new to campbell/san jose

[stellarae]

hi there! i just moved to campbell (about a block away from the san jose city limits) a week ago, so i was wondering if i could get a quick tutorial on the area? great places to bring kids (4 and 1), hidden treasures , "free admission" days around the bay, great grocery stores/ farmers markets/ food that is healthy, but cheap!
we just upped our monthly rent by $400, and i reeeeally want to get my son into a preschool program, and i found one at the community center here for $211/mo for 3 days a week. (which, back in vermont, is about the price per week, not per month) so im really hoping to start cutting back on the budget. well, i am really hoping to start to budget, haha.

we are in a month-to-month lease, as well, (2 bedroom, about $1500/mo) so we are kind of looking for a more permanent place.... no more than what we are currently paying. where are some good neighborhoods/ones to stay away from? dh is working in fremont now (we were told san jose when we moved here, then they changed it up on him. guh) so... yeah...

any help is greatly greatly appreciated!

also --- HI!!!

[Chamomile Girl]

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I live in Santa Clara which is pretty close to where you are. My kid is only 9 months so I'm somewhat clueless about the kid-friendly stuff but I'll give ya what I've got:

Lets see...One great place to bring kids (and a great place in general) is the beaches in Santa Cruz. Its about a 35-45 minute drive over the mountain, but very worth it. I usually go to Seacliff State Beach which is 10 bucks to get into unless you have a California State Parks yearly pass. There is also a great boardwalk in Santa Cruz, as well as a wonderful downtown area.

Free days for museums:
1st Tuesday of the month:
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The De Young Museum (SF)
The Legion of Honor (SF)

1st Wednesday is the Exploritorium (SF)
1st Sunday is the Asian Art Museum (SF)
3rd Wednesday is the Academy of Sciences (SF)

Plus if you have a Bank of America card they have museum days at the San Jose Tech museum and the San Jose Museum of Art on the first weekend of the month: http://museums.bankofamerica.com/

So far the best farmer's market I have been to (outside of the SF one at the Ferry Building...which is a bit overwhelming really) is the one in Mountain View held on Sundays from 9-1 at the train station by Castro Street.

There is a Whole Foods near to you in Campbell on Bascom and Hamilton, but there is a nicer one in Cupertino on Stevens Creek Blvd near De Anza. Trader Joe's rocks and is cheaper than Foods Whole (but doesn't have as good a selection of bulk items sadly).

There is a great baby store called Tiny Tots baby boutique in downtown Campbell: http://www.tinytots.com/ They are also a diaper service. Downtown Campbell also has a farmers market I believe. They also have a place called Harmony Birth Resources that offers classes and such for babies toddlers and kids: http://www.harmonybirth.com/newfamilies.html

There is a pretty good kid's second-hand store in Santa Clara called Kid-2-Kid. It is on Homestead Road by Kiely. There is an outlet mall in Milpitas called The Great Mall (how creative), and another further one in Gilroy. If you are ever down by Gilroy (say on the way to Monterrey) its worth stopping just for the American Apparel Outlet. They have kid's clothes there pretty cheap.

Crap, I just wrote you a novel. Anyways welcome!! I can't tell you much about neighborhoods because I have only lived down here for about 7 months.

Oh, one last thing is that Las Madres is a local mothers club in the area; there is also a babywearing club and a local chapter of the Holistic Mom's Network (which I haven't checked out yet). PM me if you want more info about these.

[MamieCole]

Hi there and welcome! You live super close to me. We love it here!

There are lots of great parks in the area:
Jack Fisher Park is a great one. It has swings, slides, sand boxes, climbing structure and a water feature, which is great when the weather gets warmer. It gets really crowded on weekends, so going during week is better.
John D. Morgan Park is great also, but no water feature.
San Tomas Park is nice also.

There is a Trader Joe's in the Westgate West shopping center.

The Campbell Farmer's Market is AWESOME.

There are local LLL meetings in the area. If you'd like more info, just pm me.

The Pruneyard in Campbell has a movie theatre that has movies days where you can bring you baby/child with you. Diaper Days

There is a new baby consignment store called Mommy n Me on Prospect rd.

The libraries around here have some great kids programs as well.

The Children's Discovery Museum downtown San Jose is a great place to take young kids.

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo just reopened after a remodel and is a wonderful way to spend the day. (although not cheap)

Prusch Farm is a hidden little gem in the middle of the city.

Ooops, crying baby. Will try to post more later.

[Mother Cake]

Hi! I'm in your area too. Mostly everything I know about has been mentioned. Two other Farmer's Markets I like are Cupertino on Friday am and Saratoga on Saturday am. Here is the most complete list of Santa Clara County FM's I could find.

Originally Posted by MamieCole

John D. Morgan Park is great also, but no water feature.

I don't know what you consider a "water feature" MaimeCole, but I was at this park last summer and there were kids playing in what I thought might be called a "water feature" in the north/toddler play area. (Rincon. ave side) It had a series of pipes that sprayed water on the children for a short time. It seemed to be activated by pressing a button. What's the "water feature" at Jack Fisher Park like? (Just curious/trying to clarify terminology.)

[MamieCole]

Originally Posted by Mother Cake

Hi! I'm in your area too. Mostly everything I know about has been mentioned. Two other Farmer's Markets I like are Cupertino on Friday am and Saratoga on Saturday am. Here is the most complete list of Santa Clara County FM's I could find.



I don't know what you consider a "water feature" MaimeCole, but I was at this park last summer and there were kids playing in what I thought might be called a "water feature" in the north/toddler play area. (Rincon. ave side) It had a series of pipes that sprayed water on the children for a short time. It seemed to be activated by pressing a button. What's the "water feature" at Jack Fisher Park like? (Just curious/trying to clarify terminology.)

Interesting, I wonder if the water feature there is newish? I've never noticed it... Or maybe I've just never been to John Morgan in the summer. But the one at Jack Fisher is pretty much exactly as you described and is the one we frequent because it is closer to our house. They also have a sort of faucet waterfall thingy at Jack Fisher where the kids can fill their buckets and make mud pies and stuff.