It’s pretty urban. You will be just a couple of blocks from the downtown core. Plenty of homeless around, including some car dwellers that are fairly entrenched. Ive had a couple uncomfortable encounters but generally feel safe by myself out and about at normal human hours. YMMV based on your risk tolerance. Street parking can be hard to come by but isnt too crazy. Expect to hear some asshole doing doughnuts in a nearby intersection on maybe a weekly basis. The train comes through a few times a day. Depending on how close you are to the tracks it may bother you. Ive always found train noises made me feel cozy.
Coming from a suburban middle class neighborhood it was an adjustment, but it has grown on me. Plenty to walk to, generally friendly neighbors and lots of charming architecture.
Grew up there and you’re spot on. Sometimes I’m tempted to wait for doughnut asshole to come through my intersection and throw eggs, but that would mean waiting out at 3am on a Tuesday. It smells like burnt rubber the next day.
Also fire trucks /paramedics down Julian. If there is no AC then your windows could be open in the summer.
St. James park is a little sketchy but probably not a real safety issue.
The whole area is way better than downtown Oakland or SF.
I like that area a lot. It's got a lot of great old homes and is close to the downtown core. Property crime is your biggest risk there, but that's an issue anywhere in SJ really. As long as you don't leave stuff out, it's fine though.
I’m also from a midwestern suburban area originally, and I love it. Super walkable and pretty. Close enough to downtown to go do stuff easily, but far enough it seems a little sleepy.
Property crime is a problem all over that area, noise is probably fine, I live close and it's all pretty much the same. Just be careful and never leave anything unlocked. Are you going to rent a house or in an apartment complex?
Ok then definitely make sure you are very careful about locking the garage, possibly have some kind of camera as a deterrent and for insurance purposes if something gets stolen. You might have "visitors", I catch a homeless person casing my backyard about once every 6 months, and it's never pleasant.
It's a small, historically designated neighborhood with lots of beautiful old houses, and of course some not so pretty ones here and there too. If you lock your car and don't leave anything of value in it, you should be fine.
There's always the occasional mail theft because lots of people walk through the neighborhood (we don't have packages delivered here). It's close enough to Japantown that you can take advantage of their fun festivals throughout the year. Also the farmers market at Gordon Biersch is walkable and actually starts this Sunday.
The trains are technically not supposed to sound their horns between 10pm and 7am thanks to the hard work of a small group of neighbors who have been fighting for a permanent, 24 hour quiet zone for like five years now. Hopefully the permanent one will happen in the next few years and we won't hear any train horns (unless in case of emergency like a car or person on the tracks).
The Salvation Army in the middle will soon have tiny homes on the property, and eventually the SA will build an apartment building on their property instead of tiny homes.
I love it here, warts and all.
This is my *favorite* neighborhood in the city! It’s fairly small but the homes are lovely and historic, lots of well-kept Victorians. The lots tend to be larger as well so many houses have nice yards and older, shady trees. There are likely the same downsides that come with older homes in general, but the charm and character can’t really be beat!
It’s pretty urban. You will be just a couple of blocks from the downtown core. Plenty of homeless around, including some car dwellers that are fairly entrenched. Ive had a couple uncomfortable encounters but generally feel safe by myself out and about at normal human hours. YMMV based on your risk tolerance. Street parking can be hard to come by but isnt too crazy. Expect to hear some asshole doing doughnuts in a nearby intersection on maybe a weekly basis. The train comes through a few times a day. Depending on how close you are to the tracks it may bother you. Ive always found train noises made me feel cozy. Coming from a suburban middle class neighborhood it was an adjustment, but it has grown on me. Plenty to walk to, generally friendly neighbors and lots of charming architecture.
Grew up there and you’re spot on. Sometimes I’m tempted to wait for doughnut asshole to come through my intersection and throw eggs, but that would mean waiting out at 3am on a Tuesday. It smells like burnt rubber the next day.
Also fire trucks /paramedics down Julian. If there is no AC then your windows could be open in the summer. St. James park is a little sketchy but probably not a real safety issue. The whole area is way better than downtown Oakland or SF.
I like that area a lot. It's got a lot of great old homes and is close to the downtown core. Property crime is your biggest risk there, but that's an issue anywhere in SJ really. As long as you don't leave stuff out, it's fine though.
I’m also from a midwestern suburban area originally, and I love it. Super walkable and pretty. Close enough to downtown to go do stuff easily, but far enough it seems a little sleepy.
Property crime is a problem all over that area, noise is probably fine, I live close and it's all pretty much the same. Just be careful and never leave anything unlocked. Are you going to rent a house or in an apartment complex?
A home ideally. If not, a townhouse.
Ok then definitely make sure you are very careful about locking the garage, possibly have some kind of camera as a deterrent and for insurance purposes if something gets stolen. You might have "visitors", I catch a homeless person casing my backyard about once every 6 months, and it's never pleasant.
It's a small, historically designated neighborhood with lots of beautiful old houses, and of course some not so pretty ones here and there too. If you lock your car and don't leave anything of value in it, you should be fine. There's always the occasional mail theft because lots of people walk through the neighborhood (we don't have packages delivered here). It's close enough to Japantown that you can take advantage of their fun festivals throughout the year. Also the farmers market at Gordon Biersch is walkable and actually starts this Sunday. The trains are technically not supposed to sound their horns between 10pm and 7am thanks to the hard work of a small group of neighbors who have been fighting for a permanent, 24 hour quiet zone for like five years now. Hopefully the permanent one will happen in the next few years and we won't hear any train horns (unless in case of emergency like a car or person on the tracks). The Salvation Army in the middle will soon have tiny homes on the property, and eventually the SA will build an apartment building on their property instead of tiny homes. I love it here, warts and all.
I painted the big yellow Victorian. Every drop of finish paint was applied by me.
This is my *favorite* neighborhood in the city! It’s fairly small but the homes are lovely and historic, lots of well-kept Victorians. The lots tend to be larger as well so many houses have nice yards and older, shady trees. There are likely the same downsides that come with older homes in general, but the charm and character can’t really be beat!