Married couple looking to move from MD to SJ Area

[easybay]

Rosegarden is nice, but the schools in the area are not great. I suppose with the money you save living there vs. Palo Alto, you can afford to send your kids to Bellarmine.

OP is married and said no intention of kids. We are empty nesters, so no need to pocket money to send our kids to Bellarmine.

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by jaijai

However / on second thought .... 5K for a town-home or condo in Los Gatos in a good neighborhood?
No?

You're not getting the GARAGE of a nice townhouse in Los Gatos for $500,000!

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by easybay

OP is married and said no intention of kids. We are empty nesters, so no need to pocket money to send our kids to Bellarmine.

Good call...different boat than us. In that case, Rosegarden is perfect.

[easybay]

Rosegarden is perfect.

Great for resale too - Unless properties are priced too high - they are selling really quick.

[StandingRoomOnly]

As someone who lives in Morgan Hill, I can vouch it is a great place to live. The air is clearer/cleaner than San Jose, less crime, nicer neighborhoods, not many restaurants but of what we do have there are many great restaurants, and easy commute into San Jose. Houses seem more spread out overall...and you get farmland in between the housing developments which allows for a less claustrophobic feeling you get wen in many other parts of the south bay.

But even with that said, I would mostly consider Morgan Hill a town of young families and empty nesters. If it were just going to be my husband and I and no kids I would probably steer closer to Mountain View and Palo Alto (closer into the Peninsula). Unfortunately, you probably won't find anything in Mountain View and Palo Alto for 500k...you 're budget would need to be more like 800k+ for what you are looking for around these areas.

Looking at rent vs. buying right now... I'd argue you are better off buying if you have the 20% down+. Interest rates are super low and rents for the same house/units are higher in many areas than mortgage payment for the same house/unit (at least it is that way in Morgan Hill right now). Although, may be good just to rent now to see what areas you like--usually takes some time in a place to figure that out. Would be better than jumping in to buy in an area you aren't really familiar with.

[echo7tango]

I strongly suggest renting at first. Your wife will need to "live with the commute" for a while. Some commutes here can be pretty bad. Renting gives you a lot of flexibility at first, without the bigger purchase commitment.

The peninsula cities have a lot of charm (Burlingame, San Carlos, Belmont, San Mateo), and their rolling hills and greenery might be closer to what you're used to back east.

[80skeys]

Originally Posted by MotionBlur

My question is, for a married IT couple with no plans for kids with a budget of around $500k what is the best combination of house/commute?

Thanks!

There are nice townhouses and condos in Sunnyvale selling for that.

i've driven through Morgan Hill a couple times and thought it was nice. I recommended my parents look into it since they are considering moving to California.
It's a bit far from the Bay Area for my personal taste. I like having closer access to Oakland, SF, the Peninsuala

[Freezer41]

Morgan Hill or South San Jose

[Doctor Blues]

Originally Posted by jaijai

I assume that you meant commute to San Jose?
I always recommend Los Gatos.
It's right on the other (eastern) side of the Santa Cruz mountains.
It's upscale and pricey but it sounds like you'll be able to afford it.
The downtown is a good one.
It's close to San Jose and it's only about 1/2 hours to the coast, ie; Santa Cruz county (when not during the p.m. commuter times).

Los Gatos, CA

LOL Los Gatos at 500k? maybe in 1985. My house in Campbell (two steps lower in status) is 700k.