Where to live if working in San Mateo ca? (San Jose: fit in, apartments)

[parisangel]

Hi there everyone,

We will be moving to the bay area in the fall from Houston, TX although we are originally from the UK. My husband has a great opportunity and we are very keen to make this work. He will be on a salary of 150k plus bonuses. Now, I know some may say this is too low for the area, but as I say, we are keen to make this work. We have three kids ages 10, 8 and 7 months. My 8 yr old has been identified as having dyslexia, so a good school district is very important.

Our lives ok b g requirements are similar to many, good schools, safe area, nice surroundings, and hubby is hoping for a commute up to an hour, but there's some wiggle room. I know we won't be looking at anything like the size or price of property of Texas, we are realistic about that, but we would like to aim for a 4 bed home. So, I'd love some recommendations on areas to start loo k ing at?

Thanks so much for any help you can give us!

[neutrino78x]

likealady would say "if you don't make more than a certain salary, you should not come here." Many other users would agree. I don't see it that way myself.

At 150k, you're making approximately the median salary for Silicon Valley. Middle class housing around here is a condo or apartment, rented or owned (sounds like it would be rented in your case?). Craigslist is good for rentals; you probably already know of it since you have lived in the USA for a while. It allows people to post classified ads for free. San Mateo is part of the "penninsula" region of the Bay Area. Silicon Valley is also known as "the south bay" and that is how it is identified on craigslist. here is the link:

SF bay area apartments / housing rentals - craigslist

Caltrain has a stop in San Mateo; you guys should figure out how close that is to your husband's employer or if they provide a shuttle from Caltrain.

caltrain.com

Of course you should always use Google Maps to figure out commute times. Just give it a start address and the address of your husband's employer and it will tell you what buses/trains to take, or what roads to take if you want to drive.

http://www.google.com/maps

Normally I would say live in downtown San Jose, as that is my favorite place , but it isn't in a good school district. Sunnyvale has a caltrain station and I believe it is considered to have a good school district. Cupertino is probably the best district but it is also expensive (even by Silicon Valley standards) since that is the suburb of San Jose where Apple's headquarters is located. Your husband could potentially drive to the Sunnyvale Caltrain station and then take the train from there, or take a bus to Caltrain.

[twins4lynn]

There are lots of cities close to San Mateo in safe areas and with very good schools. The city of San Mateo itself has several very good schools, but I’m unfamiliar with the middle school assignment process so will leave that city for others to comment on. Other cities to consider that are in safe areas with very good schools include Foster City, Belmont, San Carlos, Burlingame and Millbrae. Belmont, Burlingame & Millbrae have very good schools at all levels (elementary, middle and high school). San Carlos and Foster City have very good elementary & middle schools, but don’t have a high school in their city.

[jade408]

To be frank, you are looking for size, commute time, schools and safety. You'll need to give up 1-2 of those things to fit in your budget unless you ha e sizable savings you want to spend.

4 bedroom housing of any form is really rare and mostly available in far places that were developed recently.

At your family size, $150k is going to feel pretty tight. Honestly is qualifies for affordable housing in many cities, and is only 10-20% more than the subsidized housing levels in others. It is going to feel more like $60k in most of Texas or less. Over the long term unless you have huge upside, you'll likely want to settle in a different locale.

Cheaper areas that would be near-ish to your office are Fremont, Newark, Sunnyvale and Milpitas. But prepared to downgrade significantly on housing quality. You'll likely need to settle for a 3 bedroom place.

[Chuck5000]

I think at 150k, you will be living about as well as you would on half as much in most non-high-end places in Texas. So depending on your income now, you may or may not take a big lifestyle hit. You need to know that it is hard to find good schools in affordable areas. Houses are smaller.

In San Mateo, I do not think you will find a 4 bed home for under 4500 per month that you'd be happy with (general middle class standards, good condition, decent location) with all that you want. More like 5k to 6k. Best bet is to squeeze down to a 3 bed, then around 4k to 4500 you can get something decent. Sometimes 3 beds under 4k happen, but they tend to have something wrong.

I think the above prices hold for much of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties as a minimum. You can pay less for cities that have less-good schools (Redwood City, South SF, Daly City, San Bruno). It really depends on the standard of school you'll accept.

150k may be median salary - but two income households are the norm for families who rent/buy and want to have the standard of living that is typical (1 bedroom for each kid, good schools, non-terrible location of a home, not on a main road, etc)

You can do quite OK on 150k if you decide to not save at all. I think that is crazy, but that is my choice. Then again, maybe you can do it for a few years and leave. Generally I do not recommend moving here under any circumstances with a family for under 200k income.

You could try city of Santa Clara, it's the least expensive of the decent towns that have some good school districts further south. You could try Foster City, it's next to San Mateo and shares schools.

[fluffythewondercat]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

In San Mateo, I do not think you will find a 4 bed home for under 4500 per month that you'd be happy with (general middle class standards, good condition, decent location) with all that you want. More like 5k to 6k. Best bet is to squeeze down to a 3 bed, then around 4k to 4500 you can get something decent. Sometimes 3 beds under 4k happen, but they tend to have something wrong.

I think the above prices hold for much of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties as a minimum. You can pay less for cities that have less-good schools (Redwood City, South SF, Daly City, San Bruno). It really depends on the standard of school you'll accept.

Redwood City: 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 1670 sq. ft. house on our block just came on the rental market asking $6,000/month. The owner, an investor, will get it. He's had a lot of applications.

This is not a particularly expensive neighborhood.

In North Fremont, you can get the same kind of house for $3,000/month.

[JamesFenway]

Originally Posted by parisangel

Hi there everyone,

We will be moving to the bay area in the fall from Houston, TX although we are originally from the UK. My husband has a great opportunity and we are very keen to make this work. He will be on a salary of 150k plus bonuses. Now, I know some may say this is too low for the area, but as I say, we are keen to make this work. We have three kids ages 10, 8 and 7 months. My 8 yr old has been identified as having dyslexia, so a good school district is very important.

Our lives ok b g requirements are similar to many, good schools, safe area, nice surroundings, and hubby is hoping for a commute up to an hour, but there's some wiggle room. I know we won't be looking at anything like the size or price of property of Texas, we are realistic about that, but we would like to aim for a 4 bed home. So, I'd love some recommendations on areas to start loo k ing at?

Thanks so much for any help you can give us!

It depend on budget and taste

[Chuck5000]

Originally Posted by fluffythewondercat

Redwood City: 3 bed, 2.5 bath, 1670 sq. ft. house on our block just came on the rental market asking $6,000/month. The owner, an investor, will get it. He's had a lot of applications.

This is not a particularly expensive neighborhood.

In North Fremont, you can get the same kind of house for $3,000/month.

Huh, yeah, I guess Redwood City is now that much hotter due to so many companies locating in their expanded downtown. Plus, it's close enough to Menlo and Palo and the companies located there. I'm not even pricing Redwood City these days for our next move; the schools are not good.

Funny I think San Mateo is one of those rare instances where compared to Redwood, it actually has better schools, equal housing stock quality, yet is actually cheaper. It's only a bit further away, but those 20 to 25 mins make a big price difference. This is why Sunnyvale has exploded.

I think Fremont is not that cheap anymore, but it's a better deal than the San Mateo and Santa Clara county cities.

Problem with Fremont is the horrible, atrocious, ridiculously bad commute on 237, and the slightly less horrible bridge commutes. Because...it's cheaper, and has some good school districts...

[JamesFenway]

Originally Posted by parisangel

Hi there everyone,

We will be moving to the bay area in the fall from Houston, TX although we are originally from the UK. My husband has a great opportunity and we are very keen to make this work. He will be on a salary of 150k plus bonuses. Now, I know some may say this is too low for the area, but as I say, we are keen to make this work. We have three kids ages 10, 8 and 7 months. My 8 yr old has been identified as having dyslexia, so a good school district is very important.

Our lives ok b g requirements are similar to many, good schools, safe area, nice surroundings, and hubby is hoping for a commute up to an hour, but there's some wiggle room. I know we won't be looking at anything like the size or price of property of Texas, we are realistic about that, but we would like to aim for a 4 bed home. So, I'd love some recommendations on areas to start loo k ing at?

Thanks so much for any help you can give us!

It depend on budget and taste

[Perma Bear]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

Huh, yeah, I guess Redwood City is now that much hotter due to so many companies locating in their expanded downtown. Plus, it's close enough to Menlo and Palo and the companies located there. I'm not even pricing Redwood City these days for our next move; the schools are not good.

Funny I think San Mateo is one of those rare instances where compared to Redwood, it actually has better schools, equal housing stock quality, yet is actually cheaper. It's only a bit further away, but those 20 to 25 mins make a big price difference. This is why Sunnyvale has exploded.

I think Fremont is not that cheap anymore, but it's a better deal than the San Mateo and Santa Clara county cities.

Problem with Fremont is the horrible, atrocious, ridiculously bad commute on 237, and the slightly less horrible bridge commutes. Because...it's cheaper, and has some good school districts...

Wut. Woodside/Sequoia/Menlo Atherton beat the fuzz out of East Bay Schools.