Please suggest a good community to buy a SFH for remote work (San Jose: real estate)

[karthikjay]

Me and my wife are planning to rent out our condo in Milpitas, CA and move to a Single Family House thanks for remote work. Our budget is 700-800K and since we are not super familiar with any area other than south bay, we are looking for suggestions that fit the criteria. Appreciate the help !

Constraints:

1. 1.5 hour drive(max) from Dublin, CA. My extended family lives there and I expect to make this commute every other weekend.
2. Decent Indian presence. My MIL visits me from time to time and it would be great if we have a decent Indian grocery store, restaurants with some community presence.
3. Good school district. My older daughter is starting school next year.
4. Safe community - looking for one without any racism, guns etc.
5. Decent weather - We looked at Central valley but looks like it gets very hot during summers.

Suggestions ?

[evening sun]

A little to far as it is 125 miles from Dublin, but Yuba City has a huge Indian presence. It gets hot in much of California, so you may need to rethink your list. If you want something less than 100 miles from Dublin, get out a map & look.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, I'm afraid your budget doesn't allow for your basic criteria to be met. Prices in Fremont (strong Indian presence, Indian weekend public market for food & other imported goods, fashion, etc.) have surpassed your budget. There are several offerings I see in Castro Valley, in the hills above Fremont, that are within your budget. These aren't typical 3 br/2 ba homes, though; for example, one is 3 br./1 ba. Castro Valley might be your best bet : It's convenient to Fremont's South Asian shopping, while also being within an easy drive of Dublin, relatively speaking. However, most conventional 3 br/2 ba houses in Castro Valley are outside of your budget, be forewarned. So it depends on what your requirements are. There are plenty of townhomes there, within your budget.

In the opposite direction, it's possible to find something within your budget in Scotts Valley, in Santa Cruz County, as one of our members recently did. This is southwest of San Jose. The drive time to Dublin is given as just over an hour, which I assume is under ideal conditions. Scotts Valley would have cooler weather, but SC County doesn't have a South Asian presence. You could Google Santa Cruz to see if they have a South Asian grocery, but I doubt they do. Still, you never know.

https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...?ex=2948007718 (Castro Valley home)

You could also look in Richmond, north of Berkeley and Albany. Location is key, there. Look in the hills, and in the south neighborhoods bordering Albany and El Cerrito. I see there's a property in a neighborhood called "North and East", that's closer to central Richmond, that people say is ok, improving. You should get more guidance on the Bay Area forum, though, from people who live in Richmond. I don't know about the schools. El Cerrito has good schools, but the RE is pricier. Albany may have some affordable smaller properties(2 br), and the schools are pretty good.
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...?ex=2947216658

Hopefully others will have more information for you.

[davdaven]

You will have to drop one or two of your criteria to make this work. The Bay Area is out of the question, as "decent" suburbs like Castro Valley and El Cerrito will be too expensive unless you opt for a 2bd/1ba SFH. And you can't even get a 2bd/1ba SFH in suburbs like Albany because the schools are decent. Richmond meets your price point and has great weather, but it has issues with crime in certain neighborhoods, a defunded police department, and deplorable schools. Hayward has some similarities to Richmond, and even it is challenging at this price point.

How strongly do you feel about hot weather? Bad news, most of California is rather hot. Obvious nearby choice would be Mountain House, which is at the high end of your budget. Lathrop has some nice new subdivisions that might be to your liking, but I'm not sure how many South Indians there are compared to Mountain House. Also look into Brentwood and Discovery Bay, although I suspect their South Asian populations are small.

Good luck!

[njbiodude]

How about Gilroy or Morgan Hill? Not sure exactly what real estate values are there but they're certainly cheaper than San Jose or Fremont.

The north east bay towns like Pinole, Hercules, Port Costa may also be worth looking into.

[Dave Coe]

Originally Posted by evening sun

A little to far as it is 125 miles from Dublin, but Yuba City has a huge Indian presence. It gets hot in much of California, so you may need to rethink your list. If you want something less than 100 miles from Dublin, get out a map & look.

Yuba City is the oldest Indian community in the United States, specifically Punjabi/Sikh.

How connected are these Central Valley South Asians communities to Silicon Valley? Central Valley is very Punjabi while Silicon Valley is more South Indian.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Dave Coe

Yuba City is the oldest Indian community in the United States, specifically Punjabi/Sikh.

How connected are these Central Valley South Asians communities to Silicon Valley? Central Valley is very Punjabi while Silicon Valley is more South Indian.

Well, what do you know! Coe's obsession with ethnicity statistics finally proved to be somewhat useful!

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

You could also look in Richmond, north of Berkeley and Albany. Location is key, there. Look in the hills, and in the south neighborhoods bordering Albany and El Cerrito. I see there's a property in a neighborhood called "North and East", that's closer to central Richmond, that people say is ok, improving. You should get more guidance on the Bay Area forum, though, from people who live in Richmond. I don't know about the schools. El Cerrito has good schools, but the RE is pricier. Albany may have some affordable smaller properties(2 br), and the schools are pretty good.
https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...?ex=2947216658

I just took a closer look at this Albany listing. It's in a great location: close to shopping, BART, and the commuter bus to SF. I'm pretty sure there's also the Capitol Corridor train that stops in Richmond, providing commuter service to San Jose.

The house only has 2 br, but it has a large family room, as well, that I hadn't noticed before. Conceivably, that could be used as a master bedroom, if you wanted a 3 br. house. It even has two large closets. If you could find something like this in Albany or south- or east Richmond, you'd be set. It's a little above your stated budget though. I don't know how much flexibility you have.

But this is a good example of how to do your search. If you're looking for a 3 br. place, you should include 2 br. homes + family room, or 2 br. + office, in your search. What "office" means in RE language, is a bedroom with no closet. If it doesn't have a closet, they're not allowed to count it as a bedroom. But it could be large enough for a child's room.

In this way, you can find hidden bargains, and properties that will suit your needs, that you wouldn't otherwise know existed. I'm reading also, that Albany schools are quite well rated. Richmond: not so much.

[davdaven]

Originally Posted by njbiodude

How about Gilroy or Morgan Hill? Not sure exactly what real estate values are there but they're certainly cheaper than San Jose or Fremont.

The north east bay towns like Pinole, Hercules, Port Costa may also be worth looking into.

Gilroy and Morgan Hill get hot in the summer, although not as hot as the Central Valley. Maybe they meet his threshold? Not much of a South Asian population there when I lived in San Jose, but I haven't spent much time there lately, so that has likely changed.

Pinole and Hercules are relatively affordable and have good weather, but there isn't a large South Asian population there. That being said, there is a Sikh temple in El Sobrante, so there is still a community around here. There are Indian restaurants and groceries in the area. OP, is that sufficient? If you look into this area, be sure any home you consider is assigned to schools up in the Pinole or Hercules area and not down in Richmond or San Pablo.