Willow Glen, San Jose

Willow Glen, San Jose is, perhaps the oldest residential section of the San Jose. In the northeastern part of this neighborhood you will find homes dating back to the early 1900’s. Basically that means lots of California bungalows as they are known.

Throughout the rest of Willow Glen, however, the most common kind of houses are large luxurious Ranch homes dating to the 1950’s. If you liked the neighborhood in Leave It to Beaver, you will fall in love with the main section of Willow Glen.

Homes from the 1950’s make up more than a quarter of the homes in Willow Glen, with another quarter dating from the 1960’s and 70’s. Less than a quarter of the homes here are from after 1980.

There are some really amazing micro neighborhoods in Willow Glen. The older homes in the northern area are really attractive in a quaint sort of way. They are very reminiscent of Berkeley or West Sacramento, though safer than those areas.

Then there are several idyllic 1950’s style neighborhoods with homes of various types—from large luxurious Ranch style homes to a neighborhood filled with Prairie style homes with sky roofs right in the center of the homes.

There is also a neighborhood that has all red-tiled adobe style homes and several apartment complexes. Basically, if you have a bit of fetish for one kind of home or another, Willow Glen probably has a neighborhood for you.

The median home price in Willow Glen is around $525K.

Willow Glen is also home to San Jose City College—the main community college in San Jose.

Unfortunately, the schools in Willow Glen don’t really match the quality of other schools just to the west or south of here. Del Mar and Willow Glen High School—though not terrible in terms of test scores and other metrics—are only average in terms of the education they offer. This is one of the central drawbacks of the area.

The other good thing about Willow Glen is that with central San Jose just to the north an some spillover into Willow Glen, you have a number of entertainments in terms of nightlife. There is, for example, the Goosetown Lounge and Marmist Cocktail Lounge, just to name a couple.

Overall, this is one of the more enticing areas of San Jose proper for singles and the college aged (especially on the northern end). It also has some cool spots to the south. The main drawback is the high cost of property in Willow Glen.

Every time I drive through Willow Glen in San Jose, California I automatically think of the movie The Stepford Wives. Everything seems to perfect, too perfect. The lawns are seem to be manicured to perfection and the mailboxes could compete for their own neighborhood sanction. Don't get me wrong Willow Glen is a nice area. The community and surrounding neighborhoods obviously take pride in their overall presentation but sometimes too much can be a little over board. The one thing that I do like about Willow Glen is it's dedication to antiques. I am an avid antique collector. Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen has quite a few small and charming antique stores. I don't always walk away with something but I always enjoy my "eye" shopping. Most of the houses in this area were constructed in another era. There are quite a few apartment complexes that are up and coming right on the Southwest part of Willow Glen, boarding the downtown San Jose area.

When I lived In California One of the places i settles with my parents was in Willow Glen. I loved living here there was always a ton to do as a kid which was good. It kept me busy and got me out of the trouble id be in constantly if I was bored. I enjoyed the teachers in the schools in this area thought they were enjoyable and I dont have a ton of fond memories of school. I would love to live here with kids when I have them. I always thought this was a great neighborhood to grow up in. The downside is the street noise but that is easy to get over and after a short time youll hardly hear it.