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Old 08-17-2009, 08:08 PM
 
28 posts, read 125,753 times
Reputation: 25

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Hi there, my husband is considering taking a job in Mountain View and we are looking at the places to live in the area. Can we find a rental 3BR house for about $3000 in the area and where would you recommend to live considering the following:

- need a good pre-K-elementary school district for two kids
- prefer a house with a backyard (not an apartment living)
- a nice community with mid-thirties professionals/kids, vicinity of parks
- prefer to have some sort of town hub nearby (restaurants, shops, etc)
- 20-30 minute commute ideally or less. How far is San Mateo? Also, how is Sunnyvale and Cupertino? Someone on the East Coast told me they are all concrete - true/false? Also, is it possible to live in Mountain View itself and what is it like?
- ocean/bay view from any place close enough to Mountain View?!?? (Always had a dream of living on the water...)

Other thoughts are very welcome! Don't know the area so any tips and suggestions/comments are welcome. Thanks so much. So excited about the opportunity to get out of DC and had a little CA dream come true...

Last edited by yana60; 08-17-2009 at 09:09 PM..
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Old 08-18-2009, 06:54 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,771 posts, read 104,918,048 times
Reputation: 49248
Quote:
Originally Posted by yana60 View Post
Hi there, my husband is considering taking a job in Mountain View and we are looking at the places to live in the area. Can we find a rental 3BR house for about $3000 in the area and where would you recommend to live considering the following:

- need a good pre-K-elementary school district for two kids
- prefer a house with a backyard (not an apartment living)
- a nice community with mid-thirties professionals/kids, vicinity of parks
- prefer to have some sort of town hub nearby (restaurants, shops, etc)
- 20-30 minute commute ideally or less. How far is San Mateo? Also, how is Sunnyvale and Cupertino? Someone on the East Coast told me they are all concrete - true/false? Also, is it possible to live in Mountain View itself and what is it like?
- ocean/bay view from any place close enough to Mountain View?!?? (Always had a dream of living on the water...)

Other thoughts are very welcome! Don't know the area so any tips and suggestions/comments are welcome. Thanks so much. So excited about the opportunity to get out of DC and had a little CA dream come true...
Otheres living in and around the area certainly will have better ideas than I, but let me mention a few things, 1-yes, there is a lot of concrete, most lots are pretty small, the areas are not think with trees and you will get one sub division on top of another, just like what has happened in the D.C. area over the past 20 years, although D.C. probably has more greenery. of course the further inland you get, the more you are going to see the lack of trees.

As for living near the water, I doubt you will find anything in your price range with good schools and still be near the water. Hopefully someone else will be a better judge of this.

One more thing, I do not know what it is about the D.C. area you do not like, but don't expect the burbs in the bay area to be much different. Burbs are burbs especially when you are raising a family. We have lived in Marin County, Alexandria and So calif people were pretty much the same, shopping was similar and the choice of entertainment and restaurants the same. The biggest difference, of course is going to be the weather. Another big difference: the east coast holds the history of our country, the west coast holds the beauty of outdoor living almost year around.

Nita
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Old 08-18-2009, 07:38 AM
 
28 posts, read 125,753 times
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It's the outdoors and beauty that we seek, nice weather and hopefully more relaxed attitude towards life and work - I hope it still exists in CA because there is none of it in DC...Also, have my husband's family close by there and would like to be all living in one area and not across the country. We live in DC proper now so suburbs will be a big change as it is. I am hoping to offset it with outdoors scenery and have some little town hub to enjoy with parks, shops, etc. Thanks for the thoughts! Any other thoughts and recommendation are very welcome.
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Old 08-18-2009, 09:18 AM
 
Location: Bella Vista, Ark
77,771 posts, read 104,918,048 times
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Just being close to family is worth the move.

Nita
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Old 08-18-2009, 09:31 AM
 
Location: Mesa, Az
21,144 posts, read 42,173,365 times
Reputation: 3861
Quote:
Originally Posted by yana60 View Post
It's the outdoors and beauty that we seek, nice weather and hopefully more relaxed attitude towards life and work - I hope it still exists in CA because there is none of it in DC...Also, have my husband's family close by there and would like to be all living in one area and not across the country. We live in DC proper now so suburbs will be a big change as it is. I am hoping to offset it with outdoors scenery and have some little town hub to enjoy with parks, shops, etc. Thanks for the thoughts! Any other thoughts and recommendation are very welcome.
Wash DC..............no comment
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Old 08-18-2009, 09:51 AM
 
28 posts, read 125,753 times
Reputation: 25
I know, ArizonaBear! But I do need comments on where to live in the Bay area! I know SF a bit and visited many times but not all the little towns in the Bay area so need some help to find some place inspiring/uplifting to live after many years among policians, lawyers, and bureacrats of our capital (there are good things about DC, too, I just got burnt out by the place).
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Old 08-18-2009, 10:53 AM
 
Location: Milpitas, CA
19 posts, read 74,295 times
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I have lived in the Bay Area for 30 years. I have lived in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and now Milpitas. I lived in Sunnyvale for 8 yrs before I got married and I LOVED it. It was considered the 10th safest cities in the world. I work in Palo Alto so I am close to Mountain View. Mountain View is a very cute town, very charming houses, nice downtown area with shops and great places to eat (we go there often for lunch from work). What do you mean about concrete, if the houses are built of concrete? If that is your question, it all depends on where you live but I haven't seen a lot of houses built of concrete. I think you should be able to find a house to rent for 3k. San Mateo is nice also, that is probably your best bet for living near water but I am not sure if you could do it in your price range. Cupertino has the best schools around but it is a little bit further out. Still a doable commute. All the areas I mentioned are great, you just have to do your research. Keep in mind that if you chose Sunnyvale or Cupertino you are going with traffic but if you go more north like San Mateo, you are going against traffic. It also depends on his work hours, traffic can be a terrible but I come to work at 6:30 am and it's a breeze. You might want to check on Craigslist for houses. Goodluck and shoot me a message if you have any questions. I would be glad to help.
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Old 08-18-2009, 12:25 PM
 
28 posts, read 125,753 times
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Thanks jojobettyboop! How long is a commute from San Mateo (I like the idea of going against traffic) and what is considered reasonable there? Also, are the schools in San Mateo good? Thanks so much for feedback!
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Old 08-18-2009, 02:02 PM
 
Location: Milpitas, CA
19 posts, read 74,295 times
Reputation: 17
Quote:
Originally Posted by yana60 View Post
Thanks jojobettyboop! How long is a commute from San Mateo (I like the idea of going against traffic) and what is considered reasonable there? Also, are the schools in San Mateo good? Thanks so much for feedback!
It is probably a good 20 to 30 mins to Mountain View from San Mateo so it's about the same or less if you rented in Sunnyvale or even less in Mountain View. Mountain View is the town between Sunnyvale and Palo Alto. San Mateo is pricier in some locations, why, because some areas are nicer than others..especially if you want to be by the water. I have no idea how much it would cost to rent a house in that area. A good place to check is Craigslist.com You can't go wrong with any of these areas. I have heard that San Mateo has good schools but Cupertino has the best. Good luck and let me know if you need anymore information
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Old 08-19-2009, 07:12 AM
 
Location: Mesa, Az
21,144 posts, read 42,173,365 times
Reputation: 3861
Quote:
Originally Posted by yana60 View Post
Thanks jojobettyboop! How long is a commute from San Mateo (I like the idea of going against traffic) and what is considered reasonable there? Also, are the schools in San Mateo good? Thanks so much for feedback!
You may also wish to consider San Mateo: it bears an 'eerie' resemblance to Arlington. In fact: Alameda de las Pulgas is a doppelganger to Williamsburg Blvd.
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