Nicsay

Hi there,

Can anyone help? My family ( husband and 8 year old Daughter) are relocating to California this Summer with my husband job. He will be working in San Jose. Many of his colleagues have mentioned Pleasanton, Danville or Dublin to live.

We currently live in Surrey Uk. We are looking for areas where there are good schools and a good community feel. It is important fur me to have a "downtown" vibe to mooch around and have a coffee meet people etc.

I am looking for any advice, reassurance , any tips on relocating and if you have recently relocated it would be great to hear your stories good and bad.

Exciting but a huge thing that I'm still try ing to get my head around.

Many thanks for reading.

Hotscot

Have you read all the threads already on this? You can search.

For example
http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...st-bay-851163/

How much income will you have to support yourselves?
$100k? 150k? 200k+?

And what's the tolerance for commuting?

(Plus if you're asking for advice you need to specify what advice as 'any' may be a wee bit general and may not apply to your situation.)

Also...

City-Data.com - Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, crime, house prices, cost of living, races, home value estimator, recent sales, income, photos, schools, maps, weather, neighborhoods, and more

Nicsay

Many thanks for your prompt response hotspot- I guess I should have been more specific- basically I would like to hear any personal accounts / personal experiences of what it's like living in pleasanton or Danville- I have obviously looked on line and read all about the areas and we will be able to afford to live in the area but reading facts on line is not the same as personal accounts.

Where do you live hotscot?

Nicsay

Oh I've just seen your location Hotscot- ignore me!

kevntrace

The Tri-Valley area (Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon) is a very family oriented area. It would be a good fit for you from that perspective.

Pleasanton and Livermore have nice strollable downtown areas. Dublin and San Ramon do not. But lots of parks. Dublin (where we live) has been the last of the tri-valley cities to go through growth. There is still lots of new construction going on, a lot of which is condos. The plan for a new downtown area in Dublin cratered due to the property crash in 2008.

Living in the tri-valley and commuting down to San Jose probably means driving south on the Interstate 680. Lots of people do it, so it gets very busy. Some larger companies put on commuter buses. And there is the possibility of the ACE (Altamont Commuter Express) train.

Danville is another gorgeous town, with a lovely downtown. A little bit more expensive than the tri-valley for property, and the farthest north away from San Jose from all the places I mentioned.

Good luck with the move!

Bob

The wiki, up top would be a good starting point. Has lots of info on relocation packages, credit, insurance and other things to look out for.

Welcome to BE and good luck though!

Nicsay

Kevntrace - thank you so much for all that info - perfect. I was asking generally at first as any info is good but this is just what I was after.

Lucybell33

It depends a lot on whereabouts in San Jose you're husband will be based, as it covers quite a wide area, so that will affect the actual commute time.

We moved here from Hampshire in August for my husband's job, which is based in Cupertino. We did seriously consider Pleasanton, as we have friends who live there and love it. It has a lovely downtown, plenty of good shopping, cafes and restaurants, but most importantly for us (with a 5 and 8 yo), excellent schools. However, when we weighed up the long (1-1.5 hour each way) daily commute (even with the benefit of free shuttle buses), we concluded that we wanted to live closer to the valley. In addition, the best schools are oversubscribed, so even had we managed to get in catchment, we'd have been unlikely to have got both children in, at least initially, and we didn't want that additional upheaval for them. We weren't keen on Dublin, which is very dry and dusty and apparently more of a sleeper town (empty during the day). Livermore schools aren't so good. Danville is lovely, but an even longer commute. The East Bay is very hot in the summer, which might be an additional consideration.

We went for the South Bay in the end, and we're living in the Los Gatos mountains with the children in an amazing school. Hubby's commute is just over 1/2 hour. It is expensive though, so salary will be a big factor!

We were going through what you're going through now just a year ago, so any other questions, feel free to ask! And good luck - it's a roller coaster, but definitely worth it for the adventure!!

Giantaxe

Or, more specifically, the East Bay to the east of the Oakland hills is very hot in the summer. Places that ring the bay to the west of the hills aren't particularly, and that's an important distinction for some.

Lucybell33

Apologies - haven't been here long enough to get all the geographical distinctions quite right yet!

Nicsay

Thank you Lucybell33 - its was great to read all your info. Its great to hear from those who have done the move recently. I may well with your permission private messge you if I want further info but I promise not to stalk you!!!!

Nicsay

Thank you Giantaxe too - it all helps with decisions!

Lucybell33

Permission granted

Steerpike

As others have said, Pleasanton and Danville have nice downtowns - Danville especially so, but it's a long haul. 680 (the freeway that links those towns to San Jose) is hideous during a wide range of hours ... I've waited until 7:30pm and still run into traffic between Fremont and Pleasanton (Sunol grade, I think it's called).

Unless you can vary your hours wildly (go completely off-commute times), it's just not going to be a fun commute. I'd seriously consider Los Gatos, and other communities closer to the work location - but - they are going to be way more expensive.

They are planning to extend bart down the east side, from its current terminus at Fremont all the way to San Jose. Not sure when, or if it will help you.

Weather for me in the Pleasanton/Danville area is not a problem, but I've adapted. You aren't going to want to go out running at 2pm on several days in August, but - the evenings are lovely and you can have all your windows open. I'd rather have the bad hot days in the East Bay, than the cold foggy days in San Francisco (which I experienced for 12 years). We head into San Francisco on those unbearably hot days (which aren't that often).

Nicsay

Hi Steerpike - thank you so much for your comments and time - I have only just come back on here after suffering a bout of flu. Great to get your take and advice. The move it getting closer now - possibly a June arrival - YIKES!!