Indian Family living in UK but planning to Move to Cupertino (San Jose: real estate, apartments)

[britbv]

Hi All,

We are family of 3 living in UK but my husband has an offer from a MNC company based in cupertino. I have just started looking and understanding the area, lifestyle etc.

As this wasn't planned i have very little information. Please can you give me an overview on areas to Live, Good School. Our 7yr old is already in Private school in UK so hoping for smaller class room size and similar setup.

Although i am working full time here, I have decided not working atleast for 6months until we all settle down. So will Salary of 230k be sufficient ? With a decent 2-3bed house mortgage can we save ?

If i was to look at buying house which is the recommended site to look ? Area recommendation with less commute to work place (cupertino)and Indian community.

Many thanks

[mstnghu2]

You may want to post this in the San Jose sub-forum for more responses.

To answer a couple of your questions though, I wouldn't recommend buying right away. You should rent first to give yourself more time to get an idea of where you'd eventually like to buy. Also, keep in mind that the housing market is brutal right now...both for buyers and for renters. Craigslist is the go-to site for most people in the Bay Area who are looking for a rental. As for buying, I'd recommend getting a good realtor. There are lots of real estate sites, but ultimately when it comes time to buy, you need a good realtor. FYI, my brother and his wife have been looking to buy a house in/around northeast San Jose for over 6 months now with a budget of around $1.5 million. They got out-bid on multiple properties and FINALLY got an offer accepted for a house last week. My brother makes over $350k/year with plenty of money to put down and HE had trouble buying a home. That's how brutal the market is right now!

As expensive as Silicon Valley is, $230k/year is still more than a reasonable enough salary to live comfortably, assuming you know how to budget your money wisely.

In the Bay Area, traffic is terrible so I always recommend living as close to work as possible. If your job is in Cupertino, I'd probably recommend searching around Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara and west San Jose. If you're willing commute further, Almaden Valley in San Jose is very nice too. All of these areas have mostly good schools and are safe family-oriented communities.

[jdhpa]

I would look in Cupertino, Campbell, Los Altos, Palo Alto. Further than that and the commute is terrible.

[jackymcsparrow]

It's absurd anyone should have to ask if 230k is enough, but in this area it's a completely valid question...... smh.

[jk88cal]

It is hard to rate the schools. Depends on how parents judge the schools. Cupertino is very unique in that it is not a great place to live (like 30 years ago). Because schools are good, and professionals (mostly Chinese & Indian engineers) want to send their kids to Cupertino schools, then it kind of becomes self fulfilling. As more professionals move in, their kids cause school test scores to go up, causing more professionals wanting to live there.

Cupertino:

• School: highest test scores. Highly desired by tiger dads and moms. School demographics 90% Asian (Chinese & Indian). All Cupertino elementary schools are good. For high school, Monta Vista is highly desired because it is most competitive and highest scoring. Other high schools are still good, but less desired because relatively these are not the top scoring schools.
• Housing: mainly 60's ranch style. Expensive, particularly in Monta Vista area.
• Neighborhood: Typical SJ southbay feel. Large streets with strip malls, with dead end residential streets. Doesn't feel like high end area and does not match the housing price.
• Location: Average. Medium commute to most jobs near Hwy-101. Takes 30-40 minutes to go 10 miles. But because it is not too far, it is manageable. If you work in Cupertino, commute should be easier.

West San Jose:

• School: Lynbrook high school is highly desired. Test scores is close to Monta Vista.
• Everything else is basically same as Cupertino.

Sunnyvale:

• School: south parts of Sunnyvale are in Cupertino elementary schools and other ("2nd tier") high schools in Cupertino (Homestead, Cupertino). These are good schools, but not as desired as Monta Vista.
• Housing: It used to be cheaper than Cupertino. But now with proximity to Apple, Google, there has being a housing boom and no more discounts.
• Neighborhood: more office parks and apartments, in different parts of Sunnyvale.
• Location: I prefer Sunnyvale over Cupertino or West SJ, as it is close to 101 and to many companies.

Saratoga & Los Gatos:

• School: Good to Excellent
• Housing: Large lots and larger homes. And priced accordingly for the large homes.
• Neighborhood: Look and feel like up-scale suburban community.
• Location: Longer commute.

Palo Alto:

• School: Good to Excellent. Test scores are not as high as Cupertino.
• Housing: Mixed. Some very old homes, mid-century modern, mansions. Prices are in the stratosphere. $2M-$3M for tear down.
• Neighborhood: Hard to describe. I like Palo Alto feel more than Cupertino, West SJ, Sunnyvale. Feels (and it is) older town. Though it doesn't look like upscale, and looks do not match the house prices.
• Location: Great location. Opposite traffic if commuting south to San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino. And possible to commute up to peninsula.

Los Altos:

• School: Good to Excellent. Test scores are not as high as Cupertino or Palo Alto.
• Housing: Large lots and large homes. Priced accordingly for large homes.
• Neighborhood: Very nice with houses far apart due to large lots.
• Location: Great location. Opposite traffic if commuting south to San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino. And possible to commute up to peninsula.

Fremont:

• School: Mission San Jose high school has much higher test scores than other 4 high schools in Fremont.
• Housing: Newer than other cities listed above. Not cheap, but cost less than other cities listed above.
• Neighborhood: Some single story rancher and some 2 story Mediterranean style homes.
• Location: Large South Asian (Indian) and Afghanistan population. Poor commute with traffic to South Bay or Peninsula.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by jk88cal

It is hard to rate the schools. Depends on how parents judge the schools. Cupertino is very unique in that it is not a great place to live (like 30 years ago). Because schools are good, and professionals (mostly Chinese & Indian engineers) want to send their kids to Cupertino schools, then it kind of becomes self fulfilling. As more professionals move in, their kids cause school test scores to go up, causing more professionals wanting to live there.

Cupertino:

• School: highest test scores. Highly desired by tiger dads and moms. School demographics 90% Asian (Chinese & Indian). All Cupertino elementary schools are good. For high school, Monta Vista is highly desired because it is most competitive and highest scoring. Other high schools are still good, but less desired because relatively these are not the top scoring schools.
• Housing: mainly 60's ranch style. Expensive, particularly in Monta Vista area.
• Neighborhood: Typical SJ southbay feel. Large streets with strip malls, with dead end residential streets. Doesn't feel like high end area and does not match the housing price.
• Location: Average. Medium commute to most jobs near Hwy-101. Takes 30-40 minutes to go 10 miles. But because it is not too far, it is manageable. If you work in Cupertino, commute should be easier.

West San Jose:

• School: Lynbrook high school is highly desired. Test scores is close to Monta Vista.
• Everything else is basically same as Cupertino.

Sunnyvale:

• School: south parts of Sunnyvale are in Cupertino elementary schools and other ("2nd tier") high schools in Cupertino (Homestead, Cupertino). These are good schools, but not as desired as Monta Vista.
• Housing: It used to be cheaper than Cupertino. But now with proximity to Apple, Google, there has being a housing boom and no more discounts.
• Neighborhood: more office parks and apartments, in different parts of Sunnyvale.
• Location: I prefer Sunnyvale over Cupertino or West SJ, as it is close to 101 and to many companies.

Saratoga & Los Gatos:

• School: Good to Excellent
• Housing: Large lots and larger homes. And priced accordingly for the large homes.
• Neighborhood: Look and feel like up-scale suburban community.
• Location: Longer commute.

Palo Alto:

• School: Good to Excellent. Test scores are not as high as Cupertino.
• Housing: Mixed. Some very old homes, mid-century modern, mansions. Prices are in the stratosphere. $2M-$3M for tear down.
• Neighborhood: Hard to describe. I like Palo Alto feel more than Cupertino, West SJ, Sunnyvale. Feels (and it is) older town. Though it doesn't look like upscale, and looks do not match the house prices.
• Location: Great location. Opposite traffic if commuting south to San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino. And possible to commute up to peninsula.

Los Altos:

• School: Good to Excellent. Test scores are not as high as Cupertino or Palo Alto.
• Housing: Large lots and large homes. Priced accordingly for large homes.
• Neighborhood: Very nice with houses far apart due to large lots.
• Location: Great location. Opposite traffic if commuting south to San Jose, Sunnyvale, Cupertino. And possible to commute up to peninsula.

Fremont:

• School: Mission San Jose high school has much higher test scores than other 4 high schools in Fremont.
• Housing: Newer than other cities listed above. Not cheap, but cost less than other cities listed above.
• Neighborhood: Some single story rancher and some 2 story Mediterranean style homes.
• Location: Large South Asian (Indian) and Afghanistan population. Poor commute with traffic to South Bay or Peninsula.

A comment on the schools -

Sometimes very high test scores can correlate to a very high pressure, highly competitive environment in a school. Monta Vista and Lynbrook epitomize this mentality. Same with Mission San Jose in Fremont (which I call "Cupertino East" for similar demographics), as well as the Palo Alto high schools (Paly and Gunn).

Cupertino High (and Homestead) have a more balanced school culture compared with MV and Lynbrook, and it may be easier for someone to be a "bigger fish in a smaller pond".

Only you can decide what sort of school environment is a fit for your child. Some may respond to the high standards to continually better themselves, others may get discouraged by the pressure.

In any case, if you are South Asian, there are plenty of amenities in terms of food stores (India Cash and Carry for example), restaurants (many different regional cuisines available), and community associations around.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

My favorite real estate website is redfin.com. I just like the layout best, and they have really fair fees for buyers and sellers.

I'm not affiliated in any way.

[Goodguyz]

Indians are all in the apartments in Sunnyvale and San Jose. Huge communities.