Little Saigon, San Jose, CA

In San Jose, Little Saigon is the beating heart of a Vietnamese community that arrived after the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and grew into what is now the largest Vietnamese population of any single city outside Vietnam. Story Road is its main stage, lined with Vietnamese restaurants, groceries and the big business centers, Grand Century Mall, which opened in 2000, and the newer Vietnam Town beside it, with a seasonal night market that turns the area into a regional destination. Food is the reason most people come, and living here puts it close. Pho Ga Nha on Story Road makes its chicken pho with free-range birds, and Bun Bo Hue Song Huong is named for the spicy beef noodle soup from Hue that it specializes in. Duc Huong Sandwiches sells Vietnamese sandwiches along with gio cha, the pork roll that goes inside them. For coffee, Lacaphe on Story Road drips Vietnamese coffee through a phin and makes espresso drinks with Southeast Asian flavors. Behind the retail strip, the housing is mostly older detached houses along level streets, and a block or two off Story the pace drops noticeably. They sit close enough to Story Road that a bowl of noodles or a sandwich is often a walk or a very short drive. Grocery runs often end at Cardenas Markets on Story Road, and Emma Prusch Farm Park near King and Story is the nearby open space for a walk. US-101, I-280 and I-680 all meet close by, so most trips out of the area start with a quick freeway hop. The honest tradeoffs are the density and traffic that come with a busy retail arterial, and a lower-priced, urban feel rather than a quiet suburban one. For buyers who want to live inside a vibrant, authentic commercial district with some of the region's best Vietnamese food at the doorstep, Little Saigon offers an experience no leafy tract can match.