Thinking of relocating to Tracy (San Jose, Santa Clara: apartment, for rent, car insurance)

[Gridgirl31]

My husband got a promotion to Santa Clara. We won't be able to afford the rent there so we were thinking of moving to Tracy instead. This will prob be more of a temporary, a couple of years, position. Currently we own a home in sacramento that we will be renting out but we don't want to commute all the way from sac. So, would tracy be a good fit for us? We have a two year old so how are the schools? Although she won't be in school yet... Hope I'm posting in the right spot! Thanks!

[never-more]

Originally Posted by Gridgirl31

My husband got a promotion to Santa Clara. We won't be able to afford the rent there so we were thinking of moving to Tracy instead. This will prob be more of a temporary, a couple of years, position. Currently we own a home in sacramento that we will be renting out but we don't want to commute all the way from sac. So, would tracy be a good fit for us? We have a two year old so how are the schools? Although she won't be in school yet... Hope I'm posting in the right spot! Thanks!

Where in Santa Clara? If it's located near an ACE train station, he can take ACE to ease the commute burden. Nonetheless, point remains is that you need to be closer. And if your husband's work is not next to ACE, I suggest you try Milpitas. By the way, do you work at all?

[StandingRoomOnly]

What is your rent budget? Why Tracy? I wouldn't wish that commute on anyone. You have only one child, so you should be very flexible on space. There are always ways of finding something within budget even close to work; you just have to know where to look.

[Malloric]

Tracy San Jose rush hour basically is from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. It's an hour without traffic, hour and a on a good day with traffic. San Jose has some areas that aren't that expensive. Since it's a temporary move, the schools (they suck) don't matter anyway. Beats spending 3-4 hours a day commuting.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by Malloric

Tracy San Jose rush hour basically is from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. It's an hour without traffic, hour and a on a good day with traffic. San Jose has some areas that aren't that expensive. Since it's a temporary move, the schools (they suck) don't matter anyway. Beats spending 3-4 hours a day commuting.

This. And not only that, I think there are a lot of hidden costs with commuting that people don't factor in. Not just $4 per gallon gas. But also the fact that your car is going to wear out and will need to be replaced sooner (as well as require more maintenance). Also, long commutes are linked with poor health....not to mention increased risk of being in an accident.

Long commute time linked with poor health, new study shows

...those who commuted by car 10 miles or more each way were more likely to have high blood pressure than people who drove shorter distances. And those who traveled 15 or more miles each way were more likely to have bigger waistlines and less likely to be physically active, according to Hoehner's study.

If the ACE train is convenient it might be worth it, but even then, that commute is a major time suck.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Malloric

Tracy San Jose rush hour basically is from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and then from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. It's an hour without traffic, hour and a on a good day with traffic. San Jose has some areas that aren't that expensive. Since it's a temporary move, the schools (they suck) don't matter anyway. Beats spending 3-4 hours a day commuting.

Add in the cost of commuting to your rent budget, and you can probably afford to rent in Santa Clara. There are no horrible neighborhoods in SC, really. It's a bit cheaper over by the Lawrence Expressway than over here where I am by Santa Clara University.

What are you looking for? A 2 bedroom? Do you need a place that allows pets?

Just FYI, here's a Craigslist search for 2 bedrooms in Santa Clara that allows dogs and cats:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

And here's Tracy:

stockton apts/housing for rent classifieds "tracy" - craigslist

So, it looks like around $1550 for Tracy, and $2050 for Santa Clara. Difference being $500.

Now figure gas for commuting at 108 miles per day divided by 30mpg at $3.75/gallon = $13.50/day + wear and tear on the car. So, at 20 work days per month = $270/month in just gas. And your car insurance will probably be higher with that kind of a commute.

Then, consider that utilities will likely be more expensive in Tracy, as well, as temperatures are more extreme there.

Even if you only figure what you'd save in gas, you will only save $230 living in Tracy vs. Santa Clara.

This is obviously simple math, not taking everything into account, but it doesn't look worth it to me.

[GioLM]

The Valley to Silicon Valley commute always proves itself a nightmare and not worth it for those who do it. I know many family friends who got priced out of SV and then thought living and commuting from Tracy would be a good idea and almost ALL of them ended up finding there way back to the Bay in some way or another by sacrificing certain creature comforts and changing lifestyle, which proved better than staying in Tracy with a bigger house, and a two car garage. For those that did stay in the central valley, the will continually exprrss how it was a terrible decision and exhaust you by how much they talk about wishing they weren't in their Tracy/Patterson/Gustine/etc hell.

[ccm123]

My cousin commuted from Tracy to Milpitas for a year and the commute burned him out very badly. He ended up selling the "bargain" house he bought in Tracy and rented an apartment in San Jose.

It's a commute I would never recommend to anyone.