Just Moved to San Jose (Santa Clara, Cupertino: lease, homes, university)

[Haniball]

I just moved to Santa Clara with my family. Any suggestions for new comers , I have a 4 month old baby

[aramax666]

Campbell park, park off keily near santomas and homestead, they have a pond, with birds and stuff. Discovery museum in downtown, but you child may be too young.

Palo alto childrens zoo.

[Haniball]

I consider that everything is so expensive here
Any suggestions regarding saving money ?

[aramax666]

This is more or less what we did.

come summer, do picnics at parks , at the many county parks, for outings. Instead of restaurants.
Get rid of cable , use internet/netflix/amazon prime for all tv/entertainment needs.
Get the cheapest cellphone you can buy.
cook at home instead of eating out.
palo alto childrens museum is free/ donations.

get a cheap lease on a volt/or cheap e-car. save on gas.

hope that helps.

[Haniball]

OK thanks

[Standingroom0nly]

Go to meetup.com and look for meetup groups in your area to connect with other moms, or with another group you may be interested in joining. Join your local library and see what programs and classes they offer. Join nextdoor.com to get to know your neighbors and connect with other moms (or ask questions about the area, as you are doing here).

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by Haniball

I consider that everything is so expensive here
Any suggestions regarding saving money ?

Ramen Noodle and Popcorn

[Wintermomma]

So are you looking for free things to do, then? Or just ways to save money? I think with a 4 month old you get off pretty easy and they don't require much expensive entertaining. There are some great parks and paved trails for walking with baby...Los Gatos Creek Trail from Campbell Park to Vasona Lake Park. Another nice place to walk (when it's cool out...as I'm not a fan of hot weather wildlife) is Picchetti trail in Cupertino (no strollers though). If you like wine, you can go to Piccetti winery for wine tasting after, and that's still a pretty cheap activity. During warmer months on weekends they sometimes they have live music there and you can put down a picnic blanket to listen. Also downtown San Jose often has events for free (if you don't mind crowds). A lot of the other downtowns in the area do the same, and most have a website or an events list you can subscribe to. I know Campbell does and has pretty regular activities like art walks, farmers' market, music nights, etc. (of course if you want to partake in food/shopping you have to pay, but it's free to walk around).

At this point I would just look for things to do that interest the adults and are safe to take a baby along. In a year it will be very different and a whole other set of activities to go to!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I moved away from Santa Clara 2 years ago.

For cheap groceries, go to Grocery Outlet at Homestead and Lawrence Expressway.

For fresh produce go to the produce stand corner of Homestead and Scott Blvd.

Trader Joes on Coleman Ave, San Jose is close and has good deals on stuff, depending.

Ranch 99 Market - an Asian market with great prices on fresh produce and fresh seafood and other goodies is in Cupertino on Homestead and Wolfe.

Cheap clothes and other home decor stuff at Ross Dress For Less on Homestead at around Keifer, across from the main library (great library by the way).

Look for lots of stuff to do at the library and rec center City of Santa Clara : Community Recreation Center

http://santaclaraca.gov/government/departments/library

Also, I lived across from the Santa Clara University campus, and it's a beautiful campus with some fountains and lots of lawns and gardens. One of the California missions is on campus. It's at Homestead and Lafayette (trying to give you a sense of how you can get to everything easily via Homestead). I used to babysit a little boy and I'd take him to play on the campus and let him spash in the fountain pools and run around on the grass. It's really beautiful there - rose gardens, statues, etc.

[Nell Plotts]

There is a Mom's internet forum in the Silicon Valley, my DD found her nanny using that network. I have no idea how to find it but ask around.

Here is a website that may give you a start: Mothers Clubs in the Bay Area It may be that DD participated in PAMP.