Los Altos vs. Los Gatos (San Jose, Santa Cruz: real estate, mortgage, to buy) - California (CA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

sonarrat · 03-23-2009, 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

I'd love to hear about the more down to earth parts if you don't mind sharing. DH really wants to consider renting in the area to get our kids into the school district, but LG just seems to snooty to me every time we go there. It feels like it is all upper class.

Any reason why you wouldn't consider Campbell?

jaynetarzana · 03-23-2009, 12:12 PM

Schools are a top priority and LG schools are top notch.

sonarrat · 03-23-2009, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

Schools are a top priority and LG schools are top notch.

There's a large part of Los Gatos that has San Jose schools (Leigh High). Another large part has Campbell schools. The areas that have Los Gatos HS or Saratoga HS - good god they're expensive. If you thought you can buy a lower-priced house at, say, Blossom Hill & Union and get your kids into Los Gatos HS, you would unfortunately be mistaken.

http://www.lgsuhsd.org/pdf/map.pdf

jaynetarzana · 03-23-2009, 01:53 PM

Thanks for the map. We realized that many homes in LG don't feed into the LG school district when we drove around the other day looking at houses on mls. We wouldn't be able to afford a house there for a long time. Not sure if it is the place for us anyway. It seems to have a very materialistic feel. Are we getting the wrong impression?

sonarrat · 03-23-2009, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

Thanks for the map. We realized that many homes in LG don't feed into the LG school district when we drove around the other day looking at houses on mls. We wouldn't be able to afford a house there for a long time. Not sure if it is the place for us anyway. It seems to have a very materialistic feel. Are we getting the wrong impression?

Probably not the wrong impression at all. They seem to want no outsiders to visit, and I for one am happy to oblige by staying away. Then again, maybe I'll go and visit the downtown tonight just to ruffle some feathers.

jaynetarzana · 03-23-2009, 02:16 PM

We saw a lot of teenagers driving luxury cars, talking on cell phones and drinking Starbucks. It reminded us of the things we don't like about southern California. I told DH that the schools might be rated very well, but I'm not sure I want my daughters to grow up in that environment.

gooski · 03-23-2009, 05:51 PM

We live in Los Gatos albeit in the area that feeds into the Campbell School District but we like the area a lot. The main street area has a small town feel to it and it's a nice place to take an evening or weekend stroll. Parking is easy.

It is a "rich" area so many of the kids have nice toys especially in certain parts of LG/Saratoga/Monte Sereno but if you bring up your kids with the right values, they'll make the right choices.

jaynetarzana · 03-23-2009, 05:58 PM

How do the "have not" kids deal with the "haves" without getting bitter and feeling cheated? DH grew up as the poorest kid in the richest school and he always pined for the things the other kids had. He said it was a terrible way to grow up so he is leary of putting our kids through the same experience.

gooski · 03-24-2009, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

How do the "have not" kids deal with the "haves" without getting bitter and feeling cheated? DH grew up as the poorest kid in the richest school and he always pined for the things the other kids had. He said it was a terrible way to grow up so he is leary of putting our kids through the same experience.

I grew up in a middle class home but the school that I went to had quite a few "country club" kids from the rich side but I didn't feel jealous or bitter about the fact that the rich kids had all the nice toys.

I would tell my kids that if you study hard and work hard and make the best of your abilities, then you have an opportunity also to earn those toys if that's what you want.

denver_hacker · 03-24-2009, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

How do the "have not" kids deal with the "haves" without getting bitter and feeling cheated?

There are no "have not" kids in LG. There are "haves" and "have way too much".

Seriously though, drive through the LGHS parking lot on a school day and see what the kids are driving.

People in LG and Monte Sereno have a lot of money...and in my experience, the type of people who can generate that kind of money tend to be Type "A" career focused machines.

I grew up there in the 80s and 90s, and there was a distinction between the kids on the fringes of LG and the others. It's hard not to make that distinction when Kid A gets a brand new Mercedes at 16 and Kid B gets a cake and a card. Honestly though, it really depended on the kids and family - some rich kids were jerks and others were normal and nice (although at their birthday parties you'd be able to get in the pool and swim to the hidden video game arcade room).

But then, every school will have that. It seems to me that there's always a certain type of people who need to be better than everyone else and/or show off their wealth. It's just that in LG you're talking about people with $20M houses and Ferrari collections.

The Silicon Valley wealth machine is incredible - people make vast fortunes and change the world. But I wouldn't say it's family focused, you really need to be aware of it and find other people who share your values (just like anywhere).