anyone in or near san jose?

[sesa70]

It seems a very real possibility that we will be moving to san jose in the very near future. i am a little freaked out but am looking for some local parents who might be able to help me with the transition...we are in the midwest and i have never even been to ca!

i am also wondering what to do aboutt schools... do most people go private? are there any montessori schools that go up through jr high or even high school? thanks in advance!

[sesa70]

Ok... so my husbands job offer is in. We have a very short time to make this huge decision. I am hoping some one can tell me, what income a family of 5 would need in order to live comfortably in San Jose? We are thinking the Morgan Hill area. The offer seems high for our current area, but low for the bay area.

My middle daughter woudl be attending a private/montessori school. Please help!

[seattlelady]

We just moved to San Jose from outside Seattle, family of three living on my husbands low six figure income. It is comfortable, but by no means extravagant. We rent a nice newer home, much like you will find in Morgan Hill. It was a 'find' here in San Jose and keeps him minutes from work. Traffic from Morgan Hill to San Jose is heavy. We preferred to have a shorter commute and be closer to many other things. We will probably homeschool our preschooler as the elementary nearby is fulltime kindergarten and 1000 kids. Just too big and not for us.

Everything here is somewhat more expensive. Preschools I looked at cost 2-5 times as much as our comparable program in WA. We shop at Whole Foods, so I don't see a huge difference there since we shopped there in Wa, too.

Still, it is a beautiful place to live. We have enjoyed no rain or clouds since we moved here in mid-July. It really allows for a more outdoor friendly life with little ones.

Hope this helps a bit!

[Jintana]

Probably a little late for this. :)

1) Salaries increase nicely with experience. 

2) We're using the public school system so far; special needs preschool even.

3) Morgan Hill is a good option if your husband gets to choose his own hours; else the traffic will drive him nuts.

Good luck!