got a job and moving to san jose wheeee, but.. (Fremont: sale, renting)

[durf]

I also recommend Santana Row, but be on your best behavior since it's private property. If you get out of line, the security team will kick you out and ban you for life; therefore, you would have to vacate your place. If you don't want to deal with that, just move downtown or Willow Glen. San Jose is a great city, even better than New York!

[vesperbelle]

Originally Posted by travelsrus

thanks very much for your reply and the great and very useful info you've given ) we cant wait to sightsee. ive got a 3 day workweek my first week since it's orientation so we're definitely going to be using the days off our advantage because it's go go go after that at work. and yes we are from out of state---tx, to be specific. we spent our anniversary in san francisco last year and we really enjoyed it---there's just so many things to do ) thanks again for your reply.

You're totally welcome! It's exciting to move to a new area and you're lucky because you're going to a place where there's plenty to do and explore. For your 3 day work week... if the weather is nice, you should check out Santa Cruz and Capitola. Capitola is a cute little beach town. Also see San Francisco and Sausalito.

Also, if you want PM me...I'll be your first new friend in San Jose! take care.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by travelsrus

my husband and i have decided that he's going to stay home and care for our 19-month old--that way it'll give me allowance to work extra days at the hosp. in case our budget is tight. also it'll allow us all free time together where we wont have to coordinate our days off.

we've got an apt waiting for us in the almaden valley neighborhood. is that a good area? thanks for your reply.

Almaden Valley is a nice area, and the schools in that neighborhood are also great (though you're a long way from needing them now). Have you scoped out the commute to your workplace? If you work at Good Samaritan, it's not too far away.

[sonarrat]

Things do seem to be picking up. I had four job interviews last week (I had to turn another one down because of scheduling!) and another one yesterday.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by vesperbelle

Just stay away from the Burbank area...

Hey!

Burbank happens to be one of the little-known best values in SJ for homebuyers. Many houses/properties being fixed up nicely around here.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Hey!

Burbank happens to be one of the little-known best values in SJ for homebuyers. Many houses/properties being fixed up nicely around here.

While I agree with you, it's not that great for families. An area can be a great value for some people and a terrible one for others. Naglee Park for example. If you want to live in an upscale area in the middle of downtown and don't mind private school, there are few better places. If you wanted to go the public school route, it would just seem grossly overpriced.

[vesperbelle]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

Hey!

Burbank happens to be one of the little-known best values in SJ for homebuyers. Many houses/properties being fixed up nicely around here.

Yes, there are some lovely homes being built there, I agree with you. I was thinking more of the school district and how it might not be the best compared to other parts of San Jose.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by travelsrus

my husband and i have decided that he's going to stay home and care for our 19-month old--that way it'll give me allowance to work extra days at the hosp. in case our budget is tight. also it'll allow us all free time together where we wont have to coordinate our days off.

we've got an apt waiting for us in the almaden valley neighborhood. is that a good area? thanks for your reply.

Almaden Valley is a very nice neigborhood. Very safe, upper middle class area, with good schools.

Just a few things to consider, though...You may never be able to buy a home here, especially only on one salary. It generally takes 2 professional level salaries to be able to afford home ownership here without being "house poor". And I'm talking home ownership in neigborhoods that won't be as nice as Almaden Valley.

The other thing not mentioned....BIG cuts in public services are on the way come July, and this will be true even in a "best case" scenario. The City of San Jose is considering laying off as many as 350 police officers ...and as many as 200 even if the police officers take a 10% pay cut to their total compensation package. The mayor has publicly talked about reducing library hours to 3 days per week. I don't know about the school districts as much, but I'm almost positive it will be a similar story, as some school districts had layoffs last year and the state's budget picture isn't any better for this year. Lest you think the City has a bloated payroll, think again. San Jose typically has one of the lowest ratios of city employees to residents.

I work for the City of San Jose and even if the cuts aren't quite as bad as they say, they will still be large and unprecedented. They laid off firefighters as well as other city employees last year, so we know they're not bluffing.

I suspect tax increases are also on the way, although the extra revenue they generate won't come close to fully restoring public services to where they were before the recession started.

[80skeys]

so silicon valley is a great place to live. i don't see the economy as any worse here than the rest of the country.

it just depends on how much you will get paid and whether you will be able to afford the type of place you want. anything with housing, apartments, and real estate is very expensive here.

you'll have to determine your housing budget, and whether this will allow you to live in the type of place and type of neighborhood you want.

For example, in Sunnyvale, $1500/month will get you a decent, older 900 sq ft apartment in a decent neighborhood. The same price holds true for most of the rest of the Valley.

[mixxalot]

Hi all,

I am thinking of buying a place since prices have dropped a lot in past few years and the new job provides me with a bonus for the down payment. What are your thoughts on Milpitas area? Is it a bad commute to Santa Clara? How is the safety and social cultural scene? I am staying in a corporate housing in Milpitas right now and they do have excellent Chinese restaurants! Would I be better off with buying a townhome in Santa Clara or Sunnyvale? One problem that I notice here is that tons of homes for sale are in FLOOD plane which is bad news bears from what I hear about how expensive and difficult it is to get sufficient flood insurance coverage.