Pleasant Hill -> Silicon Valley commute (San Diego, San Jose: jobs, housing)

[Sassberto]

Don't tell anyone in the San Diego forums but someday I'd like to move up to the "big leagues" and work in Silicon Valley (I've got 10 yrs of software dev exp in SD).

I like the Pleasant Hill area for classic post-war housing, good schools, and a BART station but it's unclear how I would get into the heart of SV (San Jose, Mountain View, etc) without driving? Is it possible? If I was to drive in, leaving the house at say, 6:30AM, what would the commute look like?

[MikeSJ]

It depends on where you will be working. If you were working in San Jose or Santa Clara, you could transfer from BART to the Amtrack (Capitol Corridor) trains.

::: The Capitol Corridor: stations :::

You can also get to just about any city in the Silicon Valley by transfering from BART to Caltrains.

caltrain.com - General Info: System Map

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by MikeSJ

You can also get to just about any city in the Silicon Valley by transfering from BART to Caltrains.

caltrain.com - General Info: System Map

So it would be BART to SF and then CalTrain to SJ? That seems like a very long trip? I am guessing most people drive in?

[MikeSJ]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

So it would be BART to SF and then CalTrain to SJ? That seems like a very long trip? I am guessing most people drive in?

I don't believe that many people that work in the Silicon Valley live in the Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill area due to the very long commute and expense no matter how they would do it.

I suspect that most that live in that area work in either Oakland or SF.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by MikeSJ

I don't believe that many people that work in the Silicon Valley live in the Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill area due to the very long commute and expense no matter how they would do it.

I suspect that most that live in that area work in either Oakland or SF.

Right, that was my concern. The problem is that if I am working in SJ I don't see anywhere in the bay area I can buy a detached home in the high 400 / low 500k range without being out in the sticks. I would want to keep my options open as tech jobs can and do go bust quite often.

[sav858]

damn Sass, who's gonna moderate the SD forum if you leave? With all the good jobs in the Bay Area it's tempting for me to go back sometimes....

Basically a commute like that would be like commuting from Temecula to Downtown San Diego but probably a little worse b/c Bay Area traffic is worse than SD. Commuting down 680 to SJ requires going through the Sunol Grade, one of the worst bottlenecks in the Bay Area. Public transit really is not an option, too many transfer and takes too long. Once you get to SJ you would have to figure out how to get to the office parks, which usually requires a shuttle or bus that only runs during commute times. Castro Valley or Dublin would be better options but not sure about their schools.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by sav858

damn Sass, who's gonna moderate the SD forum if you leave? With all the good jobs in the Bay Area it's tempting for me to go back sometimes....

Basically a commute like that would be like commuting from Temecula to Downtown San Diego but probably a little worse b/c Bay Area traffic is worse than SD. Commuting down 680 to SJ requires going through the Sunol Grade, one of the worst bottlenecks in the Bay Area. Public transit really is not an option, too many transfer and takes too long. Once you get to SJ you would have to figure out how to get to the office parks, which usually requires a shuttle or bus that only runs during commute times. Castro Valley or Dublin would be better options but not sure about their schools.

Don't worry... this wouldn't happen for about 4 years at earliest.

Dublin seems expensive. I will take a look at Castro Valley.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

So it would be BART to SF and then CalTrain to SJ? That seems like a very long trip? I am guessing most people drive in?

There are a lot of people who commute on 680 to the Silicon Valley, mainly from Pleasanton or Livermore, but the 52-mile drive from Pleasant Hill is just ridiculous. You might as well come from Hollister, at least it's cheaper there than in San Jose (not the case in Pleasant Hill).

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

There are a lot of people who commute on 680 to the Silicon Valley, mainly from Pleasanton or Livermore, but the 52-mile drive from Pleasant Hill is just ridiculous. You might as well come from Hollister, at least it's cheaper there than in San Jose (not the case in Pleasant Hill).

So is there any place that has the following:
- Sub 1hr commute to SF OR SV
- Good Schools
- Low Crime / Family friendly
- not a tract home area

And the whopper.... Detached home in the 500k range?

Castro Valley looks pretty durned close.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

So is there any place that has the following:
- Sub 1hr commute to SF OR SV
- Good Schools
- Low Crime / Family friendly
- not a tract home area

And the whopper.... Detached home in the 500k range?

Castro Valley looks pretty durned close.

By this time next year you might have a lot of choices as prices are still falling by the week. I put a house under contract in a good part of Oakland, and it had lost an additional 12.5% in value by the time the deal fell through two months later.