Need advice on housing and schools between Palo Alto and San Jose (Sunnyvale: best neighborhoods, house)

[agumom]

Thank you all for your advice and information! This is my first post on the forum and I am very impressed by how friendly everyone is. Thanks again! Yes, we will mostly likely rent in either PA or Sunnyvale first and see how schools and commuting work out for us. San Jose is probably too gruesome of a commute for my husband so we will not consider it for now, but thanks anyway!

For schools, Harker school is very well known even outside of CA both for its IVY acceptance rate and high tuition fee, but it does exceed our budget. Will most likely check out Challenger and Stratford (but these only go up to Middle School right?) Has anyone heard of King's Academy (6-12)in Sunnyvale? We are Christians and their curriculum and college admission rates seem pretty impressive given the lower tuition, but public HS like Gunn seems to outperform it. So the dilemma of PA (condo)+ public school v. Sunnyvale (SFH) + private school remains....

Feeling apprehensive about the cost of living and tuition, even with the prospect of being around all these future friendly neighbors

[Wintermomma]

Originally Posted by Local123

I live in a great area of San Jose and have no fears about my safety or the safety of my children. I'm not sure what wintermommas deal is but as a native of SJ I have no idea what she is talking about. The families that I know that live here are quite happy and secure in their communities. SJ is expensive for a reason. It's also incredibly safe for a "big city."

It's graffiti. Graffiti, Graffiti, Graffiti! And I don't mean the bored kid variety. It reappears almost as soon as it is gone (note - the graffiti removal app and people are fast. Bravo!). I think it's indicative of more than just unsightliness. Not just for the criminals behind it, but the fact that they have time, undetected to do a huge amount while hanging from a bridge overnight! That is my deal. Well, and the whole 'throwing your yard waste into the street' thing. Oh, and the be careful which part of SJ you go to after dark in which color car. I realize SJ is far from the only city with that problem, but I would like to be able to take advantage of the things they are trying to do downtown (summer evening music? yes please!) but I don't want my kids caught in crossfire so we get back into our cars and drive to the other cities for things like this. If you move here from a bigger city with higher crime, this will feel like an awesome place to you. If you move here from a smaller city with lower crime and better services, you may be uncomfortable with some aspects and the sticker price that goes along with it.

Yes, there are many wonderful neighborhoods...I feel like I live in a very nice one as well yet we have to keep vigilant watch b/c the criminals are trolling here, too. Do I feel my kids can ride around the block safely? Yes. Am I going to let them going a mile or two to the nearest (whatever) on their bikes or even their friends' house which isn't far, alone? Nope! I am used to places with far less graffiti, and presumably, gang influence just a few miles from my home. SJ is one the least expensive of the "peninsula" cities for a reason, I think it's "expensive" just b/c it's in the SV, not that most people choose it over other cities (save a few "desirable" neighborhoods and schools).

Am I saying "Don't move here!" No, I am saying be careful of your choices, do your crime and school research and if someone could have a better commute and afford one of the more northern and smaller cities, that is what I would do.

[butercup]

I know three families with kids at King's Academy and they LOVE it. All of them were transfers from other well-regarded public and private schools, and they are all happy with their decision. Have only heard good things about it, haven't heard any negative feedback. It is definitely Christian, too much so for us to consider for our kids since we'd have to fake it, but I'd certainly look into it for your family.

[Local123]

All big cities have grafitti. And I can walk to Campbell or Los gatos from my house in San Jose easily within 10 min. (less than 5 min. Drive) so presumably those cities are having to deal with "all the graffiti" etc. it's not like they never leave their city limits..there's not a fence dividing LG and SJ..they are a street apart. I think the dramatics about crime here is way over the top. I will say my friends house in LG got broken into a few months ago and the LG police took a report and that was it. No follow up. And they used a crow bar to get in her house and got away with quite a few valuables. Palo Alto has break and mail theft regularly. Unless you live in a bubble you are screwed. Plus many attractive big cities all over the world have graffiti...doesn't make them less desirable to people.

[agumom]

Originally Posted by butercup

I know three families with kids at King's Academy and they LOVE it. All of them were transfers from other well-regarded public and private schools, and they are all happy with their decision. Have only heard good things about it, haven't heard any negative feedback. It is definitely Christian, too much so for us to consider for our kids since we'd have to fake it, but I'd certainly look into it for your family.

Thank you Butercup! That's quite helpful! I will certainly look into this school. The school location seems perfect too, very close to hwy 101. Thx again!

[sunnyvale teacher]

Both of my daughters graduated from The King's Academy. It is an amazing school. It is unusual in that the culture of the school is special and different from public schools and other Christian schools. The teachers are highly qualified and really love teaching--but it is the ministry that happens there that makes the school special. Also, the fact that the culture of the students is to love Christ and to want to live a life in fellowship with Him. There is so much good in this school that it is hard for me to mention everything. When my husband was out of work we used our savings to keep our teenaged daughter in King's. She later told us that she was really glad that we did that--she realized as an adult that she probably would have gotten into drugs or other destructive habits. At the time I was a teacher at the FUHSD and she could have attended any high school in the district including the prestiges Monta Vista, but my husband and I kept her in King's because we wanted her surrounded by the loving Christian culture that is there. The Kings Academy has grades 6th to 12th. Santa Clara Christian School is a good Christian Elementary school.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by Wintermomma

It's graffiti. Graffiti, Graffiti, Graffiti! And I don't mean the bored kid variety. It reappears almost as soon as it is gone (note - the graffiti removal app and people are fast. Bravo!). I think it's indicative of more than just unsightliness. Not just for the criminals behind it, but the fact that they have time, undetected to do a huge amount while hanging from a bridge overnight! That is my deal. Well, and the whole 'throwing your yard waste into the street' thing. Oh, and the be careful which part of SJ you go to after dark in which color car. I realize SJ is far from the only city with that problem, but I would like to be able to take advantage of the things they are trying to do downtown (summer evening music? yes please!) but I don't want my kids caught in crossfire so we get back into our cars and drive to the other cities for things like this. If you move here from a bigger city with higher crime, this will feel like an awesome place to you. If you move here from a smaller city with lower crime and better services, you may be uncomfortable with some aspects and the sticker price that goes along with it.

Yes, there are many wonderful neighborhoods...I feel like I live in a very nice one as well yet we have to keep vigilant watch b/c the criminals are trolling here, too. Do I feel my kids can ride around the block safely? Yes. Am I going to let them going a mile or two to the nearest (whatever) on their bikes or even their friends' house which isn't far, alone? Nope! I am used to places with far less graffiti, and presumably, gang influence just a few miles from my home. SJ is one the least expensive of the "peninsula" cities for a reason, I think it's "expensive" just b/c it's in the SV, not that most people choose it over other cities (save a few "desirable" neighborhoods and schools).

Am I saying "Don't move here!" No, I am saying be careful of your choices, do your crime and school research and if someone could have a better commute and afford one of the more northern and smaller cities, that is what I would do.

Almost all of the graffiti in San Jose is not even under the city's jurisdiction. It's almost entirely on the freeways/highways that fall under state jurisdiction (CalTrans) or on railroad properties. Within the city itself, graffiti is most prevalent on the East Side which has always been a bad part of town. For a big city, San Jose is actually quite clean and well-maintained throughout most of its 174 square miles. You can live in nice parts of San Jose and very rarely see graffiti or even a stray shopping cart for that matter. Many of SJ's good areas cover the same amount of land as some of the smaller more upscale cities/towns in the Bay Area.

I think in the Bay Area as a whole, good areas and bad areas tend to never be very far from each other. I live in Newark in what's considered to be the "upscale" part of town (by Newark standards, anyways) and I live literally 5 minutes away from a huge homeless encampment full of meth-addicts. I still feel perfectly safe in my neighborhood. San Francisco's upscale parts are often times only blocks away from completely sketchy areas also. I just think it's crazy on this board how people often act like San Jose has so many blighted areas when in reality it's actually a pretty nice place. San Francisco for example is always looked at as such a desirable city when in reality it's got some terrible areas, many of which are right next to good areas.

[Wintermomma]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

Almost all of the graffiti in San Jose is not even under the city's jurisdiction. It's almost entirely on the freeways/highways that fall under state jurisdiction (CalTrans) or on railroad properties. Within the city itself, graffiti is most prevalent on the East Side which has always been a bad part of town. For a big city, San Jose is actually quite clean and well-maintained throughout most of its 174 square miles. You can live in nice parts of San Jose and very rarely see graffiti or even a stray shopping cart for that matter. Many of SJ's good areas cover the same amount of land as some of the smaller more upscale cities/towns in the Bay Area.
.

Yes, perhaps my gripe isn't clear, it is not about the city not cleaning it up, they do a very fast job, it's about the hoodlums who live here who DO IT. And yes, it's often on CalTrans property and they take FOREVER to clean it up. So I have to see it. The idiots who did it get to see it. e

[Cheri Johnson]

Almaden which is located in San Jose and close to 85 is a wonderful area and the schools APIs are all well over 900. You can buy a very nice home in the 975k and above. Good Luck!

[MediocreButArrogant]

Originally Posted by Cheri Johnson

Almaden which is located in San Jose and close to 85 is a wonderful area and the schools APIs are all well over 900. You can buy a very nice home in the 975k and above. Good Luck!

Not Pioneer High School. If you pick the wrong address in Almaden Valley, you could be making a huge mistake if you thought your kids were going to get to go to Leland High School.