Advice for a family moving to Northern California

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by DJG1975

Thanks for all the advice. I think the hope was to rent in an area where we might eventually buy.
Or just rent until we get relocated back to Canada. I really don't want to move the kids from place to place. It will be hard enough for them to adjust.

OK, then that would leave out the East Bay/Fremont, unless someone would be OK with commuting across the bridge on a permanent basis.

You say that this is a temporary move, and you may be returning to Canada? Temporary, but long-term? Where would you want the kids to go to university--US, or Canada? You feel it's prudent to buy in a very expensive market, then sell, when the time comes? Did you have your heart set on a single-family home, or would a condo do?

[jade408]

Originally Posted by DJG1975

Thanks for all the advice. I think the hope was to rent in an area where we might eventually buy.
Or just rent until we get relocated back to Canada. I really don't want to move the kids from place to place. It will be hard enough for them to adjust.

What is your budget? To rent or buy? That is the number one question.

Mountain View isn't really a transit friendly place, nor is anywhere near there. I'd start with Mointain View if in budget. Most offices in Mountain View aren't near transit so you should see if your office is near Caltrain. If it is not, transit is a no go.

[Annie1004]

Interesting - I am planning on moving from the SF Peninsula to Ontario within the next year (I have dual citizenship, thanks to my parents who both are from Canada.) Fortunately, all of my cousins live in Ontario and Quebec; and lots of other relatives in Alberta and BC.

[artemis78]

There is youth hockey in (at least) Oakland, Fremont, and San Jose. It's hard to say where to look without knowing more about your budget and where the other job might wind up, though. San Jose could make sense if the second job might realistically be there, but otherwise (or if you still don't know when you move) I'd probably look most seriously at Fremont, which is a decent commute to Mountain View and a not horrible (though not great--long but can be on BART for many jobs) commute to San Francisco or Oakland, so keeps your job options open. Oakland and parts north are a terrible commute to Mountain View. Fremont also has strong schools across the board, so that gives you some options if you want to rent and eventually buy.

It all depends on your budget and what you are hoping to get for that, though. Fremont isn't cheap, precisely because it has strong schools with a decent commute to Silicon Valley. (But it's cheaper than the Peninsula, so there's that!)

ETA: I just noticed the note that the second job is in communications. You might luck out with something in San Jose, but that's probably more likely to be an Oakland or San Francisco job, so I'd keep that in mind. You could also consider Castro Valley for a mediocre commute to everywhere or Redwood City, if the areas with strong schools are in your budget.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by artemis78

There is youth hockey in (at least) Oakland, Fremont, and San Jose. It's hard to say where to look without knowing more about your budget and where the other job might wind up, though. San Jose could make sense if the second job might realistically be there, but otherwise (or if you still don't know when you move) I'd probably look most seriously at Fremont, which is a decent commute to Mountain View and a not horrible (though not great--long but can be on BART for many jobs) commute to San Francisco or Oakland, so keeps your job options open. Oakland and parts north are a terrible commute to Mountain View. Fremont also has strong schools across the board, so that gives you some options if you want to rent and eventually buy.

It all depends on your budget and what you are hoping to get for that, though. Fremont isn't cheap, precisely because it has strong schools with a decent commute to Silicon Valley. (But it's cheaper than the Peninsula, so there's that!)

ETA: I just noticed the note that the second job is in communications. You might luck out with something in San Jose, but that's probably more likely to be an Oakland or San Francisco job, so I'd keep that in mind. You could also consider Castro Valley for a mediocre commute to everywhere or Redwood City, if the areas with strong schools are in your budget.

This is a good point. If the second job turns out to be in the East Bay, Fremont would be the ticket, for a happy medium between, say, an Oakland job and a Mt. View job. If the 2nd job ends up in SF or on the Peninsula, or in San Jose, a SJ or Peninsula location would probably be best (there's a train that connects Peninsula communities to SF). If you don't plan on looking for a job until after you arrive, well....take your pick, but Fremont will have cheaper rents than any of the other areas.

[Ultrarunner]

My only advice is don't underestimate traffic!

Too many of my co-workers bought their dream homes out in the valley only to spend hours commuting each day...

Some areas have rent control and others don''t... rent and home prices are at record levels...

[Chuck5000]

My advice is: don't move here with children unless you are wealthy, or guaranteed to have a high income (300k+ if west side of Bay, i.e. peninsula or silicon valley; 250k+ if east side of bay) to enable you to live within reasonable commuting distance and also save properly for a family.

However, from your post I suspect you are coming here with money from family or elsewhere that would help you put down hundreds of K for a downpayment and deal with other expenses. If so, that takes care of the main problem here. If not, reconsider. You may not be prepared for how expensive it is, and how stressful it can be. Look carefully at quality of school districts.

It is not worth moving here based on ideas about how awesome California or the Bay Area might be, only to struggle mightily to save money and eke out a marginal lower middle class life when you're coming from a higher station.

And having commutes that turn out to be 90 minutes each way, when you thought they might only be 60 minutes or less, is pretty horrendous. Lots of money can make the problems go away - i.e. buy without regard to cost near where you work.