Where to live - Commutable to Cupertino (Sunnyvale, Santa Clara: to rent, house)

[simoneolog]

My family and I are relocating to South Bay/Peninsula from the Midwest for a job in Cupertino. We have two preschoolers and are planning to rent a home initially and are willing to pay $3500/month. I think we have ruled out living in Cupertino itself and would love some ideas about communities that would offer a reasonable commute (under 45 minutes). Priorities: high quality preschools (excellent public elementary schools a bonus but not a requirement), proximity to kid-friendly activies, young families, parks, walking, close to good shopping, etc. If someone who is really familiar with the area could break down the "feel" and differences between different communities that might sound right for us, that would be extremely helpful. We are willing to go in either direction from Cupertino. Some ideas so far have been Los Gatos, or north in the Burlingame, Millbrae, Hillsboro area. So far my husband has only seen Los Gatos and loved it, thought it appears finding housing in our price range there may be a challenge. Any suggestions on where to look would be much appreciated! An earlier thread offered many thoughts on Cupertino itself, but not as much about the surrounding communities. Thanks!

[sonarrat]

Young families with kids, kid-friendly activities.. I think Mountain View. Some areas have better schools than others; I believe the best ones are in the Cuesta Park area just west of El Camino Real.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Without knowing the exact price range, this may or may not be relevant, but here goes ...

In addition to Millbrae, Hillsborough and Burlingame ... San Mateo (West of El Camino), Belmont, San Carlos, Menlo Park, Portala Valley/Ladera. (I purposely left out Atherton and Woodside. Although you listed Hillsborough I am guessing the high, high end may turn out to be out of your reach).

[Nell Plotts]

My daughter's eldest child is 7. Her children attended preschool at Children's House of Los Altos, she is pleased with their experience. That school is very convenient to Mountain View.

[AllenSJC]

Los Gatos has a nice downtown, but overall it is very expensive. Sunnyvale (my town) has some really good areas, mainly in the 94086 and 94087 zip codes. The schools in Sunnyvale can be very good (Cherry Chase, Cumberland, Cupertino), but a few districts (Sunnyvale, Santa Clara) aren't as good. Generally, the west side of Central Expressway in Sunnyvale has the better schools.

Los Altos is another very expensive area, that has very good schools. It's a quiet, kinda quaint town, with some very suburban areas and some almost rural areas closer to Los Altos Hills (which is EXTREMELY expensive). Mountain View has a few rough areas in the north mainly (as does Sunnyvale), but generally it's very good. Mountain View, however, does have Moffett Field, so you might have some military jet noise there.

It should be noted that the school districts in the Silicon Valley don't really follow the city boundaries, so be mindful of that. Also, you have different districts for elementary/middle school and high school.

Good luck on your search!

[Nell Plotts]

If your children are in pre-school now focus on the grade school. Odds are you will move before they are in high school.

Many of the 'middle class' homes in good school enrolment areas may be smaller (for the $) than what you are accustomed to. Think of parks as an extension of your children's pay area. The weather is nice year round, maybe a light jacket in the winter. If you live within walking distance of a park your children will meet others in their age group, you and they will get exercise walking to and fro.

Another detail to keep in mind is that they do not bus children to school. Children walk or their parents (car pool?) transport them.