Safe and affordable area for a young couple (San Jose, Sunnyvale: rental, crime)

[besiktas]

Hello,

I am going to start working at Google pretty soon, and am looking for a 2 bd rental property which is in a safe area. I would like to spend no more than $2.000 for rent.We dont have kids, so school rating is not a factor. Would anyone that is familiar with area be able to give me some guidance as to what areas I should be looking at? Thanks in advance.

[Wintermomma]

Hi there, I don't have any BTDT with the immediate "google" area, but this website provides crime history (change the filters around for a longer amount of time):

www.crimereports.com

I found this site invaluable when looking for housing.

[ccm123]

Roughly 2K will get you a nice one bedroom unit in a nice area, close to Google in MV. You will need to increase your budget, or move further away.

[besiktas]

Thanks for the responses.
Yes, I know that I will have to move further away. I don't mind 30 to 45 min commute. With that in mind, would you be able to recommend an area?
Thanks.

[ccm123]

The East Bay will get you more rental, for your money. Castro Valley would be a good place to look.

[ilkhd2]

Campbell (cheap, safe, boring and far from everywhere). Google buses go there.

[Wry_Martini]

Originally Posted by besiktas

Thanks for the responses.
Yes, I know that I will have to move further away. I don't mind 30 to 45 min commute. With that in mind, would you be able to recommend an area?
Thanks.

One thing to keep in mind is that a 30-45 minute commute means something different in this area. It's not a huge physical distance due to pretty insane traffic.

When you're house-hunting, if you think you've found a place you like, I really recommend getting up early, going to the house, and then experiencing the commute to work . . . then the reverse in the evening. You might find out that what you expected to be a 30 minute commute is closer to an hour.

[Azmordean]

Originally Posted by besiktas

Thanks for the responses.
Yes, I know that I will have to move further away. I don't mind 30 to 45 min commute. With that in mind, would you be able to recommend an area?
Thanks.

Yeah in this area, a 30-45min commute at rush hour times is *maybe* 10 miles away, if you are lucky. My own rent in Mountain View is about $2500 for a 2 bedroom. If you can swing that you have some very nearby options.

Nearby Sunnyvale knocks some $$$ off the rent, but not a lot. Maybe 2200 or so for 2br. To truly get under 2000 you may have to head towards South San Jose or Milpitas. And in that case, the commute may sometimes be 30 minutes, but many times may be an hour.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by ilkhd2

Campbell (cheap, safe, boring and far from everywhere). Google buses go there.

I'm not quite sure how Campbell is far from everywhere. It directly borders San Jose and Los Gatos. You make it sound like it's out in the boonies. It's hardly cheap either.

[besiktas]

Originally Posted by Azmordean

Yeah in this area, a 30-45min commute at rush hour times is *maybe* 10 miles away, if you are lucky. My own rent in Mountain View is about $2500 for a 2 bedroom. If you can swing that you have some very nearby options.

Nearby Sunnyvale knocks some $$$ off the rent, but not a lot. Maybe 2200 or so for 2br. To truly get under 2000 you may have to head towards South San Jose or Milpitas. And in that case, the commute may sometimes be 30 minutes, but many times may be an hour.

Azmordean,

For the first year I am ok with 1 hour commute. My priority will be saving money. Is Milpitas a safe area? I know that this is not a yes/no question. However, I am looking for an overall idea for the safeness of the area.
I am using Trulia's crime map and trying to stay away from yellow and red areas. The only problem is I don't know how accurate it is.

Castro Valley looks pretty green in Trulia's crime map for an instance. However, Campbell was more of yellow and red.