DC to Silicon Valley (San Jose, Oakland: rent, crime, find a job)

[Pinky1110]

Originally Posted by Kalana

Cupertino schools and neighborhoods are not diverse and are predominantly Asian. Also, based on my experience, I would not recommend putting a child with ADHD into that school district because quite likely they will always be behind their overachieving peers.

Having grown up near DC I can say you will LOVE the summers (and winters) here. Low humidity and no bugs! Welcome!

Thanks for that. So what areas would you recommend?

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by Pinky1110

Thanks for that. So what areas would you recommend?

You're going to find the most diversity in San Jose but the neighborhoods with the best schools tend to be the least diverse in my observations. They'll be predominantly Asian and white. I honestly don't see it being much, if any, of an issue for you guys though. I grew up in the San Jose area and the black kids in my class and my neighborhood were always accepted and race wasn't an issue for us. I know there are racist and nasty people anywhere, but the Bay Area as a whole is very diverse with a live and let live mentality.



I think you should focus your search on some of San Jose's better areas, along with the cities of Campbell and Santa Clara. I think those will give you a combination of decent to good schools, closer proximity to work and more diversity. San Jose is big, so I'd probably start with areas like Almaden Valley and Cambrian Park (zip codes 95118, 95120, 95124). There are plenty of other nice parts of SJ, but those specific areas have good schools and more diversity than some other nice parts of the city.

[Nell Plotts]

The parent-driven academic atmosphere at Cupertino High is intense, Homestead High School would work better for many. Look at areas that feed into Homestead. Keep in mind the fact that school enrollment areas are often not what you would expect, verify any information you are given by a realtor.

Classic comment from a relative who taught at 'Tino, 'Football Games are for the band, not athletics.' He saw one mother berate her daughter for not being accepted at Harvard although she was accepted at Berkley which offers one of the best programs in her area of interest. 'Nuf said.

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

The parent-driven academic atmosphere at Cupertino High is intense, Homestead High School would work better for many. Look at areas that feed into Homestead. Keep in mind the fact that school enrollment areas are often not what you would expect, verify any information you are given by a realtor.

Classic comment from a relative who taught at 'Tino, 'Football Games are for the band, not athletics.' He saw one mother berate her daughter for not being accepted at Harvard although she was accepted at Berkley which offers one of the best programs in her area of interest. 'Nuf said.

That said, 'Tino actually has a bit more balanced culture than Lynbrook and Monta Vista, believe it or not.

[Pinky1110]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

You're going to find the most diversity in San Jose but the neighborhoods with the best schools tend to be the least diverse in my observations. They'll be predominantly Asian and white. I honestly don't see it being much, if any, of an issue for you guys though. I grew up in the San Jose area and the black kids in my class and my neighborhood were always accepted and race wasn't an issue for us. I know there are racist and nasty people anywhere, but the Bay Area as a whole is very diverse with a live and let live mentality.



I think you should focus your search on some of San Jose's better areas, along with the cities of Campbell and Santa Clara. I think those will give you a combination of decent to good schools, closer proximity to work and more diversity. San Jose is big, so I'd probably start with areas like Almaden Valley and Cambrian Park (zip codes 95118, 95120, 95124). There are plenty of other nice parts of SJ, but those specific areas have good schools and more diversity than some other nice parts of the city.

Nice. I’ll check those out. Is there anywhere in the East Bay that meets my criteria that you can recommend with a somewhat reasonable commute? Hayward Hills? San Leandro?

[Pinky1110]

Originally Posted by Nell Plotts

The parent-driven academic atmosphere at Cupertino High is intense, Homestead High School would work better for many. Look at areas that feed into Homestead. Keep in mind the fact that school enrollment areas are often not what you would expect, verify any information you are given by a realtor.

Classic comment from a relative who taught at 'Tino, 'Football Games are for the band, not athletics.' He saw one mother berate her daughter for not being accepted at Harvard although she was accepted at Berkley which offers one of the best programs in her area of interest. 'Nuf said.

That’s what I heard so I’d rather avoid that school district all together.

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by Pinky1110

Nice. I’ll check those out. Is there anywhere in the East Bay that meets my criteria that you can recommend with a somewhat reasonable commute? Hayward Hills? San Leandro?

Nothing in the East Bay is going to be a reasonable commute to Sunnyvale, unfortunately. Possibly Fremont may be less bad of a commute than cities further north, but it doesn't meet your criteria any better than Santa Clara/Sunnyvale/Campbell/West SJ/etc.

[Radical347]

Originally Posted by jdhpa

My impression of Sunnyvale and Santa Clara is random sprawl. Maybe that's an unfair generalization, but that's my impression.

Oh, it's true...but that also describes nearly the entire South Bay outside of the cute little one-street downtowns. Downtown San Jose is the only place that has more than one street in a row of something that isn't random sprawl, but once you get out of downtown, SJ too starts sprawling out pretty quickly.

[nobodysbusiness]

Did you check out Palo Alto or East Palo Alto?

I think that might be a good fit with your desires and commute, etc.

[jdhpa]

Originally Posted by nobodysbusiness

Did you check out Palo Alto or East Palo Alto?

I think that might be a good fit with your desires and commute, etc.

Palo Alto is outside of the budget, and East Palo Alto has quite a bit of crime.