Cupertino job - no city living! (San Jose, Oakland: rental, house, neighborhood)

[nobarriers]

Hey guys...


So, I got a job offer in Cupertino. I haven't accepted yet, but the job itself looks pretty good. The thing is, my family and I are really not city people at all (2 adults, 1 child). I don't mind some traffic, but we do need to live in smaller setting.


Is there anywhere around South Bay that would allow for a reasonable commute to Cupertino (like no more than 1.5 hours on a regular "bad" day) and give you the feel of a smaller place as well?


I've been looking at places like Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Morgan Hill or Gilroy. Does that even sound doable? Any other suggestions?


I would ideally like to stay under $2500 in rent for a 1 or 2 br.


Thanks!

[fashionguy]

Have you been to Bay area? Cupertino is by no means a big city. Anywhere in the Bay area sans SF and Oakland feels like a small town, including most part of San Jose, except for the traffic (which you don't seem to mind a lot anyways). Cupertino compared to Morgan Hill are very similar in look and feel. The only difference is the demographic.

Originally Posted by nobarriers

Hey guys...


So, I got a job offer in Cupertino. I haven't accepted yet, but the job itself looks pretty good. The thing is, my family and I are really not city people at all (2 adults, 1 child). I don't mind some traffic, but we do need to live in smaller setting.


Is there anywhere around South Bay that would allow for a reasonable commute to Cupertino (like no more than 1.5 hours on a regular "bad" day) and give you the feel of a smaller place as well?


I've been looking at places like Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, Morgan Hill or Gilroy. Does that even sound doable? Any other suggestions?


I would ideally like to stay under $2500 in rent for a 1 or 2 br.


Thanks!

[nobarriers]

Thanks!


Yes, I have been to the Bay Area, but I should probably specify, that I am not interested in living in the metro. So, no San Jose, no Los Gatos, no Cupertino.


Basically, I'm looking for some visible space with no development between the point when you leave the Bay area and where I would potentially live. An example would be Coyote, Scotts Valley or Pleasanton (except that's probably the wrong direction).


Hope that makes sense.

[goillini8]

You've laid out some fairly strict, difficult-to-find criteria. I actually have no idea what to say if even towns like Cupertino or Mountain View are too urban.

Watsonville, Aptos? Gilroy? - but the commute couldn't be done in 1.5 hours unless you have really off hours.

[tehsquishmeister]

If you don't mind living in the woods (it's beautiful but can get cold and wet in the winter), take a look at Boulder Creek (or in between BC and Saratoga). It probably fits your bill.

From Boulder Creek, it takes 40 minutes or so to get near Apple in the morning over Highway 9. Much less if you're in between, but homes and rent near Skyline are not cheap.

[nobarriers]

Originally Posted by goillini8

You've laid out some fairly strict, difficult-to-find criteria.

Yes, I'm not an urban guy at all, and that is also why I have not accepted the offer yet. I don't know if it's even possible to do the commute from a non-urban area.


Felton may be interesting. Never been there and from what I can see on Google street view it looks a little shady. Or am I wrong? Anyone doing the commute from the there?

[tehsquishmeister]

Felton gets a fair amount of sun, but it depends on where the house is and how many trees are around. Just like anywhere in this valley, it just depends. I do recommend finding a place that gets a fair amount of sun.

It takes about 15 minutes to get from Felton to Boulder Creek, and that's reverse school traffic so there's no slowdown.

So you're looking at an hour from Felton to Cupertino.

If you can work off hours, you can do it in 45 minutes via Highway 17.

[blueskywalker]

Originally Posted by nobarriers

Yes, I'm not an urban guy at all, and that is also why I have not accepted the offer yet. I don't know if it's even possible to do the commute from a non-urban area.


Felton may be interesting. Never been there and from what I can see on Google street view it looks a little shady. Or am I wrong? Anyone doing the commute from the there?

I'd say Scotts Valley. Once you get deeper into the S.C. mountains, you'll more likely than not be in the thick of the redwoods. The redwoods are amazing. But as someone who has lived in them for many years, they bring challenges. Especially if you like sun which, in the winter, chances are you won't have much of in the woods. And the redwoods are huge (tall) so the sun "sets" in them a lot earlier. Where i live, there's no (yes, none) for about 4 months.
And hwy9 is a drag of a commute in my opinion and winter storms bring trees down. I dunno. I love the communities in the S.C. mountains but you gotta be into it. It's not like any kind of mountain living that you're familiar with.
Scotts Valley will situate you rather nicely. You'll still have to deal with the traffic on hwy17 (a roller coaster of a road ... both hands on the wheel!) which is heavy during commuter times because so, so many people are going to and from various Silicon Valley jobs and S.C. county.
If you lived in Scotts Valley (as opposed to coastal communities in Santa Cruz county) you'll avoid the hwy1 part of the commute which is a good thing. You'll be near hwy17.
And you'll be quite close to the coast which is great and you won't be in the thick of the S.C. mountains and all that comes along with that.
Someone suggested Watsonville. That's insane for a number of reasons. Finding a good neighborhood in Watsonville can be a challenge and you're commute will be unessarily long and much longer than what you want.
Santa Cruz is not a quaint little beach town. It's a small city with all of the problems that cities deal with. Other communities in the county (like Aptos) are great but you'll be doing a lot of driving.
If you can find an affordable rental in Los Gatos, i wouldn't count it out. It will situate you very nicely for your commute and you'll be in close proximity to the coast. The drive over 17 during non-commuter times is like 20 - 25 minutes. And Los Gatos is really nice. Pricey but nice and you won't feel like you're living in San Jose at all. Look closely at a map of Los Gatos. YOu can be up and away or just away (depending on where in Los Gatos) from the hub-bub.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by nobarriers

Yes, I'm not an urban guy at all, and that is also why I have not accepted the offer yet. I don't know if it's even possible to do the commute from a non-urban area.


Felton may be interesting. Never been there and from what I can see on Google street view it looks a little shady. Or am I wrong? Anyone doing the commute from the there?

Boulder creek. Small country town, shorter commute than any other option. Driving 17 is a nightmare.

[blueskywalker]

Maybe.
Depends on where in Boulder Creek.