May be moving to San Jose area from Tualatin, OR advice !!!

lol on the paint, I love it when its done but painting it back to neutral is not inspiring for me. I am very grateful for the time to get ready especially for the kids to get used to the idea. I think mostly we are all excited.... my son decided he wants his bedroom in California to be green - I love that!!

So, Toots, the Cisco interview went well for DH? You posted something in the storm thread, but it was just a tease!~ Did he get home on Firday, or have to stay over?

Hi Redtootsie,

Sounds like some exciting & stressful changes are in your future. I grew up here in the Bay Area, in Palo Alto, & now live in Emerald Hills (the hills above Redwood City). I think that everyone here will agree that we have some of the best weather & gardening conditions, anywhere... and some of the worst traffic.

I agree with all those who have cautioned against a long commute. I think you can find houses in your price range closer than Pleasanton... however, you may want to look closely at the schools - they vary a lot in quality & reputation - unless you plan to consider private school options. "Greatschools.net" is a useful option. If Intel & (hopefully) Cisco are courting your husband, they probably can help with advice about realtors, etc. I know there are re-location businesses that specialize in advising & showing people around different areas that meet their particular needs - maybe the new company can hook you up with such a service.

I concur with the advice to rent for 6 months before buying - you can learn a lot in that time from people who live & have kids attending schools in the area. BTW, I haven't heard anyone mention Fremont - another area, just the other side of the bay from San Jose/Santa Clara, which is a decent commute & has some good schools & is very family oriented - as everywhere there are more & less desireable areas in that town.

Good Luck - keep us posted!

Thank-you ! I always love any suggestions for "family towns". Well, he really loved the people at Cisco and they are putting an offer together for him. Then, he got a call from ebay, he was honest and let them know he's already met with a couple of companies. They really wanted to meet with him so, now he's flying down Sunday to meet with them Monday.

I'm very proud of him, he's worked incredibly hard. Now I'm just excited to move and grow things I haven't been able to.

**Both relocation programs look very good, but I think we've gotten alot of insight from "my gardening forum" lol and the employee's he's had lunch with at both places, especially the ones that have the added concern of schools. I like the realty website movoto.com - they have school info, neighborhood, crime rates, blah blah blah. It's a great site. Yeah, I really am getting excited! This is a great forum, you have given me so much good information : )

pigeon , I think we'll finally know which company next week ??!!

Cool---all of them are winners! He MUST be good to be getting courted so strongly in this downturn!

Another advantage of renting: home prices are decreasing in some areas, so you may be able to buy more home (or land) for your money if you wait. Prices seem to be most affected in the newer developments.

I know renting isn't too appealing to a gardener, though! Maybe you can do some container gardening in the meantime?

Reports of our rainlessness have been slightly exaggerated in this forum ;-). One year not too long ago we had some rain in June (granted, that was an exceedingly unusual event), and I know we had rain in early September about four years ago because we were adding on to our house and the roof hadn't been put on yet! But maybe that was just in Alameda, which is about 35 miles north of the Silicon Valley. USUALLY the rain stops in April and doesn't really get going again until November, but it seems like the rainy season has been longer over the past few years.

We cope by trying to plant drought-resistant plants where we can, and by using automatic sprinklers or a hose during the summer on everything else. I actually enjoy hand-watering, as it really keeps me in touch with what's going on in the garden.

jills - I know I'll regret saying this, but not much rain sounds fabulous (it has rained here every day for weeks and weeks pretty much) Jan/Feb are just too much gray.

DH just called, he's getting ready to go in for his interviews @ ebay - said it was about 65 and pretty sunny.... which sounds fabulous. He laughed when he said most people have jackets on.

I think our timing for buying will actually be good, since I'm staying here until summer break anyway we wouldnt be buying for a while. One company is offering corporate housing as part of their relocation program, which is awesome! I'm getting more and more excited about the move all the time.

It is hard right now getting all these great catalogs, but I sure can't order anything !!!!! I usually over do it and get way too much come spring time lol, maybe thats a blessing.

I'm excited for you, too!!

thank you pigeon - you have been such a help (an inspiration!!) DH called, and liked ebay (and they said they are giving him an offer, omg, I cannot believe this!!!)

so, here we wait and wait to compare.

Wow...3 great companies all want him--that must feel really great! Hopefully they all know they have competition and are writing him nice juicy offers to try and beat the others! Has Google called him yet? Sounds like that's the only big name company that's not on the list!

LOL!!!!!

Ohhh, I'd go with the corporate housing! LOL

Hi redtootsiepop,
Have you considered going coastal? I live in Santa Cruz and my Hubby works in San Jose, 35 minute commute. The climate here is way less dry, begonias are very happy outside here. There's a marine fog layer, doesn't get as hot as inland and the commute isn't that bad, tons of people do it. The commute from North of San Jose seems like kind of a nightmare and livermoor is kind of yucky in my opinion. I'll leave it at that. I think your going to be "stoked" living in CA. The gardening here is really cool, almost a yearound season. Looking forward to another local DGer. Good luck

Santa Cruz, no wow, I haven't looked there, I definitely will. 35 minutes is less than his commute from Beaverton to Tualatin... that would be a nice change.

Now, I have to ask why is Livermore "yucky" ? lol I really do want your opinion, I thought all the vineyards looked lovely, but I'd like to hear what you think.

I'm off to check out Santa Cruz,,,, and by marine fog layer, does it burn off? We have fog here some days that NEVER lifts am - pm ,,, I'm so done with gray days.

Thank-you!!!

Livermore has come a long way. Have you been there lately? Soem of our favorite wineries are there and it's really grown up into a lovely area, lots of great new homes with vineyards surrounding them. If it wasn't for the commute, I would love to live either there or Pleasanton. Of there is 'yucky' in any town, depending on where you go, including Santa Cruz. ;-)

I don't like Livermore's weather as much, the farther east you go, the hotter your summers are. I don't like my summer temps either come to think of it, but Livermore is even a degree or two warmer most days and who needs that! And then there's the commute thing too, I really don't think you'll get enough more house for your $$ there to make it worth the hideous commute.

As far as fog burning off...there's that old Mark Twain quote (or misquote?) that the coldest winter he ever spent in his life was a summer in San Francisco. Santa Cruz may be a bit less foggy than SF, but every time I've been down there in the summertime it's always been foggy. Wonderearth would have a much better perspective though from living there rather than just visiting occasionally.

Thank you Sue, I can't wait to come down for my "spousal check-out" of all the areas, will definitely give me a better feel. All I've seen is thru DH's pictures, and how he feels about different areas, and checking out neighborhood thru movoto.com for school info & crime stats, etc.,

I'm so sick of the rain, you probably have blooms starting up down there??

blooms starting??
LOl, we have blooms year round depending on what plant. There's always something in bloom.
Yeah Liz, that's right. Forgot about the heat factor. the older I get, the less I can tolerate it.

WEll las time I was in livermoor in was very strip mallish and it is soooo hot, not very much diversity, lawrence livermoor labs, nuclear research facility. I'm not that familiar with it so maybe I shouldn't have really said anything. Second, summers in SC are foggy but usually burns off sometime in the afternoon, but our summer really hits in late august and september, Some of our most beautiful days are in late fall and winter. Also depending on the micro-climate, or how far from the ocean you are it's more of less foggy. Anyhow, it really depends on your taste, do you like hot?

Sounds to me like Toots is being "courted" by us DGers just as much as her DH is by the tech giants!~~~~~

You must have heard about her from-scratch cinnamon rolls. She told us all about them one day over on PNW. Soft, gooey, with and without raisins....

Santa Cruz is a great town, but isn't that commute over Highway 17 to Silicon Valley just a nightmare any time there's an accident or a rainstorm? And the coast definitely has more grey skies than the Santa Clara Valley. It sounds like Red is ready for some serious sun!

I guess you always like what you know best. I'm a Menlo Park, Palo Alto girl. Born there. I'd move back one day. I like Half Moon Bay too. That commute would be punishing.

mmmmmm.....homemade cinnamon rolls? OK, I'm gonna have to start campaigning harder for Gilroy!!

ha ha ha haha SusyBell & Pigeon, you two crack me up !!!!

Well, the hot, hmmmm - we are in the middle of the rainy months, so it's hard to be realistic at the moment. I am dreaming of blue skies and tank tops while I'm inside with sweartshirt, lined pants, boots & 2 pair of socks on at the moment - school is 2 hours late because of the icy roads (which is fun, the girls are feeding Tiger some of their bacon, lol) ... I have to remember, its not a sunny vacation, it's hot hot hot.

I love that everyone is proud of their town, as it should be - and is a good reminder to look everywhere. Now, I will go check out Palo Alto. : )

**Pigeon, I owe you some cinnamon rolls no matter where we end up!

I vote for a 'Welcome to the Bay Area and Calif' picnic, you bring the cinnamon rolls, we'll donate plants! :-)

EXCELLENT!!!!~~~

Your DH will need to find out which campus he'll actually be working at (and hopefully staying at) before you make a decision about where to look, too. Sometimes HR is in a totally different location. My company has several campuses, and a 2-mile move from one building to another up the street a few years ago added 20 minutes to my commute. Sounds silly, I know, but it's just the way it is here. There are what they call "expressways" that are kind of a cross between surface streets and freeways (they have signals, some have carpool lanes, and typically the speed limit is faster than surface street & slower than freeway). If he's working in a building near one of those it's often easier than using the freeway. Other locations, the freeway or surface streets are your only choices. So when you get all the info about his work location, you may want to find the Central Expressway, San Tomas Expressway and Lawrence Expressway on your maps so you can see if they might figure into the mix.

Also, there were a lot of single older houses that on large lots being demolished in the San Jose/Santa Clara area these days. They're being replaced with high-density (very nice) housing, with no lots at all. So the new mix is interesting and something you might not be able to see on a map----but probably could on GoogleEarth if it's relatively up to date. That might make it easier to decide what houses to actually go look at when you get to that point.

that sounds confusing ! lol - he got pulled over on his way to the airport yesterday, the officer took pity on him because he was an out of towner distracted by the ladies voice on the GPS. **He was doing 50 in a 25 , he needs to pay attention to the speed signs a bit better.

CalifSue - Fantastic !

Wow he must be a real charmer to be able to get away with 50 in a 25. No wonder the companies are throwing themselves at his feet! LOL

Oh, well....go take a look at Santa Cruz and fall in love....maybe. You'll most likely find that it's a different mind set. More Bohemian and there's the University and The Ocean. Not to mention Cabrillo College's fabulous salvia collection. If you go to check it out...give yourself a treat and visit the Roadhouse (or is it Roadside?) diner in Davenport, 9 miles north of Santa Cruz on Hwy 1 along the ocean. When we went to the salvia sale in May we stopped there for brunch and it was incredibly good plus wonderful ambiance. I may have to go back this May for both.
Sherry
PS...it can be like that about the rain...when we moved back to California from Washington we'd planned on moving to the Santa Rosa area. When we drove down to look around, the day we hit Santa Rosa it was raining and we both just said, "Further south...keep going." Of course, I'm sorry now, we love that area, but we'd just had too much rain for 3 years and didn't want anymore right then. We get nowhere near enough rain down here and now I'm sick of that!
edited to add that we hate the heat and Santa Cruz weather is fantastic for us. We were looking for a house there (my gosh) 30 years ago and came across a good deal to buy inland instead. If we had bought in Santa Cruz, I don't think we would ever have left.

This message was edited Jan 15, 2008 11:26 AM

If he can talk his way out of a 50-in-a-25-zone speeding ticket, I wanna take classes from him---not for the tickets but for the "gift of gab" he must have LOL!!! Let me guess, he's in Marketing?

ok, and you are so right about the rain!!! I need to remember that.

doss, lol I don't think it was his charm, he was probably befuddled that he was going that fast !

ha ha ha - him getting out of the speeding ticket has made his seem suave ... he's really just normal, more thoughtful than gabby (he'd never admit it, but he has to think I talk TOO much). I think the officer took pity cause he looked so respectable (and confused) in his suit. He wears jeans to work now, and wore a suit to the ebay office... of course, what did they all have on but jeans & t-shirts.

**he's in tax accounting no marketing.

These companies here ALL need new tax accountants!!!

The first time I interviewed at my company, I was concerned because I was on our main plant emergency response team at my old job, and didn't "dress for success". I told the person who was interviewing me this, and he scheduled the interview for a Casual Friday. The first guy I saw in the lobby was wearing ragged cutoffs, a tank top, and flip-flops. I felt pretty darn chic in my silk shirt and clean jeans and steel-toed cowboy boots!

oh nice ! & sounds like a very cute outfit, btw. I can't stop looking at real estate !

Redtoots, it just gets better & better, doesn't it? Some feedback on recent conversations, and - just my personal observations - I don't mean to be a wet blanket:

Santa Cruz - my DH lived in the hills of Santa Cruz for 20 years, a place called Redwood Estates (in the Los Gatos school district, which is excellent) - slightly less of a commute than all the way to Santa Cruz . He worked in San Jose. Said he'd NEVER do that commute again - it's a windy dangerous road, so there are daily accidents, which cause horrendous delays.

Palo Alto - where I grew up & lived until 3 1/2 years ago... it's home & I love it... schools are good... BUT houses are outrageously expensive, for what you get!!! If you do decide to check out Palo Alto, let me know, because I'm very familiar with the town & could steer you to a good real estate agent.

Livermore - I'm not terribly familiar, but here's what I know - they're building a lot of nice new homes, wineries, etc. - if you like new construction (which also means less trees), planned subdivisions, a bit warmer weather & the commute, it's great. Really depends on your style - it's doubtful (in my meager experience) that you'll find older charm, if that's your preference.

Let us know what type of environment you prefer - ie. older charm, new construction, flatlands, hills. We moved to Emerald Hills 3 1/2 years ago, because we got more for our $, for our new blended family, & love our bay views, deer in the yard, etc. It took my husband 35 - 40 minutes to commute to San Jose, so the Redwood City area may be a possibility - Redwood City is flatter, but you have to be careful which school neighborhood you're in. As I mentioned before, I encourage you to check out Fremont & don't discount San Jose - it's a big city with many varieties & price ranges of neighborhoods.

Enjoy this adventure... looking forward to hearing how you like the Bay Area & which job DH accepts! Your family is in an enviable position, juggling offers from three great companies!

Liz

Thank you Liz, your comments are all good ones. Well, I can't answer what we like, we've lived in a 1909 craftsman and loved it (and didn't love replacing the roof, furnace, porch, etc.,... but who does - and we were newly married, new babies so extra money for the house was non-existent!) But the house was charming.

Then we moved to a new house, and I started to seriously garden because - just like you said no trees! There were some large gardening tasks, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. (learned from my many mistakes : ) *and after 5 people in a 1 bathroom house, also enjoyed a master bathroom !!

So, we are open to either type of home, I don't mind the zero landscaping, even if it takes a few years to fill in. Really, it's mostly schools/neighborhood/commute. I have looked at Fremont, it's close - in fact, all of the areas you said - I love the homes in Los Gatos, but spend-ee! I've even seen some 50's ranch houses that were pretty cool (if updated correctly) so I think we are open on the style.

Okay, pardon my dumb question, but is Emerald Hills in Redwood City? Movoto.com has great school comparisons when you shop for homes -- in fact I will go check it out right now - thanks for the tip.

http://www.movoto.com/real-estate/homes-for-sale/CA/Redwood-City/241-Topaz-St-100_768341.htm

I like this one, 2400 sq ft is smaller than our home now - but that goes with the Oregon to California move I think. Unless we do choose Livermore, which is DH's #1 pick now (I think because he likes a particular house there.


When I put this address into zillow it doesn't pull this actual address? weird. oh not so weird, I see the dirt lot now !

This message was edited Jan 16, 2008 1:36 PM

This message was edited Jan 16, 2008 1:39 PM

That house looks like it could be new construction... It's in a nice area - lots of charming houses, not tracts by any means - each house is different - and away from traffic, but close to shopping, etc. 2400 sq. feet is good size in our area.

Emerald Hills probably shows up as Redwood City, in many of the real estate searches - it is an unincorporated area, above Redwood City. The name was officially made Emerald Hills some time ago, but our property taxes still say Redwood City.

I'm sure the house in Livermore is lovely & luxurious - guess it's DH doing the commute, so if he's willing...

i know ! but, I don't want him to get disgusted with his commute and want to move in two years to a closer spot ! ** can't do that to the kids again.

Pleasanton schools look really superb - what is your take on Pleasanton?