Santa Clara/Sunnyvale Area (San Jose, San Francisco: real estate, foreclosures, rentals)

[mcj79]

My wife may have a job opportunity in the Sunnyvale or Santa Clara areas. We current live in the Long Beach area so we understand the California housing prices. We are interested in finding lesbian & family friendly neighborhoods up that way that would not leave with a long & stressful commute. But being in a nice and friendly area is very important to us. We would ideally be looking for something with restaurants and something’s to walk to nearby. But we also would like a little more room, a yard for our doggies to enjoy and room for out door living. We would love to find 2/3 bed, 2 bath, living & game room. We would like to find place ideally in $400,000’s (of course lower would be great, but under $500,000 for sure.) We understand we might not be right next to everything with out wish list so space but would love to be near public transportation and other entertainment.
We have been looking at housing on line but have now idea of the neighborhoods. So please what are some nice lesbian friendly areas, in the Santa Clara area or reasonable commute. With lots of stuff to do close by, room for dogs under $500,000.

[gooski]

That price point of under $500K will be difficult near Santa Clara/Sunnyvale since you'll need a decent backyard for your dogs. You could get a decent townhouse for that price but no real yard which would be a problem.

How far of a commute is acceptable? How long (miles and time) would you be willing to commute?

[mcj79]

My wife would hope for 30 minutes or less but it could be expanded for the right place area or if was a easy drive... more would also be okay if it was all or partly by train or something but I'm not sure if there is much public transportation up there.... Any ideas????

[humboldtrat]

You will have to live a lot more than 30 minutes away to find a house with a yard for $500K or less (unless it's a dump). You can check out Morgan Hill or Gilroy to the south - maybe Fremont on the other side of the bay. You won't really be near places "close by with stuff to do".

A decent, small, post World War II tract home can run about $600K to $750K in the Santa Clara/Sunnyvale area.

As for public transit in Santa Clara county, there is Caltrain which runs between San Francisco and San Jose caltrain.com - General Info: System Map. There is also VTA light rail in Santa Clara county which runs between Mountain View to Campbell and other places Rider's Links - Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. And there is also VTA bus service throughout the county.

[mcj79]

I have found a number of homes in the San Jose areas that are under $500,000 or close and a few in the cities around. What areas of San Jose & surrounding are nice? We would also be interested in a row house/town house if it had a little private out door area... and was 3 levels. Any Ideas on that???

[humboldtrat]

If you're finding homes for $500K, they're probably in bad neighborhoods or foreclosures. Avoid east San Jose which is run down and has crime. There are other neighborhoods near the freeways I would also avoid.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by mcj79

I have found a number of homes in the San Jose areas that are under $500,000 or close and a few in the cities around. What areas of San Jose & surrounding are nice? We would also be interested in a row house/town house if it had a little private out door area... and was 3 levels. Any Ideas on that???

I'll tell you what areas are less desirable.. Alum Rock Ave. corridor, King St. corridor until you hit Berryessa on the north side, Blossom Valley around Snell & Blossom Hill, Seven Trees, south SJ near Tully & McLaughlin, and the area just southwest of the 280/87 junction. And even within those there are pockets where you could live quite well.

[staplegunsarefun]

If you are looking for something dog friendly and under 500k, you might try Los Gatos Mtns. Something like this gives you about 1/2 hour commute: 24250 GLENWOOD Dr, Los Gatos Mtns SCZ, CA 95033 | $499,000 | Los Gatos Mountains Real Estate | 80831052

Unfortunately, its a little more secluded, so walking to restaurants might be a bit of a problem. And finding "stuff" to do, probably depends on what you like. There are all sorts of great hiking trails / parks around. But if you want, nightlife/clubs it might not be the best choice.

[mcj79]

Thanks for the ideas we are still checking out the areas... We are know looking single family 2/3 bed, 2 bath, game room & off st., homes & town homes (as long as they have at small yard &patio area) up to $700,000. We would still like to stay within about a 30-40 minute drive of Santa Clara/ San Jose area. We would like to go closer towards SF. As I've been told it is a bit more open community and closer to stuff to do. Such as sporting events, arts, dinning/movies and the water. Any ideas now that we've expanded our price range???
Oh, in the short term what are the rentals like in the areas we need some place that will let us have large dogs.
Thanks

[staplegunsarefun]

we need some place that will let us have large dogs.

I hate to sound negative, but finding a place that will allow large dogs (plural?) will be really hard. I have two dogs (German Shepherd, 55lbs and Catahoulas 80 lbs). Finding a rental is a nightmare. Many places allow pets but have size/weight/breed/number restrictions. I've found having documentation that your dogs are not problematic helps (i.e. CGC paperwork, statements from pervious landlords), but even then you will end up paying a premium price for a sketchy place if you want multiple large dogs. You can get a good idea about what is available and what the price range is by looking at craigslist.