Temporary job in Mountain View, need to know which areas I should look at (San Jose: apartments, rental)

[kubala]

Hi,

I have got a three month internship at a company near Google's offices in Mountain View, and essentially, am looking for a push in the right direction for areas to look at while searching for apartments. My primary concern is transportation to and from my apartment to this company's office. Safety is another concern, but I'm not too worried about socializing opportunities or things to do, as I will be spending more time in MV rather than the apartment itself.

So in that vein, some of the questions I have are:

1. Which areas in San Jose/Sunnyvale are well connected to MV by public transit?
2. Which modes of public transit should I be on the lookout for when choosing an apartment?
3. Which are some of the areas Googlers live in during temporary jobs?

Thanks.

[Nell Plotts]

Ask your HR representative if s/he has any suggestions. Back in the day I would know of employees who had a spare room, other employees who needed a house sitter or room mate, and would link them up. You are not the first intern with that need.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by kubala

2. Which modes of public transit should I be on the lookout for when choosing an apartment?

Beside buses, there is light rail between Mountain View and San Jose Light Rail 902 - Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority and Caltrain, the commuter train between San Francisco and San Jose www.caltrain.com

Mountain View is as good as any place to live - nice, safe suburbia. It has a nice little downtown on Castro Street (where the light rail and Caltrain station are). Large companies (like Google?) have free shuttles from the Caltrain station in Mtn View out to their corporate sites or campus.

[kubala]

I was also wondering - is it feasible to live in some of the nearby towns (Sunnyvale for example) and pay lower rents? Or are MV rents reasonably affordable? I will be paid a rental allowance per month, but I doubt that will cover the cost of rental.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by kubala

I was also wondering - is it feasible to live in some of the nearby towns (Sunnyvale for example) and pay lower rents? Or are MV rents reasonably affordable? I will be paid a rental allowance per month, but I doubt that will cover the cost of rental.

Rent is about the same in Sunnyvale, MV or Santa Clara. It doesn't make much difference. Rent gets more expensive in Palo Alto and Menlo Park to the north.

[kubala]

Oh I see, interesting. In that case I think I will look for places around the MV caltrain station.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by kubala

Oh I see, interesting. In that case I think I will look for places around the MV caltrain station.

As a homeowner and landlord in Mountain View, I think you will want to look for something within walking distance of the station, but not right next to it. There are some apartments in downtown itself. Some are above a business, others are the modern type of apartments with higher rents. There is an area called "Old Mountain View" close to Castro St. On the other side of Shoreline Boulevard you will find apartments. Many of them are only a 15 min walk from the train station.

Just check craigslist and ask around and you will find some apartments. They will be expensive though so you need to keep looking and not give up.

[ketch89]

You can find studios near Castro street for $1300. If you have a bicycle, you can have a wonderfully peaceful, easy (flat), 15 minute ride down Steven's Creek trail to the office every morning. Doesn't get much better than that IMO

[sonarrat]

There's a VTA bus (40) to Google that runs on Rengstorff and California St. Lots of apartments and condos on both of those streets.

[kubala]

Thanks for the inputs, I'll take them into account when searching