mummyinusa

Hi, Hope you don't mind me joining this discussion too! We are currently in Texas, have been for nearly 2 years and my husband's company is moving us to his office in Sunnyvale in January. He will be working from home a lot but will need to go into the office at least once or twice a week, maybe more. I really like the look of Pleasanton as we have two kids, oldest has just started Kindergarten, so schools are important as is crime levels and hoping to be able to have at least trails or parks nearby. My husband is preferring San Jose, Saratoga areas. Anyone have any advice? Do you have kids in Pleasanton schools?

N1cky

Hi, I saw no-one replied to your post. I can't add anything about Pleasanton side, but live in Mountain View, right on the border with Sunnyvale. If I can answer anything about this side of the bay, feel free to ask.

off_again

Yep, can help here!

Schools here are excellent. California schools are rated on a 1-10 scheme (can't remember the website but google it). Pleasanton schools come out highly and are some of the best in the state!!! But you get out what you put in, so don't expect to get away without getting involved.

Parks are great, easy access to lots of facilities and we have two East Bay parks nearby and lots and lots of City parks. The difference is the size and accessibility for activities such as dog walking (East Bay parks are lease free) etc. The crime rate is pretty much nonexistent. It's safe, clean, tidy and very friendly. My two kids love it here and it's pretty well regarded in the area. The Main Street is pretty and has a lot of charm, but not loud and safe for late night walking (unlike so many uk towns these days).

But, be warned, the commute to the valley isn't nice and can take an hour at the wrong time. It's not 25 miles and it can be a drag. It's not bad, but it's not great. There are a few alternative routes but they don't aid the overall time. That said, a couple of times per week and some sensible start / finish times might aid this. I go to Oakland airport, Sunnyvale and Palo Alto a lot and it's ok. Would want to do it every day though. Fridays are bad. Avoid.

My last warning is about property prices. Pleasanton isn't cheap. Neither is Dublin or Livermore for that matter and a large 4/5 bed house with pool etc will hit $1m easily. Don't get me wrong, they are nice and competitive with the valley, where a similar place with schools, access and parks etc, the price will be $1.2m and more!!!! So in a bizarre way, they are competitive. They said, there are pockets of cheaper and it really depends on what you are looking for.

We like it here and we are looking to settle down a bit more. Let's see what happens, but there are far worse places to live. My boss lives in Dallas and likes the fact he can have a bit house, but hates the summer heat and $500 a month electric bills! So yeah, he's got a big house, but it's much more bearable here, just be aware of the property prices.

Let me know where you are looking and I can take a look for you.

Damn phone spell correct. Sorry for mistakes and errors. But I guess it makes sense!!'

BayAreaNewbie

Hi there.

Sorry i didn't reply sooner but haven't been on this site for a while.

Try the website greatschools.org which gives lots of details about schools etc. Dublin and Pleasanton have excellent schools and I agree that everyone here gets really involved with the schools and whats going on and there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in lots of different ways.

I really cant help regarding the commute unfortunately as we have only been here in Dublin for 6 months and my husband works in San Francisco so he gets the Bart into the city everyday to avoid the drive but looks like you have been given lots of great advice about the commute already.

We rent a house in Dublin, originally we wanted to live in Pleasanton however at the time there wasn't really much in the way of rentals that suited us so we rent in Dublin and we love it. We were never looking to buy as we are here on a 3 years visa so rental was the sensible option for us but I also agree with the comment above about the house prices and a 3-4 bed with no pool is probably around $850,000 in Dublin so will be slightly more in Pleasanton (quite a shock for us compared to prices in the Scotland where you can almost get a mansion for that kind of money!)

Lots of parks in both Dublin and Pleasanton and there is always something going on.

Downtown Pleasanton is beautiful, really picturesque and interesting with lots of nice cafe's and restaurants.

If I can be of any help with anything else just let me know.