Relocating to SJ from Seattle - where should we buy? (Sunnyvale: for sale, real estate market)

[cheryllouise]

My husband has had a great job offer in SJ - bigger salary (around 300k not counting all the extras/shares etc), great job opportunity at senior level and he wants to take it. Except of course they want us to move to SJ and we love Seattle. LOVE it. Full disclosure though, we're from London originally so, yes, the CA weather would be amazing, and we are excited to move, but we can't decide where we'd want to move to.
We currently own a 2300sq ft 4-bed house in a great walkable neighborhood in Seattle, a few minutes by car or bus to DT, which we're thinking of renting out. We have two kids under three so would prefer husband not to have hour-long commute to Mountain View but house prices in the closer quaint walkable neighborhoods are terrifying. We're outdoorsy and like hiking, biking etc. We're long term home owners so renting isn't really an option. We're looking to buy a four-bed house with a back yard and we've been considering Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell, Almaden, Evergreen, spending $1.5-1.7million (this is top top end of budget).
We're having trouble deciding whether living further out (in Almaden/Evergreen) with a potentially bigger house/yard but not walkable to much and longer commute is preferable to smaller house/yard with shorter commute and more neighborhood/downtown feel with shops, restaurants etc.... Good schools are obviously a priority and I'm also worried too about how easy it is to make friends and play dates for the kids, especially if we're a way out in the countryside.
I've only been down there once so I don't know the neighborhoods very well at all - only what I've seen on Redfin. I don't know how to make this decision!
Any and all opinions welcome!
Thanks

[Local123]

I would look into Cambrian in 95124. It neighbors Campbell and has good schools. Also, Willow Glen in 95125 for walk ability. Look at Booksin Elementary in that zip .

Cambrian prices are climbing quickly but you can get 2000sf+ for 1 -1.5 million.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Sounds like you like the lifestyle of being in a walkable area. So, my guess is the location would make you happier than the bigger house.

FWIW.

[gray horse]

I think a 4 bedroom in Los Gatos or Saratoga is going to be tough, if not impossible to find in your price range. Great towns though!

[MediocreButArrogant]

If your husband doesn't want an hour long commute, and has to work normal hours, I'd be very wary of any location that requires your husband to drive for a long distance northbound on 85 or 101 in the morning. That eliminates Evergreen and Almaden for sure. Maybe you need to add Mt View and Sunnyvale into the mix, though they might not be exactly what you're looking for.

If you do wind up somewhere with a long commute, EVs can apply for white stickers that allow single occupants to use the carpool lanes during commute hours. The green stickers that allowed the same for PHEVs (plug-in hybrids like Chevy Volt, plug-in Prius) have been exhausted. There are an unlimited number of white stickers available (currently).

[Wintermomma]

OOh...I dream of moving to Seattle, so my answer is Magnolia or Queen Anne.

[SportyandMisty]

Not quite all your criteria, but when you look, you might want to check out this as an example in Cupertino:

20408 Clay St, Cupertino, CA 95014 is For Sale - Zillow

[cheryllouise]

Thanks - you've given me some useful things to think about. I guess we need to consider resale value too if we ever decide to come back to Seattle. I'll check out those other neighborhoods mentioned. It seems like houses coming on the market are sold within a couple of weeks or even days - is this always the trend due to turnover of people moving in/out of SJ or a more recent thing?

Also just wondering what places like San Carlos, Belmont, Redwood City are like? Houses seem to be a bit cheaper there - is it because they're just not quite as desirable as Los Gatos, Palo Alto etc? They seem to have good schools, small downtown areas, short commute.... Should we take a look at these?
Thanks again - I am so grateful!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by cheryllouise

Thanks - you've given me some useful things to think about. I guess we need to consider resale value too if we ever decide to come back to Seattle. I'll check out those other neighborhoods mentioned. It seems like houses coming on the market are sold within a couple of weeks or even days - is this always the trend due to turnover of people moving in/out of SJ or a more recent thing?

Also just wondering what places like San Carlos, Belmont, Redwood City are like? Houses seem to be a bit cheaper there - is it because they're just not quite as desirable as Los Gatos, Palo Alto etc? They seem to have good schools, small downtown areas, short commute.... Should we take a look at these?
Thanks again - I am so grateful!

I don't know about the other areas you mentioned, so I'll leave that to others.

But, as far as the real estate market - this is a new thing. Major rebound after the housing crisis. First, the rental market went down the tubes as lots of people left the area when the economy tanked. Then, as people lost their homes, the rental market soared because of the demand for housing. Then the economy perked up, and the demand for housing - rentals and then homes - came back like crazy.

Before the real estate crash, prices were through the roof. Then they went WAY down, now they're back to being crazy expensive.

But, the jobs weren't here when the market was low, so there's no way you could have gotten around this market, really. The job offer wouldn't have been there when the prices crashed.

[Wintermomma]

I know people who have lived in and liked Belmont and San Carlos. The ratio of sex offenders to square inches on Redwood City freaked me out: www.crimereports.com but I know people who live there happily as well.