Family friendly suburb in Silicon Valley? (San Jose, Sunnyvale: real estate, houses, neighborhood)

[mja11]

Hi Everyone, just wanted some recommendations on where to live for our family. Husband has a job in Mountain View and we will be relocating with three young children (Ages 6, 4, and 2) and my elderly mother (84 y/o). We are looking to spend up to 1.6M for a 4 bedroom in a family friendly community. We have lived both in Lake Forest, IL and Hudson, OH if anyone is familiar with those areas that's the type of community we are looking for. Good schools, cute downtown, friendly families, parks, etc. Actually we want to try and buy something walking distance to a downtown. Also taking into account my husband's commute into Mountain View for work if anything comes to mind please let us know.
In doing our research Los Gatos keeps coming up and my husband did get to drive through the town briefly and loved it but I want to get a realistic opinion on his commute from this area and what it's like to really live there and other areas. Thank you in advance!

[zitsky]

What about living in Mountain View? It may not be as chi-chi as Los Gatos but it's pretty nice and has a good, if small, downtown. It sounds like you'd be happier in Los Gatos, but take a look at Palo Alto or Mountain View or Los Altos.

[WillowGlenMom]

We moved to the Bay area a few months ago. We had a similar housing budget and really wanted a walkable neighborhood after living in super-suburbia previously. We decided to move to Willow Glen. We thought about Los Gatos and Saratoga, but after contacting the public schools there and realizing they would not be a good fit for us, we decided the huge premium for the real estate was not worth it for our family. Our older child is now in an excellent private school in San Jose (The Harker School). So far, we really like Willow Glen. It is very family friendly with many fun events happening downtown.

[WillowGlenMom]

I should also add that we were able to purchase a brand new 5 bedroom house for that budget in Willow Glen:-)

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by WillowGlenMom

We thought about Los Gatos and Saratoga, but after contacting the public schools there and realizing they would not be a good fit for us

A bit surprising, given the quality. Any reason why LG and Saratoga schools would not do?

[ccm123]

Los Gatos, Palo Alto (may be tough with your budget), Los Altos, Foster City

[WillowGlenMom]

We were coming from a specialized school (out of state) that allowed children to work several years above grade level in elementary school. We contacted principals in Los Gatos and Saratoga and were told our son would not be permitted to work at his level in reading and math (about 3 years above his actual grade level in reading and math). Therefore, we determined that the Harker School would be the best choice. We are very pleased with the decision. However, we do love Los Gatos and Saratoga and still go there often. We love living in Willow Glen...from our neighbors to the charming houses to the real feeling of community:-)

[imcurious]

Willow Glen. I think that may be it. The other locations are not so "friendly."

[Wintermomma]

The commute on the 85 in the AM if you can't carpool is brutal. I wouldn't pick LG b/c of that. You have a reasonable budget, I would go for Mountain View, Cupertino school part of Sunnyvale (if high-score schools are on your list, otherwise the rest of Sunnyvale).

I love Willow Glen, too, but it's farther than I would want to do a solo commute to MV in the AMs.

The sticking point would be that a 4 bedroom house, where the rooms aren't tiny, can be hard to find without going up to a "luxury" house. But they are out there!

[neutrino78x]

Downtown San Jose is where it's at even if you have kids. Would you want your kids to have to travel an hour or more just to go to the nearest art museum? In downtown San Jose, all of that is within walking distance.

And private school, horrible idea. You can learn grade school stuff on your own; what going to public school gives you is life experiences.

No, I'm not a parent. Just saying that I grew up in a suburb, and hated it. Luckily I at least never went to a private school.

When I was 12, Johns Hopkins offered for me to go through their accelerated program, thereby skipping high school, and I would have been a freshman at Johns Hopkins at the age of 14, but I turned them down. The offer was made based on getting 96th percentile on the CTBS tests (Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills). I had a lot of bullies, and I've made my share of bad decisions, I've never kissed a girl, and I'm actually in a minimum wage job right now where I've been stuck for seven years (although I'm working on that last one, just got a California private security guard license), but I'm glad I didn't go through the program at Johns Hopkins.

Just saying.