Potential Move to Santa Clara (San Jose, Fremont: top neighborhoods, 2014, rent)

[Caligirl2017]

Hello,

My husband is considering a job in Santa Clara, we would be moving from suburban Ma. The housing prices are insane in Santa Clara!!!! Wow. He makes a great days pay. But still. We would consider a 30 minute commute. We have a 4 year old and another one on the way, so family oriented towns are very important to us. Any recommendations? Either North or south of Santa Clara? Where do most Executives live? We are talking about a 350k-$500k salary... not a 1 million plus, so your guidance is much appreciated! We would like to stay below 1.2 million and still have a nice sized house. Not a shack. Our current house is 3500 square feet, custom built.

[jk88cal]

Originally Posted by Caligirl2017

Where do most Executives live?
We would like to stay below 1.2 million and still have a nice sized house. Not a shack.

This is hilarious post. Not sure if you are joking or not. If your husband is Executive or even a professional, maybe he should check with HR and relocation service.


Hillsborough
Woodside
Atherton
Los Altos Hills
Los Altos
Palo Alto
Saratoga

I believe these are the type of cities where some "Executives" live. However, I don't know any Executive personally. I do know that Larry Ellison lives in Woodside; Steve Jobs, Tim Cook, Larry Page, Zuckerberg in Palo Alto.

However, for $1.2M, you won't even be able to buy a shack in these areas. It will cost you $2.0M+ to get a shack. It cost around $1,000 to $1,500 / sq ft. So for 3500 sq ft house, it will cost $3.5M to $5M.

Just google. Here are some shacks and teardowns in top neighborhoods:
http://sf.curbed.com/2017/2/20/14669...-teardown-home
This tear down is what $5.5M buys you in Palo Alto - On The Block
Nearly $2 million for a teardown in Palo Alto - On The Block
http://sf.curbed.com/2014/3/14/10132...to-6-995m-home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAf_k03yYeI

[Ruth4Truth]

Uh.... have you looked at condos?

[Caligirl2017]

I'm not sure what the sarcasm is about? You don't have to be Steve Jobs to be an executive? Have you ever heard of a COO before? And Presidents of companies are also considered executives? Obviously I'm coming here because I am not familiar with the area. Obviously we will work with the company's relo service, but I came on here excited to find some preliminary info. Thanks for the help �� Who has time to troll anyway... give me a break.

[simboticus]

Not sure why you got the attitude, but the info he provides is pretty accurate, these are the towns Executives typically live:

Los Gatos
Saratoga
Woodside
Atherton
Menlo Park
Los Altos Hills
Los Altos
Palo Alto
Cupertino (hills)


For $1.2M you'll get a basic house, nothing large or very nice. You'll have to drive over an hour to get a nice large house for <$1.2M. You'll need to get comfortable with spending a larger % of your income on housing in these parts.

[kamoto]

I think you get sarcasm, because your asking where executives live. This is Silicon Valley. Where ever you can outbid someone for a house is where you live. And at 1.2 million maximum, you aren't outbidding anyone out here at that price. You will lose out to all cash offers and at 1.2 you will be living in decent but not great places. 30 minutes from work is about five miles maximum with traffic. You are moving to insanity. You should triple your house price to get what you had in Lexington, Belmont or Concord.

[Perma Bear]

Originally Posted by simboticus

Not sure why you got the attitude, but the info he provides is pretty accurate, these are the towns Executives typically live:

Los Gatos
Saratoga
Woodside
Atherton
Menlo Park
Los Altos Hills
Los Altos
Palo Alto
Cupertino (hills)


For $1.2M you'll get a basic house, nothing large or very nice. You'll have to drive over an hour to get a nice large house for <$1.2M. You'll need to get comfortable with spending a larger % of your income on housing in these parts.

East bay?

[Moddedintegra56]

you live in a what probably is a nice, 3500 sq ft home---custom at that, in the suburbs currently.

if you want to replicate that lifestyle, i hope you and your husband will be making a combined income of $300K if not more.

expect to pay at 1.5-2million for a similar type of house in a similar type of nice neighborhood and hope you aren't house poor by then and you have a plan in the event an emergency occurs because those mortgage payments will be huge, not to mention the property tax on a 1.5-2million home each year

you have it good if you husband and you live comfortably in where you are now. dont get tricked by the bay area money. especially if you would also be moving away from your family and friends.

[Ruth4Truth]

You can afford to buy in Fremont, in the east Bay region. There's train service to Santa Clara that takes 1/2 hour, and BART is building an extension to San Jose from Fremont. Alternatively, you could rent in Fremont, and scout out the RE markets around the region, taking your time to decide if you want to increase your budget.


Here's what 1.5 mill gets you in Palo Alto: a fancy mobile home.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Palo-Alto/...6/home/1470901
In Sunnyvale, at least you get a real house for that amount:
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Sunnyvale/...7/home/1559080


Fremont, at 1 mill--1.2 mill: (more square footage!)
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Fremont/38...6/home/1683434
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Fremont/41...6/home/1656964

[joejerryronnie]

Try looking in south Santa Clara county, specifically Morgan Hill. The commute to Santa Clara is definitely more than 30 min (more like 1 hour) but it's going to be much closer to what you're looking for. Morgan Hill is a bedroom community for the bay area and still retains its small town charm. It's very family oriented, has a nice little downtown, and $1.2 million will still buy a decent sized home. Yes, the commute is not great but your quality of life will be 1000 times better than if you buy in one of the run down suburbs around Santa Clara (take it from a San Jose native that now lives in "South County" and commutes to Santa Clara daily).

Typical executives in the bay area live where ever they can afford a home within a realistic commute to work. Unless you're making close to $1 million per year, are able to exercise significant stock options/grants, or have experienced some type of exit event, you are not going to be able to afford the top tier cities in the bay.