Relocating to Santa Clara from East Coast (San Jose, Oakland: rental, house)

[BL2017]

Hello- Just accepted a job offer in Santa Clara, we have decided to rent for the first year in order to get acclimated with the area before we buy. We are a family of Four, one 4 year old and an infant. We intend to send our 4 year old to private catholic school. We would like a larger executive home, access to the typical targets, Whole Foods, etc. A very family oriented neighborhood. We know NOTHING about the surrounding areas. We found a home in the Evergreen area to potentially rent, but it appears the more we research, the less desirable the area becomes? We just want to be within 20 minutes of Santa Clara, in any direction...if you have any suggestions, we would greatly appreciate!

[joejerryronnie]

Hi BL2017, welcome to the bay! You'll have to provide a bit more info in order to get the best advice from the forum - primarily housing budget but also some additional info on how you like to spend your free time, likes/dislikes from the area you're moving from, and commute tolerance (i.e. 20 minutes from SC does not equal a 20 min commute).

[bobby_guz_man]

Evergreen is at least an hour away from Santa Clara during commute hours.

You should look into the village of Santa Clara itself for housing.

[joey_mcmarbles]

RUN away from Evergreen, it's not for executives, unless you're CTO of a taco stand. If you weren't aware, Evergreen is in San Jose, and San Jose is one of the worst cities in the county to live. Joseheads (pronounced "hose heads", that's what San Jose people call themselves) use all kinds of names to disguise the fact they live in the undesirable city of San Jose. "Evergreen", "Willow Glen", "Alviso", "Calcutta" ... you need to read between the lines and do research, or you'll end up in the City of Dumpsters.

A true executive like yourself belongs in Atherton, but since there are no Whole Foods in Atherton (because Whole Foods isn't worthy!), you'll have to settle for Palo Alto. Here's a good example of a house worthy for a low-level executive, but someone like you who is pulling 7-8 figures can probably do even better:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5...19494754_zpid/

$12,800 per month is pocket change to an executive like you, so maybe try renting out the house next door too.

[BL2017]

Not sure how I should take some of these comments? "High level executive?" I'm truly not trying ruffle feathers, just want some useful info, and appreciate those taking the time to help. Anyway, budget is $5500- 6k max to rent- we would like to scope out the areas for a year and see what we can find- the idea of wasting money renting is frustrating and we don't want to go much higher in spend. Wife is stay at home, will be sending daughter to private catholic schools, so any recommendations would be great... like to do typical family oriented things, access to shopping centers, restraunts, kid friendly places, etc. Evergreen interested us originally due to size of home and pool in backyard- but not at the sacrifice of safety. What about the 95124 area code? Is that Cambrian Park?

So I take it when I read 18-20 minute commute I should double that? We have looked online at homes in Santa Clara proper, and unless we shell out $8k or more we are looking at a very small much older home. While Santa Clara, I'm certain, has amazing charm and the proximity would be amazing, we would like to live in something a little more updated, and a little larger...thanks again!

[bobby_guz_man]

San Jose is fine. One of the top 4 safest big cities in US. 1/3 the homicides of SF and Oakland this year (14 as it stands, in a city of a million). Evergreen is one of San Jose's wealthiest and safest neighborhoods, with beautiful views atop the hills to boot, and the home prices to match.

That said, the commute is your biggest issue.

With a budget of 6k, I don't see how you cannot find a place in Santa Clara to rent.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP, I don't mean to be discouraging, but rather--realistic. We had someone posting a similar inquiry a few months ago, also coming from the E Coast, stating a desire for an "executive home". It turned out they couldn't afford anything remotely "executive", anywhere near Santa Clara, and were steered, instead, to the East Bay. It sounds like you're at least able to afford renting in the area you want. Have you checked RE listings, to get an idea of prices for buying?

People don't mean to be rude.

[treedroppings]

https://www.trulia.com/property/3253...-Jose-CA-95112

[BL2017]

Appreciate the feedback...immediately buying is definetly out of the question, only because we don't want to invest in area we know nothing about, and there are always so many different variables when starting with a new company- best to cautious. Dropping 2 million right now wouldn't be wise. I've actually started to reach out to a couple of places, and it appears that the price listed is only but a starting point. I've already contacted 3 homes, and the rental listing agents mentioned they have 3-5 applications already, and the price has been drivin up, about another 700-1000! I hope working with my relocation specialist this coming week will be able to further help me with this process, because clearly this is going to be more of a "fight" than I anticipated, lol!

I appreciate the feedback on Evergreen- I was starting to get worried about the area, but it does appear that the commute may be the true non-starter.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by joey_mcmarbles

RUN away from Evergreen, it's not for executives, unless you're CTO of a taco stand. If you weren't aware, Evergreen is in San Jose, and San Jose is one of the worst cities in the county to live. Joseheads (pronounced "hose heads", that's what San Jose people call themselves) use all kinds of names to disguise the fact they live in the undesirable city of San Jose. "Evergreen", "Willow Glen", "Alviso", "Calcutta" ... you need to read between the lines and do research, or you'll end up in the City of Dumpsters.

A true executive like yourself belongs in Atherton, but since there are no Whole Foods in Atherton (because Whole Foods isn't worthy!), you'll have to settle for Palo Alto. Here's a good example of a house worthy for a low-level executive, but someone like you who is pulling 7-8 figures can probably do even better:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5...19494754_zpid/

$12,800 per month is pocket change to an executive like you, so maybe try renting out the house next door too.

OP, don't listen to that ridiculous post. It's beyond absurd on many different levels. And for the record, never in my entire life growing up in the South Bay did I ever once hear the term "Jose Head". He just completely made that up. There are actually numerous desirable and even downright upscale neighborhoods within San Jose's city limits.

Anyways, with your criteria, I'd also recommend focusing your search around Santa Clara/Sunnyvale. West San Jose/Cupertino are also good options but slightly further away. Commuting in and out of the Santa Clara/Sunnyvale/North San Jose area is pretty horrible these days, so the closer you can live to work, the better.

If you were willing to commute further, I'd probably recommend Almaden Valley in San Jose. There are many executive-style homes there and it's a very desirable area. As previously mentioned, commuting from Evergreen would be torture. It actually is very nice, FYI, despite the moronic post from joey_mcmarbles.