Commute from San Ramon/Dublin to Sunnyvale??? (Santa Clara, Mountain View: apartment, rentals)

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

I know people who do a lot worse. I work in San Jose, and I have coworkers who come in from Tracy, Modesto, and Roseville. Used to be someone who came from Los Banos, too. It boggles my mind how much people will put up with to not live in San Jose. It's not that bad, people!!!

Most people like those you've described would love to live in SJ, but didn't / don't want to cram a family of 4, 5 or more into a condo. That was especially true during the first half of this decade.

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Most people like those you've described would love to live in SJ, but didn't / don't want to cram a family of 4, 5 or more into a condo. That was especially true during the first half of this decade.

Or they don't want to raise their family of 4-5 in a bad neighborhood. That is also easy to understand even now. And now that I look, San Ramon's home prices are about in line with Morgan Hill, which makes it a good bargain for what it offers.

[2bum0ble]

Is San Ramon/ Dublin a good area with good schools? I have two kids, 7 and 9 yrs old and my hubby is going to work in Milpitas. We're from Japan and all i know about SF is SR and Dublin cos my aunt is living there. My first priority is good schools for kids. Any comments? thanks a lot.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by treedonkey

Also, they should factor in the amount of $$$ their time costs. For example, if you get paid $20 an hour for an eight hour workday, that's $160. But if you add in, say, an extra hour of commute time each way, you're looking at a $2.50 cut on hourly pay. Granted, that's a little skewed because unless your commute time now is zero minutes, there is already some cost there, but you get the point. Time is money.

Yes, definitely. And I've heard that some marathon commuters eat more unhealthy fast food etc. from being on the road all the time. And I tend to think you're too tired to look for the best shopping deals when all you ever do is work and commute (although I guess if you have a stay at home spouse, these could be mitigated).

I think there are lots of hidden costs with marathon commuting that people don't consider.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by 2bum0ble

Is San Ramon/ Dublin a good area with good schools? I have two kids, 7 and 9 yrs old and my hubby is going to work in Milpitas. We're from Japan and all i know about SF is SR and Dublin cos my aunt is living there. My first priority is good schools for kids. Any comments? thanks a lot.

Don't take my word for it, but I believe their schools are good. SR to Milpitas would be a little less bad than SR to Sunnyvale, but I still would not recommend it.

I don't know for sure, but there must be some decent schools in nearby Fremont, aren't there? Does anyone know?

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Fremont - the schools in the Mission San Jose district are good.

Schools are good in Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, Castro Valley, Danville, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and the LaMorInda zone.

[2bum0ble]

Thanks Mysticaltyger and BayAreaHillbilly for your inputs! You guys are really nice!
Any links to show the score? or ranks of a school? Actually I totally have no ideas how to pick a good schools for my kids in US. Therefore, what i do now is pick a good school first, then decide where to rent or buy a house.
Any comments or suggestions are very welcome.
Thanks again!

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by 2bum0ble

Any links to show the score? or ranks of a school? Actually I totally have no ideas how to pick a good schools for my kids in US. Therefore, what i do now is pick a good school first, then decide where to rent or buy a house.

California School Ratings, school profiles, test scores - Santa*Clara County

California School Ratings, school profiles, test scores - Alameda*County

California School Ratings, school profiles, test scores - Contra*Costa County

Use Schooldigger to create a map:

Schooldigger

After screening potential schools using the internet the best way to pick a school is to call the school and arrange a visit. Ask to speak to an administrator about the possibility of a short tour. There is more to picking a good school besides test scores which frequently reflect more about the economics of the area instead of how well they actually teach.

San Ramon to Milpitas is a 46 km. commute. It might be better to live closer.

Also,here are a couple of great stores in San Jose you may enjoy.

Mitsuwa Marketplace

Nijiya Market (http://www.nijiya.com/storeInformation.asp?l=jp - broken link)

[2bum0ble]

Thanks capoira, your inputs really is a great help to me!! I will keep the links and study thoroughly. If my girls are going to study in 2010 September, when should i apply for them?
Besides schools, i still have many many questions about my relocation, like rent or buy a house??.. Anyway, any of you guys inputs are great help to a newcomer like me.... Again, thanks a million.

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by capoeira

Nijiya Market (http://www.nijiya.com/storeInformation.asp?l=jp - broken link)

Oh man, I miss that place, even if only for their rice. Last time we were in Mountain View we bought 1 10-lb bags of their extra refined borwn rice and we still cook with it regularly. SO GOOD.