San Jose is the #1 Best Place for Tech Jobs

In what should come as no surprise, San Jose took the top spot again in Nerd Wallet's annual study of best cities for tech jobs. They looked at the largest 381 US metros and evaluated the percentage of jobs in tech, annual median wage for tech jobs, and gross rent. Despite having astronomical housing costs, we still came in way ahead of the competition. We have about double the number of tech jobs per capita as any other city in the top 10 and our median annual tech salary blew away every other city at the top of the list. Even SF was a distant 9th place.

Source: Nerd Wallet

René Marie and Experiment in Truth, presented by San Jose Jazz

San Jose Jazz presents an intimate concert with Grammy-nominated vocalist René Marie along with her regular collaborators pianist John Chin, bassist Elias Bailey, and drummer Quentin Baxter. 

Blessed with a crystal clear voice, fierce originality, and a commanding stage presence, René Marie is a musical force of nature. Rooted in jazz traditions laid down by Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and others, she borrows various elements of folk, R&B and even country to create a captivating hybrid style. San Jose Jazz fans will remember René’s triumphant set at SJZ Summer Fest 2012.

Location:

Cafe Stritch

Date:

Tuesday, November 14th

Tickets:

$30 advance; $35 door

Ticket and Info Link:

sanjosejazz.org/renemarie

Video Links:

Blessings “Video Short”

Sound Of Red “Video Short”

This is NOT A Protest Song “Video Short”

Joy Of Jazz “Video Short”

Rene Marie – EPK – Sound Of Red 

Music Video Sound Of Red

Volar may set a new bar for rooftop amenities

Volar is a fancy 18-story (200 ft. tall) tower proposed for the Santana Row area. The mixed-use project will have 307 residential units, 52,000 SQFT of commercial, 16,275 SQFT of public open space, and 490 parking spaces. There are several interesting things about this project besides it being far taller than anything else in the area. However, the item that really stands out to me is a rooftop that that will give the Capital Club a run for its money.

The top floor is a mix of 29,814 SQFT of private open space for the residential units and that 16,275 SQFT of public open space that anyone can access. If the render below is accurate, this will be the most impressive rooftop on any high-rise in Silicon Valley. It looks like thee will be lounge areas, outdoor fire-pits, and plenty of trees spread across a posh Santana-Row-like area. The 18th floor will also have a 8,500 SQFT restaurant and cafe with a two-story atrium. The views should be quite spectacular from any part of the rooftop or restaurant. This could be the start of a new era where high-rise housing comes to more parts of San Jose.

For more details on this project that will hopefully break ground by 2019, head over here.

Source: San Jose Development Forum, aphelion2100

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the 5th Best City for Women

Sadly, gender inequality is still a current issue in the US (and most of the world). Fortunately, San Jose ranks highly when it comes to the best cities for women in the country. 24/7 Wall St. looked at multiple metrics including gender pay gaps, college attainment, life expectancy, and insurance rates for women. After computing all of these metrics, we came in 6th place. Even then, women on average are only earning 74.6% of men. San Francisco fared even better and came in at 2nd place.

Unrelated tho the article, one positive sign that things are moving in the right direction is new legislation will go into effect in California next year. For example, employers will no longer be able to ask what your salary history is during job interviews as it may bias towards paying based off the past salary and not what a new hire should be making for the role.

Source: 24/7 Wall St., thanks to Barclay Livker for sending this in!

Veteran's Day Parade

An event honoring our veterans begins at 10am tomorrow at Plaza de Cesar Chavez. The parade itself starts at 11am near the AC Hotel Downtown and continues down Santa Clara Street followed by Market Street all the way to the festival.

Nox Cookie Bar

First off, quick apology for the recent lack of posts. It has been a crazy week, but everything should be back to normal starting Monday.

I have been meaning to plug a cookie delivery service called Nox for quite some time. They deliver freshly baked cookies from 11:30am to 2:30am, letting you fulfill a cookie craving without leaving the comforts of your own home (including those late-night cravings). They also participate in quite a few Downtown San Jose events.

Cookie flavors include Chocolate Chip, Peanut Butter, Snickerdoodle, and Oatmeal Raisin. Pumpkin Spice is a temporary flavor for November.

If you live near Downtown San Jose, you're in luck. Cookies will be delivered in 30-40 minutes and the delivery fee is only $3. In the greater San Jose area (including Santa Clara and Cupertino), delivery will take a bit longer and the fee rises to $6.

For more info, head over to the Nox Cookie Bar website.

Saturday Stats: San Jose is the 6th Happiest City in the US

A recent study established 15 metrics that contribute to happiness and used them to rank the largest metros in the US in terms of happiness. These metrics range from eating healthy, education, financial security, and vacation time. San Jose came in at a very respectable 6th place of all cities in the US. San Francisco ranked 17th. Boulder took the top spot followed by Santa Cruz (not surprising).

Source: National Geographic, thanks to Barclay Livker for sending this in!

New luxury apartment project coming to Santana Row area

Greystar Real Estate Partners is going to transform an existing 216 unit apartment building into a a 636 unit luxury apartment community called The Reserve. The project is at 881 S. Winchester Boulevard, very close to Santana Row.

The apartments will mostly be one and two-bedroom loft-style units in four to five-story buildings with two levels of underground parking. Amenities include a pool, rooftop lounge, a fitness center, and 8,000 SQFT of retail.

The Reserve should be ready for leasing in 2020.

Source: SVBJ (subscription required)