Moving to Silicon Valley - Need Renting/community advice (San Jose: fit in, real estate)

[RaviV]

We are moving from northern NJ to Silicon Valley at June end. We are both Indian (Punjabi) origin, raised in India (but have been in North America for almost 20 years) and have careers as tax/advisory professionals.

My job will be in Santa Clara near the Levi Stadium/Great America amusement park. We have a son who will be in third grade in August 2016; so schools are very important to us, along with the community we will live in.

We are looking for a place to rent (budget around $3,000 to $4,500 for a 2 BR Apt/condo/townhouse - we prefer a townhouse) and are currently considering Los Altos, Palo Alto, and Mountain view areas (but are very open to suggestion for other safe and diverse communities with great school). Ideally, we are looking for a relatively diverse community to raise our kid - so a community that includes significant representation of people/professionals of Indian (possibly Punjabi) descent, along with others would be great - where we could (hopefully) develop close friendships, fit in and be part of and contribute to the community.

Any specific suggestions regarding regarding Apartments/townhouse complexes with a community feel and meeting our criterion are greatly/truly appreciated. We are trying to avoid Cupertino as we heard it is mainly Chinese and Indian and so in some sense, not enough representation of other races. Perhaps we are thinking too much about having a diverse and friendly community, but its worth exploring/looking for.....

Thank you very much for your feedback.

[Chuck5000]

Have you looked at units online yet? Are you actually seeing 2br townhouses for less than 4500 in Los Altos, Palo Alto and Mountain View? If so, prices are coming down. In general be prepared to step down significantly from your real estate standards in NJ, unless you're making vastly more here.

MV and PA are fairly diverse, but obscenely expensive. There are few complexes in Palo Alto. I live there currently. You're more likely to find a newer complex in Sunnyvale. I think you might find an OK house to rent for around 4k in lesser parts of MV; a friend did a couple of years ago and they have not raised rent - that could be very anomalouos. Criagslist is a great place to see what's available.

Not sure how much newer lux developments there are in Santa Clara, but I think that would be your best bet for value and commute - traffic here is a very serious issue.

[aramax666]

Rivermark is a perfect setup for you. I would strongly recommend it, if you are indian. Don Callejon is a very well rated elementary.
Great community, lots of young families, Kids play together and very safe. And very doable in the budget.

Mountain view is doable too, MAYBE, Los Altos/ Palo Alto you won't get anything nice.

[bobby_guz_man]

I second Rivermark as well.

[plot]

You want diversity and you plan on living in los altos were they have lots of white people...

I do not think the neighborhoods you mentioned have a community feeling (Not sure about mountain view). Instead the communities are very family oriented. I recommend you check out Cupertino because you can easily find a nice townhouse within your budget and you child might have a easier time fitting in Cupertino since there is a large Indian presents. Finding a townhouse in Palo Alto and Los Altos will be tougher and most likely old.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I agree that the Rivermark area is perfect. It's a nice area. I used to live in Santa Clara. Rivermark is very close to the stadium, so your commute would be easy. Here are some links:

Rivermark Village :: 3945 Rivermark Plaza, Santa Clara, CA. 95054 :: 408.503.1200

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/...uery=rivermark

Some of the apartments are very close to the Ulistac nature area, too.

https://ulistac.org/

Google map showing Rivermark and route to the stadium.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Rive...3!2d37.4030797

[dogandcat]

I agree with people that Rivermark community is the best option in your case. I have several friends who live (rent) there, and this area is nice, newly developed, and family oriented.

You don't need to live in MV, Palo Alto or Los Altos if your job is in Santa Clara. It would be a huge mistake both in term of $$$ and commute time!

[plot]

The op wants great schools too. The schools in Santa Clara are average unless you are talking about the the area near Cupertino. The schools in Santa Clara are not horrible but the public schools in los altos and palo alto are way more highly rated then Santa Clara public schools.

The commute from the areas the op mentioned to Santa Clara are really easy (at least on the highway from what I know). So I do not think commute should be a big concern. Obviously living in Santa Clara will give you a very easy commute and you will find much nicer properties in your budget compared to Los Altos and Palo Alto.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by plot

The commute from the areas the op mentioned to Santa Clara are really easy (at least on the highway from what I know). So I do not think commute should be a big concern.

The problem is, depending on the time of day, Hwy 101 is a parking lot.

[plot]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

The problem is, depending on the time of day, Hwy 101 is a parking lot.

Really? I am not familiar with 101.

I take 280 and its been a breeze to go from west bay to San Jose in the morning then coming back from San Jose to the west bay at night. I look at the opposite side of traffic and it looks like a parking lot.