Where to Live?

I would look close to where your husband is working or at an area close to BART or Caltrains. It is crazy expensive to live here and with the price of gas, adding a long commute wouldn't make sense. There are nice areas in Sunnyvale, San Jose, Almadan, Santa Clara, Mountain View, and Saratoga. Living in a nicer neighborhood does not guarantee better schools, so be sure to investigate before you buy. You'll want to shop for a home in person if possible. There are also hundreds (if not thousands) of forclosures all over the bay area. Check them out online. Pleasanton alone has 100 homes in forclosure.

I live in Pleasanton and love it, but it is a ways from Mt. View, depending on how far from the 680 his work place is. I grew up in Belmont, it is overrated. The schools are mediocre and their parks and rec are insufficient for the population. There is only 1 park for over 45,000 residence. My parents still live there. Many cities on what is known as the peninsula are like this, ie, San Mateo, Redwood City, Burlingame, San Carlos, Hillsboro. Foster City is nice but very expensive as well. These cities are north from Mt. View.

Each part of the Bay Area has its own feel. Some are definately more family friendly than others. I have five children so that is important to us. My good friends brother lives near Almanden and is very happy. Happy house hunting. You may want to rent for 6 months somewhere and really get a feel for the area before making a final decision. And be sure to look around. It is a buyers market right now, (even if the prices don't seem like it). And remember some people are not realistically pricing their homes, so don't be afraid to offer low. Even the banks are taking short sales on some forclosures. Good luck!

Oh and Sunset magazine is a fun read, I pick up old copies at the public library for 25 cents (I enjoy the gardening section) but it does NOT reflect what life is like for most of us work-a-day people or SAHM's.

When we were looking for houses (in 1997), we discovered that Mountain View and the surrounding areas were 100K more than the same types of houses in the Fremont area. If you live in/around Fremont and work in Mountain View, you will be going WITH the daily commute, though. That can make a 30 minute trip home (without traffic) into a 60 minute trip home.

It's cheaper to buy a house more south of the Peninsula generally speaking. Sunnyvale is nice, great schools in Cupertino Union School District, but it's still pretty expensive there. If you want cheaper housing try going down 237 toward Milpitas/Fremont or over the Dunbarton Bridge to Fremont/Newark/Union City. Best of luck.

yes the bay area is a lot more expensive, not quite sure where you are moving from though. A suggestions with all the kids you both have is to check into housing along the Ace Commuter Train Route. I moved out to Stockton which is the fartherst they go but tracy has some very large houses that are not so expensive and the Ace Commuter goes from stockton to Great America Parkway and then they have a free shuttle that goes into Mountain View....yes it is not a close commute but a relaxing one on the train and you can afford a huge house instead of an ok one that might be too small for your family. new homes in Lathrop are starting at 234k tracy homes not sure what they are selling for but the larger ones are out by the train station. stockton has a lot of foreclosures and that is why i moved here....good luck

J.

I live in the East Bay and comute across the bay several times a week. We live inHaywrd, but also check out prices inUnion City and Fremont. Lots of nice great neighborhoods. Of the three Fremot porbably has the best schools and Hyaward the best prices

T.

Hi H.,
It is very expensive here so I understand your feelings. Try looking in Belmont and Menlo Park. Menlo Park especially has great public schools and is a really nice community. The weather is wonderful there as well. Try subscribing to Sunset Magazine. It will give you a real taste of what it is like living here in the west and their headquarters are in Menlo Park. Make sure that your realtor is aware that school and safety are a high priority for you. Many of us here in California drive our kids to school. If you don't plan on doing that, you may want to make sure that the place you choose to live is in safe walking/riding distance to school and/or has a school bus system.

If you are looking for great schools and a nice community, I suggest Pleasanton. I moved here about 4 years ago and LOVE it. Both of my girls go to Donlon Elementary School and the teachers are wonderful and we all adore the principal, he makes it a fun place to go to school. (All of the schools in Pleasanton are rated either 9 or 10). The town has a great community to it. I can’t go out to eat or to the store without running into someone I know. I live in the Val Vista homes, (as do a lot of families from the school), walking distance to the girl’s schools and soon to be middle school. You can find house in our tracks from the $600,000 - $800,000. They do have some even nicer areas around here, but they are not as close to the school and obviously the homes are more expensive. I love my neighbors, in fact one of them does mortgages, so can get a list of homes in our area, if you need them. Just my thoughts, if you have any more questions, or do move here, let me know!
M.