I’m Jody Amable, and I’m a local.
“But Jody,” you, a fairly new citizen of San Francisco or Oakland, lured to the region by New York Times trend pieces and anecdotal accounts telling you that the Bay Area is the place to be in 2015, say. “You say in your bio that you are from the South Bay. That’s not the Bay Area. That’s . . . I don’t know where that is, but that’s NOT the Bay Area.”
I’m sorry to break it to you, but San Jose counts as part of the Bay. (My personal mantra? If it’s covered in the morning-news weather report, it counts as the Bay Area.) And quite frankly, having lived in the region for my entire 28 years, I think I have a slightly clearer idea of what exactly constitutes the Bay. I’ve lived here my whole life. Aside from a few years I spent in San Francisco while attending SFSU, I’ve seen San Jose and its surrounding towns go from comfortable suburb to “the capital of Silicon Valley” to, as it currently exists, actually kind of a cool little town.
It’s a weird time to be living here – that’s for sure. After spending a lifetime believing and understanding that I am from the Bay Area, I’m suddenly being told by a whole bunch of newcomers – and, it seems, only newcomers – that I’ve been wrong this whole time. San Jose’s long been the subject of derision from others, so this is nothing new, but in the past its main offense has simply been that it’s boring. The South Bay is popularly thought of as a dreary suburb where people can own a nice house with a backyard but are content to let their creative dreams wither away. To others, it’s quite simply nowhere, some mythical land that people know exists but can’t place on a map.
After spending a lifetime believing and understanding that I am from the Bay Area, I’m suddenly being told by a whole bunch of newcomers – and, it seems, only newcomers – that I’ve been wrong this whole time. San Jose’s long been the subject of derision from others, so this is nothing new, but in the past its main offense has simply been that it’s boring.
I can tell you that it is all those things. It’s true that people do have a tendency to get stuck here, and I often wonder if I’m one of them. Having spent a tantalizing six years in San Francisco, I can also tell you up front that San Jose is, quite frankly, culturally lacking. It tries – God bless it. It tries every couple of years to be as a cool as its accomplished big sister, San Francisco, but for whatever reason, it can never really get it together.
But you know what? At least it’s trying. San Jose isn’t nearly as bad as people make it out to be, and there are parts of it that are – dare I say – pretty cool. There’s a small underground scene of creators, makers, and doers who are far more welcoming and more supportive of each other than anything I ever encountered in splintered, slightly self-absorbed San Francisco, and it could be even better if others would just stop mocking it for a second and give it a chance.
Truth be told, I wouldn’t necessarily say I LOVE living in San Jose (and for that matter, I don’t actually live in San Jose – I’m currently just north of the border in Santa Clara). And while I’m being totally honest, if I were given the chance to move back to the city, I wouldn’t think twice about it. But San Jose has plenty of charms, and I don’t take them for granted. Maybe, by our powers combined, we can make it an even better place to live.
One of the best things about San Jose is that, culturally, it’s a very close-knit kind of place. True, this is probably due to the whole “It’s easy to get stuck here” thing I was just talking about, but since people don’t come and go the way they tend to in San Francisco, the friends you make, in general, feel a little more loyal. I grew up on our once-thriving all-ages punk scene, and it didn’t take long to find out that not only did everyone know everyone, but also that they all supported one another. Though it’s developed a reputation as a place that’s teeming with tech bros, San Jose is actually refreshingly devoid of egos. Constantly playing second fiddle to San Francisco has left us with a realistic, if not a little self-deprecating, view of our place in the larger Bay Area culture. Life’s a little slower; we’re a little more laid-back. The friends you make down here, especially if you’re a more artistic type, are ones who will stick by you.
Though it’s developed a reputation as a place that’s teeming with tech bros, San Jose is actually refreshingly devoid of egos. Constantly playing second fiddle to San Francisco has left us with a realistic, if not a little self-deprecating, view of our place in the larger Bay Area culture. Life’s a little slower; we’re a little more laid-back.
Speaking of which, you know what we are bringing to Bay Area culture at the moment? Our killer food scene. This is a fairly recent development. San Jose’s become the Bay’s best-kept foodie secret in the last six years or so – so much so that some of our best-loved holes-in-the-wall are now opening locations in the city, not the other way around. Similarly, our beer scene is currently on the upswing – come to San Pedro Square on a Friday night and drink with me. It’s fun, I swear. On a related note, our arts scene is constantly in danger of collapsing in on itself (seriously, I wrote a whole thing about it over at the Bay Bridged), but we DO have an arts scene. It’s small, but it’s there.
I guess I should also mention what great weather we have, if you’re into that sorta thing. Me? I actually prefer Karl’s misty embrace, but I’ve noticed that my friends who still live in the city tend to start visiting me a LOT more come June. If you’re someone who yearns for clear skies when all you get in return is gray, south is where you want to be. Summer days hover around the low 80s, and we’re just a ride-through-the-redwoods away from the beachy paradise of Santa Cruz. A pair of shorts won’t just sit in the back of your closet down here; they’ll actually get worn.
“But . . . but. . . ,” you sputter. “Isn’t it, like, ugly? I mean, I’ve never been there, but from everything I’ve heard, it’s just not as pretty as San Francisco.” Again, you’re right. Nowhere is as pretty as San Francisco. True, San Jose is mostly cookie-cutter houses, but like any big city, we have corners of local quirk and color. The Rose Garden is a sunny pocket of Gatsby-era bungalows and gorgeous greenery, and Japantown’s a great, slightly gritty spot for those who need a little bit of urban grime (and shave ice) in their lives. Old Santa Clara is a trip back in time, where some of the houses of the valley’s first settlers still stand. And expensive as they are, Los Gatos and Saratoga are sweet, rustic outposts in the shade of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
I stop and remember that even while I was living in SF, in my moldy apartment in the Sunset (which, coincidentally, I was also told “didn’t count as REAL San Francisco”), scraping for cash for the bus, all I could think about was how much I missed the cohesiveness and the community of San Jose.
Most of all, I love living in San Jose because it keeps me connected to my roots. My great-grandfather named my grandmother “California” because he was so excited to finally get here after a long trek across the West. My grandfather met my grandmother when she was working at a bakery – a bakery that’s still in business – on the east side (he employed the not-so-subtle tactic of buying a loaf of bread from her every day). They raised my mom in a small house off of Forest Avenue before Valley Fair and its notoriously cutthroat parking lot existed, back when it was just orchards as far as the eye could see. My parents met and courted at SJSU and walked the same dirty downtown sidewalks I step over practically every weekend. My mother was born and died at O’Connor Hospital, and spent her last hours in afifth-floor room that overlooked the valley she loved and never left. And in just a few months, I’ll be moving into that house off of Forest. We’re a region of transplants – always have been – but San Jose has a way of making me feel so, so lucky to be from the Bay, even if I’m not from the cool-capital of California, San Francisco.
I moved back to San Jose after college once San Francisco priced me out and some family issues coaxed me back into the house I grew up in and conspired to keep me here. Deep down I hope that one day I will make it back to SF. But then I stop and remember that even while I was living there, in my moldy apartment in the Sunset (which, coincidentally, I was also told “didn’t count as REAL San Francisco”), scraping for cash for the bus, all I could think about was how much I missed the cohesiveness and the community of San Jose.
So yeah. In conclusion, San Jose isn’t as bad as so much of the new money makes it out to be. In fact, there’s a lot about it that’s great, and maybe once Oakland’s cost of living catches up with that of SF, others might realize that too. I’ll still always want to get out of here. It’s the town I was born in, after all, and there’s a certain amount of shame attached to being almost 30 and still living in your hometown. But even though I’m not always proud of San Jose, I’m always quick to correct when people make fun of it. Maybe one day I’ll get out of here; maybe I’ll stay like the three generations before me. But I’ll always be your biggest fan, your defender, and your best friend, San Jose. Just like you always were for me.