Congratulations, you’re moving to Silicon Valley! You will be pleased to know that we get 300 sunny days and only about 15″ of rain each year (more or less - more if you live in or near the Santa Cruz Mountains, and less if you are closer to Milpitas or east San Jose). Our subtropical climate, diverse population, abundant parks & cultural opportunities, high level of education among the residents and low crime rate all make this a very desireable place to live.

If you are coming from out of the area, or even out of the country, how can you choose where to live?

Some of your parameters will be decided by your budget, and others by your wants and needs.

Want a “close to town” type area where you can find coffee shops, restaurants, stores and a bustling area nearby? Perhaps you should consider Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Saratoga, Los Gatos, Campbell, Willow Glen, downtown San Jose, Santana Row or possibly Santa Clara. Many of these “downtown” areas near residential parts of Silicon Valley feel more “European” than the large areas of suburbia.

Do you put a priority on great schools and low crime? Then have a look at Cupertino, Saratoga, Palo Alto, Los Altos, Monte Sereno, Los Gatos, the Los Gatos Mountains, Almaden Valley, and the Silver Creek area of San Jose. Also there are parts of Cambrian Park and the San Jose Mission District of Fremont with very fine public schools. One section of Santa Clara enjoys Cupertino schools, as does part of west San Jose.

If lower cost utilities are important to you, have a look at Santa Clara!

Some folks really want a cabana with a swim team nearby. There are a few in Cambrian Park, Almaden Valley, Los Gatos, Saratoga, and all over the Santa Clara Valley, but the highest concentration of neighborhood pools and swim teams seem to be in Santa Clara.

How about unique, older architecture? Then check out the Japantown, Vendome, and Naglee Park areas of downtown San Jose. Or, if the budget allows, consider the old Alum Rock area of San Jose, or parts of Los Gatos, Campbell, Willow Glen, Mountain View and Saratoga. The charm is enduring!

Relocating is a lot of work. If you would like help finding where you’d be most comfortable once you arrive here, please contact me and I’ll give you a few points to consider, even if you are not ready to buy (or sell) just yet.

Known for engineers and high tech or bio-tech, Silicon Valley is actually much more than tilt up buildings full of well educated, hard working people. There is a ton of scenic beauty here in this sub-tropical area with 300 sunny days each year. I hope you will enjoy this slide show I put together to help introduce you to “The Valley of Hearts Delight”, now known as Silicon Valley. Below, please find images from San Jose (Almaden Valley, Cambrian Park and Willow Glen, and downtown Vendome areas), Campbell, Saratoga, Santa Clara and Los Gatos. Enjoy!

Moving horror stories abound - damaged and lost furniture, huge delays, and final bills that barely reflect the initial estimates are not all that uncommon.

Some of my clients have been the victims of bad moving companies. One couple I worked with here in Silicon Valley did not get enough bids (only 2) and chose the mover based on the low, low price that was quoted. (By the time it was all over, the bill paid was considerably higher than the quote and the amount of work my clients had to do was far higher too.) I had suggested that they take more bids, including from a reputable company that I know and trust, but in the interests of time, they only spoke with two movers which they’d found on their own. Some other clients of mine had an unlicensed mover not only hurt their furniture in a move a year or so ago, but damage the deck stairs while handling the move. Surprising? I’ve heard of some companies simply hiring day laborers when they find themselves short of hand.

You don’t want that to happen to you!

The California Moving and Storage Association (CMSA) has a number of informative articles on its website that I want to recommend to those planning a move. One is about the low-bidding but unscrupulous bandit movers, and another is about how to select a mover. They wisely advise to be wary of chosing a mover based on an extremely low price. In my fifteen years of selling homes in Silicon Valley, I have found that when most of the bids fall into a range and one is very, very much lower or very much higher, it’s a red flag that something may not be right.

When planning your move, always get at least 3-4 written quotes from reputable companies who are licensed and preferable referred to you by people who have worked with them (in the local branch) or from Realtors such as myself who have had positive professional experiences with them. I am happy to give you the names of companies and individuals I have found to be fair, honest. and trustworthy.

For more information on relocating to or from Silicon Valley, please see Move2SiliconValley.com.

For people relocating to Silicon Valley, there can be some significant surprises (beyond the ˜sticker shock of our home prices in the San Jose area). Here are a few pointers to help you in your transition:

• The school district boundaries do not follow the boundaries for the city or town
  • For instance, in the Town of Los Gatos there are 3 school districts
  • So being in Saratoga could mean having Cupertino Schools or Moreland Schools or Saratoga Schools. Part of San Jose has San Jose Unified Schools, but in some areas its Union Schools or other districts.
  • The reason for this confusing situation is that the school district boundaries were drawn before all the cities and towns in Santa Clara County were clearly defined (or the boundaries expanded)
• The mailing address city or town may not be the ˜actual location of the property
  • This is a rare situation, but sometimes the mailing address will say ˜Los Gatos when in fact the home is part of San Jose or Campbell. This has to do mostly with postal routes or with unincorporated areas using a mailing address for a long time and then being incorporated.
• We have ˜expansive clay soil here and water is a big issue. (Please see related post on buying hillside homes in Silicon Valley.)
• Most of our housing is ranch style tract homes. Were sorry about that. Developers went nuts in the post WWII boom and created massive urban sprawl, one of the only things that isnt so delightful in the Valley of Hearts Delight.And just a few non-real estate surprises too:
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