Best Apartment and Fun Downtown in San Jose Area?? (Mountain View: apartments, movie theater)

[encinitas1973]

Hello,
I will be relocating to the San Jose Area. My office will be close to the San Jose Milpitas border on the North East side. My wife and I have a 9 year old so good schools are important. We hate the suburban sprawl areas and want to live in a full amenity apartment building in the San Jose area. We want a "walkable" downtown where we can walk to stores, restaurants, movies etc. We live in a town now where we don't even use our car on weekends. I have heard that the downtown Mountain View area is good as well as Palo Alto.

Can anyone help with a place to live that matches this criteria:

walkable, fun downtown area
Budget of up to $3,000 per month
Commute under 45 minutes
Safe with a good school district
Apartment building with gym, pool etc.

Does this place even exist or am I in dreamland?

Thanks a lot for your help.

[humboldtrat]

Home | Santana Row It's not exactly downtown.

[sonarrat]

When I think of the walkable areas in San Jose, and I think of the areas with top school districts, there isn't a big cross section. If Willow Glen schools are good enough for you, then that would be the best option. Otherwise, you're pretty much looking at sprawl. Palo Alto would be the top alternative, but it also carries the top price and the top commute time to northeast SJ.

[durf]

Downtown San Jose is the place to be with everything you need, and it's a exciting downtown. It's very walkable with Safeway, Walgreen's, Peet's coffee, Ross Dress for less store and an excellent movie theater(Camera 12) within less than a block. There is a decent school system downtown, too. Tons of apartments with all kinds of amenities are located throughout the downtown area. Downtown is a paradise for urban dwellers.