McLaughlin Ave, East San Jose

This area of San Jose is primarily comprised of lower to middle-income families. Statistically speaking, this dictrict of San Jose has the lowest average income of any other distict in the city. There is a large immigrant population here, primarily Latino and Vietnamese. Becuase of that, you can find some of the best and most authentic food from those regions at great prices. There are no shortages of local and ethnic grocery stores here either.

There are nearby parks for recreation, plenty of schools, and bus lines running everywhere. It is a 10 minute drive to San Jose State, so it is also good for students who choose not to live in dormitories. You will see Police activity every day here in some shape or form, and I would not recommend late night walks. I had a drooling crackhead hovering over my car, incoherently begging for money in the parking lot of a 7-11 last night. Because the population is mostly families, it's pretty quiet at night, save for the Tet holiday. Firecrackers go off non-stop for 3 days.

For apartment/townhouse renters (such as myself) there are several gated communities, which grately reduces the worry of needing to call the police. I've lived in this area for two years and have yet to call them, however my roomate did have his car broken into and his stereo stolen.

There are no major shopping centers nearby, the closest being Estridge, about 15 minutes away by city streets. Traffic can be difficult, because McLaughlin runs smack into Tully Ave., a major 101 exit. The lights are long and it can take you 15 minutes to go one block. You can get to 280 in about 5-10 minutes. To avoid this, you can take smaller side streets, but the roads are in poor shape.

Overall, I would recommend this neighborhood if you are single and can find a decently priced apartment or townhouse in a gated community. The rates are reasonable (at least for San Jose anyway), and depending on who you rent from, you can get a great deal.

I would not recommend this neighborhood to people with young children or teenagers, nor would I recommend this neighborhood to people that require clean and safe "suburban" neighborhoods. There are shootings, there are drugs, there is crime. It is my observation however, that most of the trouble happens to those actively looking for it. Most people tend to be quiet and keep to themselves. Street traffic can be difficult during commute hours and weekends, but outside of that it's par for the course compared to any other large city in the Bay Area.