Possible job in Mountain view, where to live?

[Anonymous]

I'm considering a position in Mountain view and I have a school aged kid. Any ideas on areas that would be close enough to work in the event I have to make it to the school in an emergency? I like what I've seen of Cupertino but apartment rates are insane. How much would I need to make to get by assuming I don't plan to buy a home.

[Anonymous]

you want to stick w/ cupertino or mountain view high zones.
in general you will need to make at least 250k a year to live their.

[Anonymous]

Mountain View is a great town! By far the nicest of the towns in the South Bay. We lived in Old Mountains View for three years, but Shoreline West is also really nice. Castro has great restaurant, super walkable, and if you bike you can probably commute that way. What’s the job? It’s really really expensive but the rental market is pretty decent.

[Anonymous]

The job is in marketing. For PP who mentioned 250k, is that for a family with one adult? Does that number include a bonus?

[Anonymous]

Schools in MV are a hit or miss. The ones closer to Los Altos (south side) are rated better. All real estate in the Bay Area is insane. That's why we moved out of there. Schools are severely under funded for what you are paying for homes there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The job is in marketing. For PP who mentioned 250k, is that for a family with one adult? Does that number include a bonus?

Not the PP, but that would be a target household income (so one or two adults, whoever the wage earners are) for a 2BR home in that area, outside of any bonuses. You could maybe make it work closer to 200K if you get lucky, but renting in the strong school zones is expensive. The rental market is softening, but not by much so far.

If you're open to a longer commute, you can find options in good-but-not-great (but fine if you have a motivated kid) high school zones in the East Bay. If your child is elementary aged, you have more options generally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The job is in marketing. For PP who mentioned 250k, is that for a family with one adult? Does that number include a bonus?

Not the PP, but that would be a target household income (so one or two adults, whoever the wage earners are) for a 2BR home in that area, outside of any bonuses. You could maybe make it work closer to 200K if you get lucky, but renting in the strong school zones is expensive. The rental market is softening, but not by much so far.

If you're open to a longer commute, you can find options in good-but-not-great (but fine if you have a motivated kid) high school zones in the East Bay. If your child is elementary aged, you have more options generally.

Huh? There are some fantastic public schools in East Bay. Piedmont, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon, etc. They are very highly ranked.

[Anonymous]

Huh? There are some fantastic public schools in East Bay. Piedmont, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon, etc. They are very highly ranked.

+1

[Anonymous]

Piedmont may be highly ranked but as someone who knows both teachers and students there, I would caution you against believing the rankings for the high school. The students (and their parents) think they’re much smarter than they actually are, and the parents, unfortunately, have the clout to force the teachers to give a slew of undeserved grades.

College Prep is a nearby private (Oakland hills, Upper Rockridge) that annually sends a bunch of kids to the Ivies, Berkeley and Stanford — if your kid is bright, that’s where I’d recommend you send them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Huh? There are some fantastic public schools in East Bay. Piedmont, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon, etc. They are very highly ranked.

+1

Yes, PP, and I agree that these are all excellent school districts--but none of them are affordable and close to Mountain View, which is what OP is looking for.

For that, she'd need to look to Fremont (maybe), Newark, Union City, Milpitas, and surround. The school in these communities are generally not as well regarded (hence the lower housing costs). Fremont is the best bet if there are apartments in OP's budget--it's not too far from Mountain View and the schools are strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Huh? There are some fantastic public schools in East Bay. Piedmont, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon, etc. They are very highly ranked.

+1

Yes, PP, and I agree that these are all excellent school districts--but none of them are affordable and close to Mountain View, which is what OP is looking for.

For that, she'd need to look to Fremont (maybe), Newark, Union City, Milpitas, and surround. The school in these communities are generally not as well regarded (hence the lower housing costs). Fremont is the best bet if there are apartments in OP's budget--it's not too far from Mountain View and the schools are strong.

Fremont schools are nationally ranked...and housing prices reflect that. They are also pressure cookers for young kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Huh? There are some fantastic public schools in East Bay. Piedmont, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon, etc. They are very highly ranked.

+1

Yes, PP, and I agree that these are all excellent school districts--but none of them are affordable and close to Mountain View, which is what OP is looking for.

For that, she'd need to look to Fremont (maybe), Newark, Union City, Milpitas, and surround. The school in these communities are generally not as well regarded (hence the lower housing costs). Fremont is the best bet if there are apartments in OP's budget--it's not too far from Mountain View and the schools are strong.

Fremont schools are nationally ranked...and housing prices reflect that. They are also pressure cookers for young kids.

That is true of many districts on that list, unfortunately. But if OP likes but was priced out of Cupertino, Fremont is arguably an improvement on the pressure cooker front. While housing prices there are crazy, rents actually aren't that bad relative to the rest of the region--you can get a 2BR for $2500 or so. I's the only place I know of at that price point with a quick-ish commute to Mountain View where I'd say the schools are consistently strong K-12.

[Anonymous]

Mountain View schools are meh for the housing prices. The good ones are overcrowded/hard to get into. Los Altos or Palo Alto would be best.
Cupertino schools are 90+ percent Asian which is not diverse enough for me, personally.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The job is in marketing. For PP who mentioned 250k, is that for a family with one adult? Does that number include a bonus?

Not the PP, but that would be a target household income (so one or two adults, whoever the wage earners are) for a 2BR home in that area, outside of any bonuses. You could maybe make it work closer to 200K if you get lucky, but renting in the strong school zones is expensive. The rental market is softening, but not by much so far.

If you're open to a longer commute, you can find options in good-but-not-great (but fine if you have a motivated kid) high school zones in the East Bay. If your child is elementary aged, you have more options generally.

Huh? There are some fantastic public schools in East Bay. Piedmont, Orinda, Moraga, Lafayette, Danville, San Ramon, etc. They are very highly ranked.

Yes, and those are all 45 miles or more from Mountain View. Personally, I don’t want to drive 450 miles every week just to get to and from work.