Affordable places like Los Gatos in San Jose?

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by sjnative

WRONG, every house in LG costs 20m. Even the $400k condos cost 20m.

I personally haven't found LG to have a "mellow vibe". LG is expensive because the people who live there are ambitious and aggressive. How does anyone think they afford those houses? Flipping burgers?

If it's areas with concentrations of middle class professional white people the OP is talking about, as that who primarily the demography of LG, then the OP will have to pay to live in such a community as those communities have a higher entry level price.

Sorry. You gotta pay.

Most people in the high-cost areas of the Bay Area couldn't afford the current prices. That's just a fact. Maybe what you say is true of communities built in the last 10 years. Older tracts are mostly populated by people who bought decades ago because they preferred the mellow, dignified vibe of Los Gatos and sought to keep it that way.

[MaryPope-Handy]

The previous comments have to be said tongue-in-cheek since obviously not everyone in LG is aggressive and $400k condos do not cost 20m.

There are people in Los Gatos who were able to purchase higher priced properties due to a wide range of circumstances.

- Some simply saved their money, the old fashioned way, and moved from a starter home nearby to a more expensive one in town. Many of these people made a lot of sacrifices so that they could get their kids into good schools.

- Some put their hearts and souls into a business and were able to move into town as it became successful or when it was sold.

- Others worked hard at a company which gave stock options that later enabled them to have a substantial down payment.

- Some seniors and elderly people move to Los Gatos to retire. We have several options for retirees from renting to buying (independent living to assisted living to nursing). There are senior condos for sale on Alberto Way, very close to downtown if not "in" downtown (the least expensive as of this moment is $375,000). Retirees come for the climate, the vibrant downtown, the free musical concerts in the summer. Many of them are part of the town's extremely active volunteer groups.

Los Gatos is not fully exempt from "aggressive" people, but I have lived in and near to town most of my life and I have not found that trait to be prominent at all. There are legitimate gripes about the town - a lack of parking and public restrooms comes to mind first - but calling its residents aggressive is off the mark.

[leafetarian]

Los Gatos has been expensive for a long time because it is a very peaceful, low crime area, has some of the best schools in bay area and in general a very good place to live. It offers lots of natural scenery - Santa Cruz Mountains, Redwood Forest ( Highway 9) , Lake Vasona park, 20 miles from Santa Cruz etc. And it is pretty close to major job centers - San Jose, Cupertino, Palo Alto, etc. Downtown is very lively.

Not everybody is aggressive. Maybe some are financially aggressive in the sense of trying to be financially successful (typical Silicon Valley professionals that you may find in Palo Alto, etc.). But, there are lot of very friendly long term residents with mellow lifestyle (who cannot buy at current prices but were able to afford a house 30-40 years ago and never left because they liked the town).