Relocating for work in Menlo Park - need advice on where to live (San Jose: to rent, safe neighborhood)

[gettingoutofpa]

Hi,

We are considering relocating to the SF area; my husband will be working in Menlo Park.

I have looked over numerous posts about relocating but I'm not always clear how they relate to our situation so I decided to post.

As a family with pets we're in need of certain things which I'll list below. I welcome any and all advice on good neighborhoods to look into.

- We are open to either renting or owning but need a minimum of 3 BR (price range of either would be helpful to give us a sense of what we're looking at)
- Need to be able to keep dog/cat
- Need a safe neighborhood with good schools or access to decent private schools
- My husband would like to commute to Menlo by public transportation if possible (if not, are there better/worse ways in?)
- We actually live in a city neighborhood now but we're open to a more suburban neighborhood/community
- I'd prefer an area that isn't on the hot side; fog not a problem
- An area with better air quality is a key priority because of asthma
- We'd like to be a reasonable commute to a Children's hospital or at least a good satellite of the hospital given chronic health problems

So, it's a huge list I know. But any advice on different aspects will at least help me narrow down to a more manageable list of places to explore online.

Thanks again for any and all help!

[humboldtrat]

San Carlos, Redwood City, Menlo Park, Mountain View would all be good. All are mostly safe middle class suburban towns and the commute to Menlo Park would be anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on where you lived in the area. Schools are generally good in all of these towns. (Palo Alto is an expensive place to live, but would be OK too if you want to spend the money). Caltrain commuter train runs between SF and San Jose and serves all these towns caltrain.com. There is a children's hospital at Stanford.

[sonarrat]

On the peninsula, you'll be hard pressed to rent a 3 bedroom in a good area for less than $2500. SF proper, even more.

[gettingoutofpa]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

San Carlos, Redwood City, Menlo Park, Mountain View would all be good. All are mostly safe middle class suburban towns and the commute to Menlo Park would be anywhere from 10 minutes to 30 minutes depending on where you lived in the area. Schools are generally good in all of these towns. (Palo Alto is an expensive place to live, but would be OK too if you want to spend the money). Caltrain commuter train runs between SF and San Jose and serves all these towns caltrain.com. There is a children's hospital at Stanford.

Thank you - this is very helpful. Went to Craigslist and looked around using some of these areas - plus my map. Came across Morgan Hill - is that a decent area? Housing doesn't seem completely unreasonable which may be a red flag. Good to know about Stanford's Children's hospital - thank you!

[zitsky]

The air quality of Silicon Valley might be a concern. The area surrounded on three sides by hills, so a lot of the smog/pollution gets trapped. This isn't true all the time but it can be a problem. I'm sure there are plenty of people who deal with it and/or get used to it.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by gettingoutofpa

Thank you - this is very helpful. Went to Craigslist and looked around using some of these areas - plus my map. Came across Morgan Hill - is that a decent area? Housing doesn't seem completely unreasonable which may be a red flag. Good to know about Stanford's Children's hospital - thank you!

I grew up in Morgan Hill. It's a cute, pastoral town which has seen a lot of hideous new housing and retail spring up in the past few years. The commute to Menlo Park would be intolerable though.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by zitsky

The air quality of Silicon Valley might be a concern. The area surrounded on three sides by hills, so a lot of the smog/pollution gets trapped. This isn't true all the time but it can be a problem. I'm sure there are plenty of people who deal with it and/or get used to it.

The air quality around San Jose can sometimes be bad during the summer with warm weather, but less so on the mid-peninsula. There's usually a breeze blowing in from the Pacific keeping things OK. I agree that the commute from Morgan Hill would be awful.

[gettingoutofpa]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

The air quality around San Jose can sometimes be bad during the summer with warm weather, but less so on the mid-peninsula. There's usually a breeze blowing in from the Pacific keeping things OK. I agree that the commute from Morgan Hill would be awful.

Okay - thank you for the heads up on Morgan Hill. Terrible commute is out.

When you say mid-peninsula, can you give me a sense of a few areas to consider (my total ignorance of the area is showing)?

Thanks again!

[gettingoutofpa]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

I grew up in Morgan Hill. It's a cute, pastoral town which has seen a lot of hideous new housing and retail spring up in the past few years. The commute to Menlo Park would be intolerable though.

Thanks for that heads up. Off the list. However, are there other communities somewhat like it that I haven't run across? I like the idea of at least a real neighborhood and access to green space is ideal. I currently leave close to three large parks including two dog parks which is wonderful.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by gettingoutofpa

Thanks for that heads up. Off the list. However, are there other communities somewhat like it that I haven't run across? I like the idea of at least a real neighborhood and access to green space is ideal. I currently leave close to three large parks including two dog parks which is wonderful.

No, unfortunately there's nothing like Morgan Hill close to Menlo Park. Woodside has the pastoral feel and open space, but it's on another planet as far as housing values, as is the whole 280 corridor going through the hills towards San Mateo.