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We should probably also say, welcome to Silicon Valley, which is the popular name for the area extending in a 30-mile radius around San Jose. There are about 20 other smaller cities also in the area, the most well known of which are Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. It's an exciting (albeit expensive) place to live and work, especially if you're in the tech industry and have enough money to afford nice apartment rentals.

Quality of Life
Wondering if San Jose and the rest of the South Bay are right for you? Just ask the locals. A recent community survey in San Jose found that 66% of the residents think that their neighbors take pride in the community; 70% rate the quality of life as good or better; and more than 90% feel safe from crime. With good reason—the FBI ranks San Jose as the safest large city in the nation. But is it fun? Well, Money Magazine says that San Jose is the third most fun city in America. It.s no wonder when you consider the beautiful surroundings, mild year-round climate and all the places you can drive to in just a few hours, including Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Napa Valley, Yosemite National Park and Monterey Peninsula.

Where the Jobs Are As the capital of Silicon Valley, San Jose itself has more than 350,000 jobs and 25 companies with 1,000 or more employees. A lot of the jobs are in the high-tech industries; major employers include IBM, Intel, Yahoo!, Apple, Netscape, Sun, Sony, Cisco, Hitachi and Microsoft. More good news? Two of the companies on Fortune Magazine's Best Companies to Work For list are located here: Xilinx and Adobe Systems. Although the tech jobs get all the press, there are plenty of other types of jobs available here, including accounting, marketing, sales, education, manufacturing and customer support.

Cost of Living & Apartment Prices
Unless you've been living in a nice, affordable cave, it will come as no surprise to you that San Jose and the South Bay have the highest cost of living in the nation, approximately 360% of the national average. The good news is that the median household income is $71,000. You'll need it, because the rent for average apartments is running at $1,230 per month, and the median price for all apartments for rent in San Jose is $1,200.

Neighborhoods to Explore
Within San Jose itself, you'll find a large concentration of fairly affordable apartments near San Jose State University. You can also explore apartments for rent in the South Bay's other communities, from the larger cities of Santa Clara and Sunnyvale to the smaller towns of Milpitas, Campbell and Gilroy.