essendoubleop

I'm faced with the choice between graduate schools at Long Beach St. and San Jose St. Both have fairly competitive programs and are not remarkably different in terms of coursework, faculty members I would like to work with, tuition costs, and transitioning graduates to the next level. This leaves the surrounding area and living environment as one of the primary factors in my decision process. Anybody here from either of these places that can tell me not just about the area but also the day-to-day living experiences? I'd imagine crime is especially bad in Long Beach and the cost of living is higher in San Jose, but I'd like to hear from someone at the source.

ASU2003

That is a tough question. I've never been to San Jose/San Fran, but I have been to Long Beach/LA. Do you have any friends or family in either city? Do you like going to the beach or do you like skiing? Have you been to both cities? Do you live in one of them now? Do you think buying a house would be easier in one of those cities? I'm sure there are plenty of things to do in the surrounding areas of both cities.

cj2112

I grew up in Long Beach, within walking distance of CSULB. The neighborhood CSULB is in is not a high crime area at all. Yes there are parts of LB that are rough, but the area around the college is great. LB has a pretty good public transit system, Traffic can get to be a bit much until you get know the area, but I'd imagine San Jose is similar in those respects. So Cal. has the weather, want to hang out on the beach in January? Odds are there will be a few days that the weather is nice enough that you can. Given the choice, I'd likely choose Long Beach over San Jose simply because of the weather, and cost of living. Crime is not a huge issue, provided you don't invite trouble.

essendoubleop

I've never been to either city, don't have friends or family in either city, I have always loved the beach but recently picked up skiing and love that too, and according to rooms listed on Craigslist, San Jose is a cheaper place to find a place to live. I know little about the differences in cultures between the cities besides the stereotypes associated with them (more Asians in the bay area, more Mexicans in Long Beach). Coming from WA state, I think the transition to San Jose would be smoother, but there's benefits to going further outside my comfort zone.

I keep running into facts on either city that sway me to the other side. Right now, I'm leaning towards Long Beach but who knows where my mind will be a week from now when I have to make my decision.

cj2112

There is skiing that is about a 90 min. drive from Long Beach. Mountain High Resort

What is your method of transportation? I know parking isn't as much of an issue in most places in SoCal as it is in the Bay Area. I also know that the Bay Area has excellent public transportation compared to most places in the state. Long Beach has pretty good public transportation, but it's not as good as the bay. Long Beach has been pretty bicycle friendly for a long time, so both places are about equal there.

If it were my choice, I'd choose LB over SJ w/o any question, but that's because I know LB, it's where I grew up, and I have friends and family there.

Willravel

I've lived in San Jose for the better part of a decade. Crime is quite low here and while prices are still a bit steep, they're a lot better than they've been in the past. What do you like to do day to day? Do you like live sporting events? How about music concerts or live theater? Museums? Hiking? Big malls? A thriving green movement? Tech industry? San Jose does have a lot to offer, but different people have different interests. What do you do where you are now? What would you like?

essendoubleop

I'm from northwest Washington State so imagine a blend of Seattle and Vancouver. I'm used to laid-back, intelligent, liberal, generous people and an ever-changing climate and variety of environmental landscapes. I've only recently fully appreciated how lucky I am to live in such a great place and would look for a number of similar characteristics in my next area of residency.

That being said, I LOVE the sun and doing basically every sort of outdoor, physical recreation activity. I'd imagine I'd get more opportunities for that in the San Jose area, while Long Beach is a giant sunny beach surrounded by an endless urban jungle. Of course I love going to sporting events (49ers and Raiders vs. ....... in L.A. for football), music concerts (more opportunities in Long Beach I'm sure), not so much into malls (money dumps for a grad student is not a good combo), am trying to get into BIOtech (though not necessarily the Silicon Valley computer tech), but I think my recreation activities will be limited during my time in graduate school.

Ultimately, I am more concerned with the practicals of living in either area such as living expenses, finding jobs, and general decency of people.

Willravel

I've heard San Jose described as Vancouver in a Mediterranean climate. To be fair, I was saying it and heard myself, but still. The area, overall, is liberal. We've got Tesla motors and about a thousand solar companies in the area. There are a lot of green homes being built right now because costs are down. We've got parks, hiking, bicycle routes, and Santa Cruz is maybe 35-40 minutes away. Our museums kinda suck, but fortunately San Francisco is a short drive. And San francisco has a shit ton to do. I live about 7 minutes from the Shark Tank (HP Pavilion) and we've got the A's, Giants, 49ers, Raiders, Cal, Stanford, SJS (hehe), and the Warriors. Kinda.

I'm not really in biotech, so I can't really tell you about the job market for that here, but things are starting to improve overall again.

Cynthetiq

But you're still living in California....

I'm from LA originally and lived in the Bay Area for a stint. I prefer SoCal to NoCal.

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Hard8s

The bay area as a whole needs to be looked at when talking about San Jose. You do not need to live in San Jose. The traffic is not like So Cal. It can be bad, but not like down there. You are 30-60 mins from the beach (Santa Cruz), 2-3 hrs from the snow (Lake Taho or Reno, NV), if you want diversity check out SF. You can see any of the major sports, Sharks, 49ers, Raiders, Giants, A's, Warriors, etc, there is the SF symphony, the Oakland Ballet, there are major museum's within an hours drive. If you want to getaway there is always Monterrey! The Bay Area has much to offer unless you really like the unrelenting heat of So Cal, as the average temp is right around 68-70 degrees most of the year!

---------- Post added at 10:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:04 PM ----------

Guess I should have read the entire thread before commenting. UC Santa Cruz is currently building a Bio-Medical building. As for Concerts, there are multiple places for these, the SJ Event center, The Shark Tank, The Oakland Coliseum, Shoreline Amphitheater, Concord Pavilion, etc. We have our share of malls, but they tend to be a lot smaller, except for the Great Mall.

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