"God bless the concrete and the chaos it keeps / This town belongs to me / The wind from the ocean it whistles in trees / This town belongs to me." (-- Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards, "Campbell, CA" )
Psychics, skaters, punk rockers and scholars all of them have called Campbell, California their home over time. Sandwiched between San Jose and Los Gatos, Campbell owes a lot of its growth in the last few decades to the success of the Silicon Valley start-ups that have called it and the surrounding area home. The city of Campbell itself is almost entirely residential, but it is very lively and active: the citizens are always on the go.
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Moving to Campbell
As in many suburban areas, rental properties in Campbell are at a premium. Before you try to find an apartment in Campbell, there are some things to consider:
Travel
With State Route 17 running down the middle of town and 85 touching the bottom tip, its easy to get on major routes to commute as needed. Being in California, public transportation is abundant, which is great for those who won’t want to pay the ridiculously high gas prices. The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority runs local bus lines as well as express lines out to Cupertino, San Jose, Palo Alto, and Santa Clara. There are also three stations on a light-rail line that connects with San Jose and Santa Clara.
Weather
When it comes to dry, warm weather that’s not too hot, Campbell is a great destination. The warm days aren’t hot, the cool days aren’t cold its weather that Goldilocks would like: it's just right. The only problem with Campbell is that it is in a bit of a danger zone as far as natural disasters go, as fires and storms pop up around town, and as with any town in California, be ready for some shaky ground thanks to nearby fault lines.
Lifestyle
The downtown area is a big part of life in Campbell, with so many little places to check out. It's easy to have an active lifestyle, with lots of little parks and courses for runners and sports players. With major cities only a short drive away, anything that can’t be found in town is easy to get to, although there are enough places in Campbell that you shouldn’t need to leave the city limits to find anything from hardware to fitness equipment.
Lead Time
With high rental costs and not too many home rentals opening up, you can’t wait on finding a place in Campbell, and you’ll need plenty of lead time to find the right place that fits your budget.
Campbell's Neighborhoods
Campbell is cut up into a couple of different neighborhoods, some of them quite small while others are a good size.
San Tomas: One of the most densely populated neighborhoods in the city, San Tomas is upscale, professional, and full of commuters. It is an urban neighborhood, made up of medium-to-large single-family homes and townhomes. A lot of the buildings in this neighborhood are older, from the mid-century, with no high rise apartments.
Downtown: Nicely walkable with plenty of mixed use properties, the downtown area is great for folks looking for city apartments close to the action. With access to public transportation, and with so much in walking and biking distance, it is a neighborhood where you can get away without a car, and great for folks who love having everything accessible to them.
Hamilton: With a combination of high rise apartments and apartment complexes, as well as owner-occupied single-family homes, Hamilton is a small, tight-knit neighborhood. Its highlighted by the Los Gatos Creek flowing through it, a great line to run along for the active folks.
Prunyard: One of the better spots for renters to find an apartment, thanks to a number of condos and apartment buildings in the northern part of the neighborhood. On the east side of the city, it is slightly inconvenient for those who want to take part in community life, and is not convenient to a major route.
Living in Campbell
A lot of the activities in Campbell are conducted in the downtown area, which is home to a great variety of shops and restaurants. There are tons of locally owned and operated eclectic boutiques, showcasing the work of local artisans. There are plenty of little specialty shops for unique tastes, such as the metaphysical, vintage, and cultural stores. The restaurants are just as varied, running the gamut from a gourmet donut shop to sushi to health food stores, as well as international cuisine. Some of these artisan products and foods are showcased at the year-round, weekly Farmers Market held downtown on Sundays.
Sports have always been a big part of Campbell, and the name of the city will be recognizable to fans of the Little League World Series, as the Campbell team has represented the region over a dozen times, winning six World Series. But they dont just play roundball here: a number of professional football players have also come from Campbell, as well as bodybuilders and Steve Caballero, a high-profile professional skateboarder. Needless to say, it’s a great town for the sports-inclined.
Downtown is home to a myriad of events, with first Fridays and second Saturdays featuring art, entertainment, and themed activities. For the wine fan, local wineries play part in wine walks throughout the year, great for those who want to have a wide variety of some of the best California wines without having to pick up a designated driver. Once the seasons change and winter rolls around, Downtown hosts the Carol of Lights, complete with a snow zone the only snow the city generally sees.
