Los Gatos Mountains, too isolated for young family? (San Jose, Santa Clara: for sale, house prices)

[fizgigs]

We are thinking of moving to the south bay area and are looking for a place with great schools and housing we can afford (500,000 at the most).

We have a dog and a 2 year old so I'd really like a house with a yard and such. I keep finding homes for sale in the mountains above Los Gatos (Redwood Estates, Lexington Hills, etc) and I'm trying to figure out what it is like there. How long is the drive in reality into Los Gatos? It says less than 5 miles but I suspect that doesn't translate into 5 minutes. How long would the commute to Foothill be?

Also, does anyone have insight into living in this area with a young child? Are there parks? Lots of families? Things to do for little ones?

Thank you for any input!

[StandingRoomOnly]

My husband and I looked into buying in the Los Gatos mountains...we have a 15 month old. Even though house prices have come down, it's hard to find nice places under 500k close to highway 17. I don't think you would want to be very far out from 17 as the longer distance to get groceries and shop, going on playdates with your little one, doctors appointments, and driving to school would probably get old fast. We looked as far as Boulder Creek too as house prices are more reasonable there, but that would be a very long commute into San Jose where my husband works--also would get old fast. On sunny days, it does seem nice and peaceful up there...but just not worth it to us with how long it would take to drive anywhere. Now if you have a budget of 800k+, then you can find a nice place very close to 17 and commuting into San Jose would be completely reasonable.

We bought in Morgan Hill and love it here. Having been here over a year, I really really appreciate the closeness of the local grocery stores, farmer's market, etc...and doesn't feel as crowded and run-down as many parts of San Jose. Much more family friendly too.

PS. Best thing you could do is have your realtor take you to view some homes in the Los Gatos mountains in your price range and then decide whether it will be a good fit for your family.

[bigdumbgod]

Take a look-see around Lexington Reservoir, Holy City, Redwood Estates, Bear Creek Rd., and up and down Summit Rd. and you'll find a bunch of for sale signs, sometimes by owner (a lot of do-it-youself, hardy types up there). Decent deals, but you may have to compromise on some conveniences.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by StandingRoomOnly

My husband and I looked into buying in the Los Gatos mountains...we have a 15 month old. Even though house prices have come down, it's hard to find nice places under 500k close to highway 17. I don't think you would want to be very far out from 17 as the longer distance to get groceries and shop, going on playdates with your little one, doctors appointments, and driving to school would probably get old fast. We looked as far as Boulder Creek too as house prices are more reasonable there, but that would be a very long commute into San Jose where my husband works--also would get old fast. On sunny days, it does seem nice and peaceful up there...but just not worth it to us with how long it would take to drive anywhere.

We have friends with small kids who lived in Boulder Creek - and yes, the commute, after a few years, was really stressful for them. They just recently moved to San Carlos --- sacrificed space for the convenience and it was worth it.

[OrangeSunset]

Also, check out Scotts Valley.

[sjnative]

Originally Posted by fizgigs

...I'm trying to figure out what it is like there. How long is the drive in reality into Los Gatos? It says less than 5 miles but I suspect that doesn't translate into 5 minutes. How long would the commute to Foothill be?

Also, does anyone have insight into living in this area with a young child? Are there parks? Lots of families? Things to do for little ones?

Thank you for any input!

Have you tried google-mapping any of the would-be routes from a property you're looking at to your SO's workplace? That would give you some instant trip durations.

The one thing to keep in mind is that R17 is the major roadway from Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz Mountains and the San Lorenzo Valley to San Jose. It's only two lanes in each direction, fast, windy, accidents happen there many times a week and when they do, traffic flow is slowed to a crawl. I don't know how people tolerate it- I wouldn't.

Your SO would make minimal use of R17 when coming off the summit but would still be impacted.

As for living up there, a lot of the roads along the summit, e.g. Summit Road or Highway 35 adjacent to R17, are very windy as they circumnavigate the mountainsides. It makes for attention-demanding and time-consuming driving.

You're not going to be very close to most conveniences.

There's only one elementary school that I know of that's north of R17, near/on R35, and there's a drug store on the summit. For most errands and groceries, I'm sure you would just go into the valley as that gives you such a breadth of options.

To give your kids social activities, again, you would probably go to the valley and spend time with other parents.

Those are the downsides. The upsides are that it's beautiful up there, you get good views to either valley from along the summit, you get more fog and rain so it stays more lush and green whereas it'll be arid in the Santa Clara Valley.

You'll probably have more of a sense of community, a sense of identity based on where you live and will probably know many of your neighbors rather well.

Even if you live there for only about a year, you'll probably always remember it vividly.

Originally Posted by silverkris

We have friends with small kids who lived in Boulder Creek - and yes, the commute, after a few years, was really stressful for them. They just recently moved to San Carlos --- sacrificed space for the convenience and it was worth it.

No doubt.

[fizgigs]

Thanks for your replies! Its me that would be working at foothill, my SO would working in Los Gatos probably. I'm still on the fence, though I think we might see what we can afford in the Santa Clara area and compare.

I really love the idea of a community but know commuting to everything can get old really fast!