Family area to rent in Silicon Valley (San Jose, Sunnyvale: relocating, budget)

[cali2008]

My husband, my 2 year old son and I will be visiting San Jose in the middle of March with potencial of relocating in the Silicon Valley area. We'd like to visit some apartments while we are there.
Could you recommend some family friendly towns close to San Jose and may be some apartment buildings we could look at while we are visiting? Your imput is appreciated. Thank you.

[missingcol]

Evergreen is a very nice family residential area. We live there and like the area very much!

[xThomasTroublex]

There are numerous rental communities at Rivermark in Santa Clara. You can literally park once and check out half a dozen places.

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by missingcol

Evergreen is a very nice family residential area. We live there and like the area very much!

Yes, Evergreen is very nice towards the hills and deep into Evergreen Valley (near the college). The parts nearer to Capitol are not so much.

[cali2008]

Thanks for the input so far! Keep it coming. I assume Evergreen is part of San Jose. I'm leaning towards living in the towns surrounding San Jose. Any suggestions on suitable family areas nearby? We'll definately check out Santa Clara.

[Luke9686]

Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Saratoga, and Campbell (parts) are all nice. I think budget will have a lot to do with where you live.

Check Craigslist.com for rentals.

[krudmonk]

Evergreen is as much removed from most of SJ as any separate municipality. The only difference is in the name.

[cali2008]

Thanks Krudmonk and Luke9686!
I notice Sunnyvale seems to have lower rents, how does it compare to the other towns and what type of place is it?
About Evergreen, do you have the names of streets or intersections in that area I can look at? Thanx.

[xThomasTroublex]

IMO Sunnyvale is pretty nice. It's centrally located, with easy access to freeways and the train, close proximity to many of the larger Silicon Valley employers, and has an emerging yet quaint downtown (great farmer's market on the weekends). There are plenty of nearby parks, dining and retail options as well. From what I see, there are lots of single professionals, young families, and retired people. All in all, I think Sunnyvale is a good place to be - The South is better than the North. I would also recommend Downtown Campbell, Cupertino, parts of Santa Clara, Los Gatos, Mountain View, Saratoga (although rentals here are very few and far between) and parts of West San Jose. Evergreen is just okay for me (flame me if you must). It's a little far removed, traffic along 101 is a nightmare, and there's a real shortage of higher-end dining and shopping options. The area by the hills/custom homes is nice but I don't think there are many apartments there. Most of the apartments in that area tend to be closer to Capitol/Eastridge - which can be a little busy, noisy, sketchy at times.

[pearljammer]

Personally I'd stay away from Rivermark. You need to think about the whole area instead of the apt and what's walking distance. Campbell and Cupertino are great areas to search in. Santa Clara is great but stay on the west of Santa Clara (the Valley Fair Mall side), not other side of hwy 101. Try this website: apartmentratings.com

Hope that helps.