Founded in 1777, San Jose is the oldest civil settlement in California. Known as the 'Capital of Silicon Valley,' it is accessible by California interstates 280, 880, and 680, as well as federal highways US101, CA-85, 87, 17 and 237. Several Santa Clara County expressways feed through San Jose, in addition to multiple public rail-way systems. The Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport is located only three miles from downtown.
The largest city in Northern California, and the third largest in the state, San Jose prides itself in being ranked the safest big city in America (with a population of 500,000+) for five consecutive years. In 2004 San Jose received the 'America's Most Livable City' award by Partners for Livable Communities. Government subsidized programs such as the Strong Neighborhoods Initiative confront urban challenges by focusing on building safe, clean, sustainable neighborhoods. Residential and visiting sports fans frequent the HP Pavilion to watch the NHL's San Jose Sharks, or the San Jose Municipal Stadium, home of the minor league San Jose Giants. Many other attractions can be found in the wealth of outdoor preservations and facilities located around the city. Almaden Lake Park offers swimming, fishing and boating, Almaden Quicksilver County Park has public horse riding and hiking trails, and the Guadelupe River Park and Gardens is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the maintenance of the largest urban park under development in the country today. Hundreds of jazz enthusiasts travel to the downtown area for the annual San Jose Jazz Festival, put on by the San Jose Jazz Society, which also presents year-round free and public performances. Large shopping areas such as the Valley Fair Shopping Mall provide a convenient selection of retail stores, while the unique San Jose Flea Market (the biggest open-air market in the United States) lets shoppers stroll over 2,000 vendors every week. In the downtown area residents can enjoy over 100 diverse restaurants, an array of local retail stores, or the high-tech luxury of free wireless Internet access.
894,950 residents live within the San Jose city limits, earning a median house income of $70,250 annually. 12,700 houses were sold last year, with a median price of $690,000. Home to the largest concentration of technology expertise in the world, San Jose boasts the headquarters of such renown companies as Adobe Systems and Cisco (the worldwide leader in internet networking), as well as major facilities for Flextronics (one of the world's largest electronics manufacturing services), IBM, and Lockheed Martin. 15 school districts cover the 178-square-miles of San Jose with the Evergreen School District earning 807 API points, Moreland School District earning 808, and the Union School District earning 875 (the top three districts for 2004). A long list of famous faces have hailed from this big city: Nikki Sixx (bassist of Motley Crue), Amy Tan (best-selling novelist, author of 'The Joy Luck Club'), Jerry Yang (cofounder of Yahoo!), Chuck Berry (influential rock musician), and the popular band Smashmouth.