Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 17:05     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.


The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.

This is true.. But, SJ is a great location.

- a couple of hours drive to the east you have the sierra mountains and amazing skiing
- an hour drive to the south, you have beaches in Santa Cruz, or Half Moon Bay - though the water there is flippin cold but lots of surfers there
- about a two hr drive north and you have wine country

A bit further..
- 7 hour drive south you have SoCal
- 7 hour drive north you have the redwood forest, or Shasta area with Lassen is closer.

I loved living in the Bay Area. I was sad to leave it. Wish I could go back. I hate the DC area.


Well…that’s why you live in SF which is exactly the same location in a great city…not in a suburban, strip mall hellscape.

Nah. I live near Las Gatos, and I loved it. Love the architecture there. Hate the colonials here. blah.
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 15:00     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.


The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.

This is true.. But, SJ is a great location.

- a couple of hours drive to the east you have the sierra mountains and amazing skiing
- an hour drive to the south, you have beaches in Santa Cruz, or Half Moon Bay - though the water there is flippin cold but lots of surfers there
- about a two hr drive north and you have wine country

A bit further..
- 7 hour drive south you have SoCal
- 7 hour drive north you have the redwood forest, or Shasta area with Lassen is closer.

I loved living in the Bay Area. I was sad to leave it. Wish I could go back. I hate the DC area.


More like 4 hours to the Sierras, about 8 to the North Coast redwoods, with traffic these days, but yes, a great location

for redwoods, though, Big Basin Park is an hour or less away in the Coast Range

and Santa Cruz is wonderful
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 12:52     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.


The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.


The DMV outside actual DC is way worse in my opinion. Horrible architecture, Frankenstein architecture, burb malls etc.

I’m not a fan of the $$$ peninsula towns like Palo Alto, Menlo, etc. For South Bay, I’d agree that living in Sunnyvale is like living in an office park but so is Fairfax VA. Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos or areas in SJ/SC like Willow Glen, Cambrian, RoseGarden etc are really cute. However, none of these areas are of interest to a college student.

For a college student, they’ll hang out in downtown or maybe go to Santana Row or Valley Fair if they want to go to an upscale shopping and restaurant area.


Yeah…I get it…that’s why you live in DC and not in a shitty suburb.

I just don’t know if people are aware of what SV physically is like.


Curious do you live in the Bar Area now? We’ve been here about 10 years now. I lived in DC for twenty and the MD burbs for about 10. I’ve been really surprised at how different various areas of the Bay are from each other despite close proximity.
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 11:19     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.


The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.


The DMV outside actual DC is way worse in my opinion. Horrible architecture, Frankenstein architecture, burb malls etc.

I’m not a fan of the $$$ peninsula towns like Palo Alto, Menlo, etc. For South Bay, I’d agree that living in Sunnyvale is like living in an office park but so is Fairfax VA. Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos or areas in SJ/SC like Willow Glen, Cambrian, RoseGarden etc are really cute. However, none of these areas are of interest to a college student.

For a college student, they’ll hang out in downtown or maybe go to Santana Row or Valley Fair if they want to go to an upscale shopping and restaurant area.


Yeah…I get it…that’s why you live in DC and not in a shitty suburb.

I just don’t know if people are aware of what SV physically is like.
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 11:18     Subject: Re:San Jose State
OP you may also want to consider Fullerton in Orange County. It has a good animation program, campus is safe and off campus housing is so, so much cheaper and easier than SJ.

Downsides - it really is just OC burbs. Campus is empty other than weekday prime class days. It’s in Orange County.
Pros- close to an airport, close to beaches though need a car, close to Disney and has internships with Disney, great weather.
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 11:17     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.


The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.

This is true.. But, SJ is a great location.

- a couple of hours drive to the east you have the sierra mountains and amazing skiing
- an hour drive to the south, you have beaches in Santa Cruz, or Half Moon Bay - though the water there is flippin cold but lots of surfers there
- about a two hr drive north and you have wine country

A bit further..
- 7 hour drive south you have SoCal
- 7 hour drive north you have the redwood forest, or Shasta area with Lassen is closer.

I loved living in the Bay Area. I was sad to leave it. Wish I could go back. I hate the DC area.


Well…that’s why you live in SF which is exactly the same location in a great city…not in a suburban, strip mall hellscape.
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 11:12     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.


The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.


The DMV outside actual DC is way worse in my opinion. Horrible architecture, Frankenstein architecture, burb malls etc.

I’m not a fan of the $$$ peninsula towns like Palo Alto, Menlo, etc. For South Bay, I’d agree that living in Sunnyvale is like living in an office park but so is Fairfax VA. Campbell, Saratoga, Los Gatos or areas in SJ/SC like Willow Glen, Cambrian, RoseGarden etc are really cute. However, none of these areas are of interest to a college student.

For a college student, they’ll hang out in downtown or maybe go to Santana Row or Valley Fair if they want to go to an upscale shopping and restaurant area.
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 11:12     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:Will USC give you any aid? SJSU is fine, but I would never pay oos for a CSU school, and I went to two CSU schools.

DC was looking at applying to SJSU for a specific major which most schools don't have. I said no way. Not paying oos prices for CSUs.


USC is notoriously stingy with merit aid, so we aren’t counting on it. Applying anyway because who knows, right? Dc is applying at a wide range of schools, with the understanding that cost is going to be a large deciding factor. CSU schools OOS tuition is quite a bit lower than other states schools they have applied to, so for this specific major, I think it might be worth it. Their animation program has a good reputation, and the school’s location offers a lot of internship opportunities. Dc is specifically interested in 3D animation for game design, so it seems to be a good option.

-op
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 10:26     Subject: San Jose State
Will USC give you any aid? SJSU is fine, but I would never pay oos for a CSU school, and I went to two CSU schools.

DC was looking at applying to SJSU for a specific major which most schools don't have. I said no way. Not paying oos prices for CSUs.
Anonymous
Post 11/22/2025 10:25     Subject: San Jose State
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:PP one other thing: San Jose (the entire South Bay, for that matter) is very spread out making a car (or access to one) very necessary. I find the entire area a bit soulless, myself. It's driven by job status and money. How much you have, not who are you. It's a lot of smoke and mirrors, but I live to authentically me so I would never fit in there.


The reality is that while there are quaint little hamlets in SV like Palo Alto...the area is really just office buildings and strip malls. It's ugly and really kind of sucks, though it is close to great beaches, mountains, etc.

This is true.. But, SJ is a great location.

- a couple of hours drive to the east you have the sierra mountains and amazing skiing
- an hour drive to the south, you have beaches in Santa Cruz, or Half Moon Bay - though the water there is flippin cold but lots of surfers there
- about a two hr drive north and you have wine country

A bit further..
- 7 hour drive south you have SoCal
- 7 hour drive north you have the redwood forest, or Shasta area with Lassen is closer.

I loved living in the Bay Area. I was sad to leave it. Wish I could go back. I hate the DC area.