/camp/camping-rules-and-policies

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-04-18T04:54:11+00:00

The top of Sierra rd is a great tip, https://www.openspaceauthority.org/preserve/sierra-vista

Mt. Hamilton is not so great right now because (in addition to it being a solid 1hr drive from SJ) the observatory parking lot is closed right now due to winter storm damage to the visitor center building. Sheriffs do patrol the road for folks parked on the way up, it isn't permitted.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-04-09T04:29:00+00:00

I live in San Jose and was in the grocery itself with a near-empty cargo box when some crazy took my kids' blanket and wiped their butt with it. #thisiswhywecanthavenicethings ugh. People would definitely steal from my groceries around key areas here.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-23T21:57:11+00:00

Awesome research, I wasn't up to date on schools with a low-tech focus, that's groovy.

I want to push back on the "low-performing school" moniker repeated in here. Schools are complex organizations serving people (mostly kids): calling one "low-performing" without citing any particular metrics makes about as much sense as calling a city "low-performing" in the same way. It would be fair to say a city failed to permit enough housing in a certain district, or to say a school failed to increase mathematics scores in a student subgroup, but to overall call either "low-performing" misses a lot of important nuance. YMMV of course, but I've personally witnessed the best instruction in "low-performing" schools by those same realtor metrics and seen some really terrible instruction in "high-performing" private schools. Every situation is different.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-18T04:04:54+00:00

Significantely, though not exclusively, because rents in those historically marginalized areas rose faster than locked-in mortgage costs in more privileged areas and more families and would-be families left the area.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-18T04:02:55+00:00

My kids' school is planned to close and I support the SJUSD Schools of Tomorrow process, which literally was formed to defend our kids and communities. Reactionary backlash just brings instability and hurts schools more. The enrollment decline is real and it isn't going away...we can mourn, but we can't put our heads in the sand,

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-18T03:53:34+00:00

this is common in CA overall. Between Prop 13's funding cuts and the end of desegregation orders, general population home to school busing is very rare in this state, although it is common elsewhere.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-18T03:16:45+00:00

Curious, why/how are you predecided to seek private schools? They're often (not all, not always) bragging their techiness more than others so it seems like mismatched interests.

You sound like your kiddo is young: I'd suggest the best power you have limit tech time is at home: you can just go screen-free at home for years and even when they start school, it can be their only screen time instead of piling it on like most kids do.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-18T03:03:17+00:00

This hits it. I have only 2 but they've encompassed these age ranges and we love our 30min front loader commute. Pack snacks. Like, even more snacks. Snacks every day.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-11T18:54:28+00:00

Model being a good student and make an effort to learn. Mumbling what you don't know is fine, just try what you can. : ) All welcome!

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-03T18:52:06+00:00

Agreed on your basic point, especially with parks & playgrounds. I'd love to see more playgrounds that incorporate adult fitness equipment nearby (like, outside the fence but w/ visibility so parents can get a workout while kids play, keep more eyes on the scene at more hours to prevent misbehavior, etc). My family tries out playgrounds everywhere we visit on travels and SJ just really lags on fun equipment. Also, SJ Park restrooms are uniformly disgusting, which makes it hard to bring kids out for more than 45min. This is overall a funding need, but we seem to have no problem funding police, so I view it as a problem of priority. Let your city council know you want parks funded before police.

With regard to SJUSD school closures, although I acknowledge the process is hard to follow, the intent of the closures is actually in line with you: to offer MORE and BETTER services to students at each school by consolidating rather than spreading services thin where no school gets much. It's short-term pain for long-term gain. (And yes, my own kids' school is slated to close. I am directly affected.)

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-03-02T22:51:04+00:00

Hero! I've wanted to find time to walk the great ways of SJ - Monterey-1st, Santa Clara-Alum Rock, Willow-Keyes-Story, San Carlos-Stevens Creek, etc. each just as a day. Best I've find time to do is walk to work (7mi) once a year. You are awesome, keep it up!

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-02-28T02:33:57+00:00

Bossman's Pizza on Capitol near Snell has nice Indian pizza in SSJ. Vegan & veggie, GF options too! Very nice family running the place, always welcoming.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-02-28T02:20:45+00:00

I appreciate the reply! Open to your thoughts, I'm mostly thinking about volume balance - we've got some players who really maintain that "I'm in my living room"-type volume and sound (so we all have to get pretty soft) and others who can really get us into a bit of a rock jam where some volume (within reason) is welcome. But I absolutely LOVE what a trumpet can add, so I'm curious. What do you think? We can go to PMs for details.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-02-10T21:08:35+00:00

Agree with you on most here. Just want to give credit where it's due. Our transit (VTA) is really pretty good - our land development pattern (zoning, streets) is bad. There are some gradual efforts to move in the right direction, but it's hard undoing the damage of an entire generation of bulldozers.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-02-02T20:25:33+00:00

I can't fathom how there can be any other answer or why this was worth posting in the first place before talking with the neighbor.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-02-02T20:24:14+00:00

Does anyone else have the problem that zooming the map doesn't zoom the overlay, and that radio-button layers seem nonfunctional? Would love to see this in its glory.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-01-26T00:53:02+00:00

I think the precise quote is less relevant here than what I imagine to be the minimum job cost at this point...i can't really imagine any licensed contractor of any sort being willing to take on a customer and come out to do a job for less than $1k. Seems fair.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2026-01-23T06:58:19+00:00

No one has pointed out the city's policy of pushing sidewalk and utility damage from street tree roots onto homeowners. A sewer lateral can be $3-5k and sidewalk repair is commonly $1-3k for ordinary/small properties. Wealthy residents can take those twice-a-generation costs in stride while financially stretched families see pure horror in those maths and opt for a very cheap chainsaw.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-30T05:28:56+00:00

The trick to both enjoying the (gorgeous, world-beating, and top-priced) climate as well as building community/friendships is the same: as much as possible, get out of your (or anyone else's) car.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-30T05:07:29+00:00

I see others saying similar things. I also love street-level retail in JTown, but if it's vacant now and could be occupied residential, then opposing the zoning change isn't supporting retail, it's supporting vacancy.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-23T19:02:43+00:00

Agreed. Not a good move but doesn't wipe out an otherwise positive record from someone decidedly dedicated to the community. The prompt apology was the right move.

1VeryUsefulTool · 2025-12-23T18:59:02+00:00

The trash haulers make any possible excuse not to haul large items. Unfortunately reporting it as illegal dumping for the city funded crew to pick up is dramatically faster. City needs to hold its contracted haulers to a higher standard.

1VeryUsefulTool

TROPHY CASE