Relo to San Jose from New Jersey (Fremont, Sunnyvale: rental, houses)

[meameame12]

Hello all,

We have been looking here, in San Jose area, for the past 2 days. Here is what I've observed:

(a) Sunnyvale (staying at a hotel here) -- area is AMAZINGLY NICE but ... in our price range (not to exceed around $1 mil) houses are quite dated, a tad tiny, and exceeding our budget. Plus schools are mediocre at best, accd to quite a few locals. Plus...$1.75 for a can of diet coke?

(b) Santa Clara -- this area looks and really feels overly congested. There are many, many more cars than houses on any given road--as in like 10x---TOO MANY RENTALS! Plus houses are again quite dated, and again, small. We do have 4 cars....

(c) Evergreen Section of San Jose -- the "nice" area is out of reach--homes are $1 mil, plus. The "older" section has homes about the equivalent size of shoeboxes.

(d) Fremont -- So this was FREEZING for the past 2 days--I know many areas are cold due to rain + wind, but our agent informed us that Fremont is generally colder by about 5 degress than southern parts of San Jose. And regarding Fremont--some parts are, how to put this gently, well...not what we are seeking. We went to Ardenwood--potentially a good area, right?--and we see a mobile home community for 55+ near the house we saw on Falcon Drive. That was supposed to be a desirable area! Plus the location...the commute...WAY up on the north part. So we head to the Southern Parts of Fremont...where the waterpark is and the new model homes which are about 1700 sq feet, but 3 levels?

(e) Mission San Jose -- the best area is INSANELY EXPENSIVE--but it is by FAR the best area we have seen. Nothing is even remotely close (I am referring to the homes in the hills--around $1.8 mil or 2.3 mil). We can dream...and this maybe one day will be the area for us. But we know what we want at least.


CONCLUSION: Here is the SAD thing: we saw about 30+ homes. Didn't care really for a single one. And...most if not ALL were SOLD within 3 hours or so after we saw them. Therefore...either they know something we do not about those homes or they just snap stuff up just due to low inventory.

So we are going back today, around 1 pm, and we have dramatically lowered our standards....dramatically.

So NOW our criteria for purchasing preference has been modified:


a) Find the area which has the best schools and try to find something acceptable; otherwise select (b)
b) Find the best area overall and find something acceptable (larger than a shoebox will suffice)
c) Sell in a few years and move up

[teoreticar]

I think You should check Pleasanton, CA

Something like this
2434 SANDERLING Dr, Pleasanton, CA 94566 | MLS# 40654723 | Redfin
http://www.redfin.com/CA/Pleasanton/...6/home/1202245

and schools are much better.

[ccm123]

Commuting from the northern side of Fremont during traffic hours to North San Jose is easily an hour each way. The traffic pattern is north to south in the morning and vice versa in the afternoon. 237 and 880 is jam packed during those hours.

Pleasanton is a great area, but your commute to North San Jose on a daily basis will get old very quick (40 minutes or so with no traffic, but easily 90 minutes in the afternoon, with traffic). I did this commute 2-3 times a week, for years (worked in the field the other days) and it got old quick.

My brother in law moved from New Jersey to California a few years ago and had to adjust his expectations about housing also. He loves the weather and culture here in California and was willing to make the tradeoff.

[teoreticar]

ccm123 exactly. But kids/school and wants to live in nicer house Pleasanton looks like the only solution.

I would choose to live in San Jose but I don't have kids yet

[silverkris]

I think you're going to have to scale down your expectations in terms of square footage, it seems with regards to the housing budget. But consider this - the weather is pretty balmy/mild here so being outdoors more can compensate a bit for somewhat smaller area.

IMO the tradeoff for a larger house with a longer commute is very costly in terms of family life/stress. The commute from Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon towards SJ is not fun and you will be tired of it real quick.

Where is your office location? Kids's ages in schools? Any particular amenities needed?

[SiliconWriter]

Live as close to your work as possible, in the best school district possible, in the best house you can afford. If Sunnyvale is close to where you work, you can't go wrong. You will find lots of folks "downgrading" their expectations for a house, and they find it works out because we spend so much time outside. People here work very hard for their jobs, families, and communities. I am sure you will find a great neighborhood. You may DM me if you have questions about Sunnyvale schools, neighborhoods, business locations, or transportation. There is a lot of great info here probably answering most of your questions, but I know it helps to ask a lot of questions before narrowing down your choices.

[meameame12]

Originally Posted by silverkris

I think you're going to have to scale down your expectations in terms of square footage, it seems with regards to the housing budget. But consider this - the weather is pretty balmy/mild here so being outdoors more can compensate a bit for somewhat smaller area.

IMO the tradeoff for a larger house with a longer commute is very costly in terms of family life/stress. The commute from Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon towards SJ is not fun and you will be tired of it real quick.

Where is your office location? Kids's ages in schools? Any particular amenities needed?

Hi, my office will be on West Tasman Drive, northern side of San Jose. No amenities really needed. I'd love to have a local park to take our kids....

Kids ages are 9,7,4, and 2.

In NJ, I am the nanny for the 4 and 2 yr old.

Today...I made an offer on a house in Evergreen--but the owner refused me b/c he wants to close in 30 days, and I want to close in 2 months...that house was great....2500 sq feet, pretty huge, 4 bedroom, etc.

[meameame12]

Originally Posted by teoreticar

I think You should check Pleasanton, CA

Something like this
2434 SANDERLING Dr, Pleasanton, CA 94566 | MLS# 40654723 | Redfin
3042 CAMINO DEL CINO, Pleasanton, CA 94566 | MLS# 81413163 | Redfin

and schools are much better.

Thanks, but not going to take that commute...maybe I can "wing" it for a week or 2...but not forever....

[meameame12]

Originally Posted by SiliconWriter

Live as close to your work as possible, in the best school district possible, in the best house you can afford. If Sunnyvale is close to where you work, you can't go wrong. You will find lots of folks "downgrading" their expectations for a house, and they find it works out because we spend so much time outside. People here work very hard for their jobs, families, and communities. I am sure you will find a great neighborhood. You may DM me if you have questions about Sunnyvale schools, neighborhoods, business locations, or transportation. There is a lot of great info here probably answering most of your questions, but I know it helps to ask a lot of questions before narrowing down your choices.

Thank you, I will reach out. But not sure about Sunnyvale just yet--but will consider if a house will fit.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by meameame12

Hi, my office will be on West Tasman Drive, northern side of San Jose. No amenities really needed. I'd love to have a local park to take our kids....

Kids ages are 9,7,4, and 2.

In NJ, I am the nanny for the 4 and 2 yr old.

Today...I made an offer on a house in Evergreen--but the owner refused me b/c he wants to close in 30 days, and I want to close in 2 months...that house was great....2500 sq feet, pretty huge, 4 bedroom, etc.

I would not recommend Evergreen. It will be a 45 minutes to 1 hour commute for you to NSJ. The wait to get on 101 alone will be 20 minutes or more