Commute to Cupertino - Cambrian Park vs. Blossom Valley (San Jose: low crime, houses)

[FutureOwner]

Hi,

I am planning on purchasing a house in the near future, and I'm currently looking in Cambrian Park / Almaden / Blossom Valley areas. I noticed the houses in Blossom Valley around Santa Teresa Blvd are cheaper, even though the school ratings are similar.

I will be commuting to Cupertino, and on Google Maps the commute time for the two areas are the same (~45min around 10am and 7pm). Is that in line with what you guys have seen? I currently live close to work, so I'm unsure if those estimates are correct.

TIA

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by FutureOwner

Hi,

I am planning on purchasing a house in the near future, and I'm currently looking in Cambrian Park / Almaden / Blossom Valley areas. I noticed the houses in Blossom Valley around Santa Teresa Blvd are cheaper, even though the school ratings are similar.

I will be commuting to Cupertino, and on Google Maps the commute time for the two areas are the same (~45min around 10am and 7pm). Is that in line with what you guys have seen? I currently live close to work, so I'm unsure if those estimates are correct.

TIA

I used to live in the Blossom Valley area near Cottle and Santa Teresa. I moved away in 2009, but I imagine traffic patterns are still somewhat similar. Traffic all over the Bay Area has increased over the last few years, so my experience may be a little outdated.

At the time though, the stretch of HWY 85 northbound during commute time wasn't very heavy along the stretch from 101 to near Almaden Expwy. If that's still the case, that would explain why the commute time from the Blossom Valley/Santa Teresa area isn't much different from Almaden Valley/Cambrian Park, despite being a slightly further distance from Cupertino.

In my honest opinion, Almaden Valley and Cambrian Park are nicer areas than Blossom Valley. The schools are better too. It's true that you'll get more value in Blossom Valley though. You'll get more house for your money and it's still a nice area. Personally, I find Almaden Valley to be one of the nicest and most scenic areas of San Jose. If you can stretch your budget, I think you'd be happiest in AV.

[kdog]

^^ As someone who lives in Almaden, I concur.

I have friends whom I visit in Blossom Valley. Maybe mstnghu2 will back me up on this, or not, but to me, Blossom Valley seems to have more of a blue collar feel to it. The homes are a little older and more modest for the most part. It seems like many of the original owners are still there. You will see a lot more project cars parked in the driveways, more pickup trucks, etc. Not to knock that, I grew up in neighborhoods like that and they feel homey to me. But still, I do prefer the more upscale ambiance in Almaden. Almaden is mostly Asian and Indian these days. It's the go-to place for wealthy immigrants to the area it seems. I fine with it, they make good neighbors for the most part, but they do tend to keep to themselves.

[dogandcat]

Originally Posted by kdog

^^ As someone who lives in Almaden, I concur.

I have friends whom I visit in Blossom Valley. Maybe mstnghu2 will back me up on this, or not, but to me, Blossom Valley seems to have more of a blue collar feel to it. The homes are a little older and more modest for the most part. It seems like many of the original owners are still there. You will see a lot more project cars parked in the driveways, more pickup trucks, etc. Not to knock that, I grew up in neighborhoods like that and they feel homey to me. But still, I do prefer the more upscale ambiance in Almaden. Almaden is mostly Asian and Indian these days. It's the go-to place for wealthy immigrants to the area it seems. I fine with it, they make good neighbors for the most part, but they do tend to keep to themselves.

As someone who lives in Blossom Valley, I'm a little bit insulted. It's not an up-scale area but nice and family friendly, low crime rate, and with a great potential especially with all of the new development near Cottle/85 highway. More and more IT guys buy houses in Blossom Valley, and taking into account good schools (8 and 9) I would say it's a really great place to live.

But I agree with you - if I had twice bigger amount of money compare to what I have several years ago when buying my house in BV, I would buy in Almaden. I did not have so much money these days

[dogandcat]

Originally Posted by FutureOwner

Hi,

I am planning on purchasing a house in the near future, and I'm currently looking in Cambrian Park / Almaden / Blossom Valley areas. I noticed the houses in Blossom Valley around Santa Teresa Blvd are cheaper, even though the school ratings are similar.

I will be commuting to Cupertino, and on Google Maps the commute time for the two areas are the same (~45min around 10am and 7pm). Is that in line with what you guys have seen? I currently live close to work, so I'm unsure if those estimates are correct.

TIA

I live in Blossom Valley/Santa Teresa. Bad traffic starts closer to 85/17 highways intersection so it's not really important if you live in Blossom Valley or Cambrian/Almaden since they all are located before this intersection if going west.

I would say your time estimation is correct.