Opinions about living in or around Sunnyvale (San Jose, San Francisco: real estate, apartment)

[80skeys]

Hi,

I'm considering a relocation to the Sunnyvale area and wanted to get some feedback of the pros and cons of living in that area? The usual stuff: quality of living, safety, dos and dont's, etc.

Thanks,

80skeys
Colorado

[zitsky]

Can you tell us how soon you plan to relocate and where your job will be? You do plan to have a job before you move, right?

The area around Sunnyvale is somewhat homogeneous. The city has been renovating the downtown area, and there are plenty of things to do. I think Mountain View is more interesting in terms of good city government, better downtown, but really, it's hard to tell the difference between those two cities. Real estate prices are about the same. You'll get more information from the Search feature than just the basic things I've mentioned.

[mysticaltyger]

^^^What zitsky said. I also like MV better. As far as I know prices are a bit higher there than in S'vale, but I won't swear by that. S'vale is safe and pleasant enough but IMO, it has the least character/charm of all the Silicon Valley cities/towns. And the Silicon Valley area is already low on the charm factor in terms of the aesthetics & quality of the housing stock.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by zitsky

Can you tell us how soon you plan to relocate and where your job will be?

The job's in Sunnyvale, I'm not sure which part of town. My wife would be looking for a job. She may have to look in other cities as well including San Francisco so we might have to live somewhere in between. I was told Mountain View would be a good place to live.

[zitsky]

Mountain View is a good place to live. If your wife really has to work in SF, it's possible to commute by train as well as drive.

Keep in mind that jobs are tough to find here. Your wife might come here with you and find a job right away or it could take a year or more. Could you both live on just your salary for 6-12 months if she couldn't find a job?

[80skeys]

Well, we're already looking at selling off most of our stuff in order to rent a one- or two-bedroom apartment . Assuming we do this, we could live on my salary alone if we have to.

She's a bookkeeper ... are you saying that it's tough even for a bookkeeper to find a job? Normally there's a good demand for them.

[80skeys]

Okay, assuming we end up in or around Sunnyvale, I'm going to need to know about some local fishing spots. Let's start with lakes! Where are some cool lakes and what kind of fish shall I expect to encounter? :-)

[calisnuffy]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

Okay, assuming we end up in or around Sunnyvale, I'm going to need to know about some local fishing spots. Let's start with lakes! Where are some cool lakes and what kind of fish shall I expect to encounter? :-)

Fishing in scarce in the bay area unfortunately . I fish the sierras but you can fish in san jose, and the east bay(lake chabot)

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

Well, we're already looking at selling off most of our stuff in order to rent a one- or two-bedroom apartment . Assuming we do this, we could live on my salary alone if we have to.

She's a bookkeeper ... are you saying that it's tough even for a bookkeeper to find a job? Normally there's a good demand for them.

I don't know how accounting jobs are doing. Is she a CPA or does she plan to get one when she gets to California? That would make a big difference.

As far as fishing, I know a lot of folks do ocean fishing on the beaches and piers around here. I'm sure you could find other places.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by zitsky

Can you tell us how soon you plan to relocate and where your job will be? You do plan to have a job before you move, right?

The area around Sunnyvale is somewhat homogeneous. The city has been renovating the downtown area, and there are plenty of things to do. I think Mountain View is more interesting in terms of good city government, better downtown, but really, it's hard to tell the difference between those two cities. Real estate prices are about the same. You'll get more information from the Search feature than just the basic things I've mentioned.

Used to live in Sunnyvale. Pretty good public services. Location convenient for commuting to Mt View/Palo Alto in the north, San Jose/Cupertino to the south and the east. Plenty of good access to shopping and businesses on El Camino Real. Basically El Camino Real (State Route 82) bisects the city; generally, north of El Camino (zip code 94086) is less expensive in terms of housing than south of El Camino (Zip code 94087).

Mt. View is a bit more pricier than Sunnyvale, and it has a more livelier downtown; Sunnyvale infamously leveled its downtown some 40 years ago for a shopping mall that failed, and the vestiges of its downtown is pretty much limited to a one-block section of Murphy Avenue.