Living in or around Cupertino (San Jose, Mountain View: low crime, schools, activities)

[Plagens]

We currently live in Portland Oregon and love it.

However.... I am considering a great job that would take me to Cupertino and wanted to get an idea of the 'vibe' of the area. What are the outdoor pursuits? How is the commute from suburbs? Social? Arts? What suburb would be best for a mid thirties engaged couple to live in? Fiance is a nurse so his target job area would be where the hospitals are - assuming that would be San Jose?

Thank you in advance for your input!

[Majin]

Commute from the suburbs? Cupertino IS a suburb.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Unless you are Chinese (specifically, Taiwanese, Fujianese or Hakka) you would find living in Cupertino itself a somewhat weird experience.

Just so you know, Cupertino is part of the overall SF Metro conurbation, a continuous quilt of over 100 communities surrounding SF Bay, filling adjacent coastal valleys and hopping over into nearby intermontaine valleys and benchlands. This is a major metro area, with nearly 8M people. Sort of a smaller version of LA with a Bay in the middle of it, with a more northerly type of Mediterranean climate than is found down in So Cal, and with older city center areas in the main urban nodes.

[DMenscha]

You will find outdoor pursuits much more pleasant than where you are now as you won't have to don rain gear anywhere near as much

There are hospitals all over as well, Stanford, El Camino, and Valley Medical are all reasonable commutes from Cupertino proper.

I grew up there, but it's been years since I had to live there. Your mileage may vary.

[eureka1]

You will not find living among Asians a "weird experience" except for the low crime rate. There are all ethnicities on the peninsula. The hard part will be getting used to the urban mass that has no differentiation between the "towns".

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by eureka1

You will not find living among Asians a "weird experience" except for the low crime rate. There are all ethnicities on the peninsula. The hard part will be getting used to the urban mass that has no differentiation between the "towns".

I was referring to living in Cupertino per se.

Yes, obviously, there are other communities in the Bay Area that are more diverse than Cupertino.

[Luke9686]

Not true. Our family of three is as white as rice and LOVED every second of living in Cupertino. It's only weird if you're uncomfortable living around people that don't look like you. We lived in Cupertino for two years, and loved the area.

I would suggest living in Cupertino itself, if you can afford it. The town is safe, clean, and has excellent schools. The people are very nice, although a little stand off-ish. If you make the attempt to know your neighbors, they are very friendly. There are several hospitals in the area for employment. My daughter was born at El Camino in Mountain View. Very nice hospital with a nice staff.

As for outdoor activities, they are all over. Drive west on Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino for about 5 miles and there are many trails in the hills west of town. I did a decent amount of mountain biking up there. Very fun. You also have the back side of the Santa Cruz mountains, with redwood forests. Of course Yosemite, Tahoe, and Sequoia are a weekend trip away.

Have fun!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Luke9686

Not true. Our family of three is as white as rice and LOVED every second of living in Cupertino. It's only weird if you're uncomfortable living around people that don't look like you. We lived in Cupertino for two years, and loved the area.

I would suggest living in Cupertino itself, if you can afford it. The town is safe, clean, and has excellent schools. The people are very nice, although a little stand off-ish. If you make the attempt to know your neighbors, they are very friendly. There are several hospitals in the area for employment. My daughter was born at El Camino in Mountain View. Very nice hospital with a nice staff.

As for outdoor activities, they are all over. Drive west on Stevens Creek Blvd. in Cupertino for about 5 miles and there are many trails in the hills west of town. I did a decent amount of mountain biking up there. Very fun. You also have the back side of the Santa Cruz mountains, with redwood forests. Of course Yosemite, Tahoe, and Sequoia are a weekend trip away.

Have fun!

It's one thing to live in a diverse place with many different groups. It's quite another thing to live in a place that is essentially an enclave of non assimilated immigrants from one country.

I suppose for example some minuscule percentage of bourgeois, DAR descended Anglo Saxons might have gotten their jollies living in say Hamtramck in 1920. But be real, most average middle class people would find something like that a weird experience.

[ndfmnlf]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

It's one thing to live in a diverse place with many different groups. It's quite another thing to live in a place that is essentially an enclave of non assimilated immigrants from one country.

I suppose for example some minuscule percentage of bourgeois, DAR descended Anglo Saxons might have gotten their jollies living in say Hamtramck in 1920. But be real, most average middle class people would find something like that a weird experience.

You find it weird because you can no longer claim to be the master race in Cupertino. The Asians will kick your butt in academics and elsewhere.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by ndfmnlf

You find it weird because you can no longer claim to be the master race in Cupertino. The Asians will kick your butt in academics and elsewhere.

Why do you assume that I personally find it weird? Personally it would probably be like a slightly more plastique version of Irving Street area of the Sunset where I lived for a few years. I'd personally enjoy it.

However, if you go back to the OP, the statement is living in Portland and loving it. So, I can only imagine that the OP is probably not someone who has lived in a Chinese enclave before. And furthermore, I imagine they may not enjoy living in a Chinese enclave the way I might. Truth in advertising.

(Wow, what a non politically correct person I am! )