Relocating to Silicon Valley: Tips & Advice

Finding Furnished Rentals in Los Gatos

Many people who move to Silicon Valley want to rent initially.  Los Gatos is a great place to start!

In addition to the El Gato Penthouse (in downtown LG), a newer complex with some furnished rental units on the edge of Los Gatos next to Netflix is Aventino.

The Bay Tree Apartments are in the Almond Grove District (downtown Los Gatos) and they have both furnished and unfurnished, but I called them this weekend and they are full at the moment.  Here's their contact info to check back later or see if there's a waiting list: 347 Massol Aven Los Gatos, CA 95030   (408) 354-7317.

Search for San Jose area rentals on the MLS

Search for rental housing on the MLS on my sites:

1- find a home by map

Go to http://www.popehandy.com/find_silicon_valley_real_estate_and_homes_for_sale_by_map.html

In lower left corner you'll see "property types" - scroll down and find Residential Rental and click the box to select it

You can input bedrooms, bathrooms etc. in the fields to the right of it. I input 3 bed or more and 2 bath or more and got just 25 results

2 - simple city or town search on my blog

Go to http://www.SanJoseRealEstateLosGatosHomes.com

Scroll down and view the left sidebar - you'll see Real Estate Search in the left sidebar (just over the list of zip codes) - input the area/size you want and where it says "all property types", do a pull down and you'll find "rentals" as one of your choices.

Incredible Price on 5114 Nerissa Way in Cambrian Park

Cambrian Park, Santa Clara County  -  Announcing newly on MLS and at low price for Alta Vista School, quiet street, updated/remodeled condition and oversized lot! 5114 Nerissa Way, a 1,233 sq. ft., 2 bath, 3 bdrm single story "Room to add on!". Now MLS® $579,000 - Fabulous price!.

Property information

What about living in the Los Gatos Mountains (or Santa Cruz Mountains)?

When people relocating to Silicon Valley get "sticker shock" on our real estate prices, most of the time they look for more affordable places in which to live that are close by.  Often finding neighborhoods with good schools comes into play.  Or perhaps they simply love the scenic town of Los Gatos but can't buy in town. The mountains between San Jose and Santa Cruz - the coastal range - is home to a number of communities such as Chemeketa Park, Holy City, Aldercroft Heights, the Lexington Reservoir area (the town of Lexington is under the reservoir now!), Alma, Redwood Estates (Upper Redwood Estates, Lower Redwood Estates) and more. 

The Los Gatos Mountains are a specialty area and I don't usually work them - I either refer them out or team up with someone else who knows a lot more than I do about the unique things you need to worry about if buying up there. 

There are many plusses to living in the Los Gatos Mountains: clean air, more open space (less crowding), beautiful vistas, great schools (top rated public schools), lower housing costs. It's a fabulous place if you have horses or just love more seclusion.  The folks who live in the hills absolutely love their commuties and homes.

At the same time, there are special consideration if you live in the Santa Cruz Mountains.  Here's a list of potential issues that mountain residents may face:

• Many residential roads are private & there are private road agreements in place (so owners must agree on paving, clearing brush or trees too close to the road, pay if the road washes out in a mudslide to clear it or if soil beneath it gives way, etc.)
• Utilities: in the valley, we have Pacific Gas & Electric (PG & E) and public water (most of us have San Jose Water).  In the mountains most or many of them have propane gas (not P G & E), they do have electric from PG & E though, and well water.  Our recent drought  - which ended officially this week - was not severe but with a worse drought the wells can run dry and then mountain residents have to truck water in, which is very expensive.  You also must periodically check well water for arsenic and other elements and purity. (Also there's septic instead of sewer. Not a big deal but it's one more thing to maintain.)
• Fire concerns - the wildland areas are at risk of fire in summer, so the fire marshall's regulations are to keep brush cleared a certain distance from your house to help lessen the risk. (Google "fire santa cruz mountains" and you will get a lot of news returns on fire danger and past fires).
• Winter weather issues - the higher elevations can get snow a couple of times a year - doesn't last long but can make roads impassable (not as low as Chemeketa Park but near the summit and perhaps upper Redwood Estates).  Trees sometimes fall and block roads and driveways during heavy rainfall.  Our redwood trees have VERY shallow roots and I think this is why they come down in strong winds and rain, but I'm not sure.  The lovely trees are green year round, including winter.  They can keep the sun away if you're in a heavily forrested area, though.  I had friends who lived near the summit and they said that in winter, sunshine never touched their property.  Finally, with all the trees and more severe winter weather in the Mtns, residents there lose electricity more often than we do in the valley (due to trees falling I am sure).
• Beach traffic - the mountain communities are all pretty dependent on Hwy 17 (there are few alternatives) and there's a wave of traffic tie ups as coast visitors come and go with the warm weather.
• San Andreas Earthquake Fault - runs pretty much down the spine of the coastal range (on or close to Summit Road).  The summit is the "sunniest" area in the mountains, so if I lived there I'd want to be where there's more sunlight - but that would mean straddling one of the most powerful and most scary earthquake faults on the globe.  I won't do it!
• Travel time - hwy 17 can be pretty smooth but once off the road, it can be 10 to 20 or more minutes until you get to the house, so the total travel time to whereever you're going can be long.  That's especially true if there's an accident on 17, which is not so uncommon with all the curves in the road.  There is a large grocery store on Summit Road so it is not necessary to drive to the valley for the basics. 
• Resale issues - even in a "hot" market, it takes far longer to sell a mountain home than one on the valley floor.  Agents in my office say that on a typical open house up there they get one or two people per hour.  It is not uncommon for a mountain house to take a year to sell. I just checked the average Days on Market and it's 212.
• Bugs - in addition to drywood termites and subterranean termites, up in the SC Mtns they also have dampwood termites.

If you're interested in learning more about the mountains, please email me!  I can get you more info and partner with a "mountain agent" to get you the best deal on a property in the coastal range near the San Jose area.

Moving to Silicon Valley: is it possible to get a house here that's as nice as the one you currently own?

I am frequently contacted by extremely bright, successful engineers or high tech professionals who are in large homes on large lots with great schools in less expensive areas of the country.  They want to move here because Silicon Valley is the hub of innovation, our weather's great, crime's low and there's so much to do in this region.  They know that housing costs here are extraordinarily high, but they hope that the salaries are commensurately high such that they can replicate the home & lifestyle they currently have - but put it here.

But that really doesn't work.  Unless someone's relocating here from Boston, New York, Tokyo or Paris (or somewhere equally astronomically priced), the salary offered in Silicon Valley will not usually make that kind of housing duplication possible.

I'm sorry.

To move here normally means downgrading the house and paying more for it.  Yes, incomes are a little higher but not nearly enough to match the discrepancy in real estate prices.  I tell people, as a rule of thumb, that when you move here you will pay twice as much and get half as much.  (Salaries? You get a little more.  Not twice.)

Sometimes I get the comment "I don't want to move to Silicon Valley and have my family's lifestyle negatively impacted by having to live in a smaller house.  I want the quality of life to go up, not down." 

That is completely understandable.  People who move here don't do it because of housing.  Lifestyle often is better here.  Shoveling snow? Forgetaboutit.  We have 300 sunny days a year on average - if you love to be outdoors, your lifestyle will be far better here where the weather is subtropical.  We have the Pacific Ocean an hour or less away, San Francisco an hour away, about 2 dozen wineries, theatre, museums, the Sharks, parks and trails.  Our population is highly diverse and highly educated.  Crime is low.  There are a thousand reasons why the lifestyle here probably is far better than in other parts of the country... but it's not if you equivocate housing with lifestyle.

How is buying a home in Silicon Valley different from in other parts of the country?

Yesterday I was asked how the San Jose - Silicon Valley area is different from other parts of the US for home buyers.  What did they need to be concerned about here versus in the midwest or east coast? They knew about earthquakes, and having to strap water heaters for earthquake safety, but what about earthquake insurance? Are termites a problem here?  What things should home buyers worry about here that perhaps are not issues elsewhere?

I thought that this was a great question.  Here are the big areas that come to mind:

1. Earthquakes (of course) and everything related: selling requirements, insurance questions, related natural hazard zones (liquifaction zones, landslide areas, etc.), where fault lines are located, etc.  People moving to California generally know that they need to be concerned about seismic occurrences, but perhaps not all the related areas.
   
2. Expansive clay soils: when you read your history, you may have heard that in early California, homes were made of adobe bricks.  What may not have been clear is how strong that soil is. I have a couple of blog posts on my Valley of Hearts Delight blog on this topic:
   Cracked Foundations, Adobe Clay Soils and Water in Silicon Valley
   What To Consider When Buying a Hillside Home in Silicon Valley
3. Termites: in general, there are 2 types of these pests active on the valley floor: drywood termites and subterranean termites. (In the Los Gatos Mountains and closer to the Pacific Ocean you may also encounter dampwood termites.)  It may be possible to try to prevent subterranean termites with bait stakes placed underground, but there is no way to prevent drywood termites.  You can fumigate your home and within a few days they could be back (but won't be visible for a year or two at the earliest in most cases).  Termites do better here than in many places of the country simply because it's warmer here.  They may swarm twice a year rather than once.  Please also read this post for more info:
   How Often Should You Get A Termite Inspection?
   
4. Houses: 
   

   • No basements - there are very few homes with basements here (the very old ones and those which are newer and extremely expensive).  A very common question is "where do people store all their stuff if they don't have a basement?"  For most households, the storage center tends to be the garage.  Built in cabinets and storage shelves are highly appreciated.  When people purchase homes with 3 car garages, often that 3rd space is not for a car, but for "stuff" - luggage, holiday decor, momentos, old files, etc.
   • Foundations - older homes are usually built on a "raised" foundation or perimeter foundation with support beams under the center part of the home.  Some types of homes, such as Eichler designed houses (mid-century modern ranch style) were built with slab foundations and actually have radiant heating (heating coils built into the slab).  Newer homes now tend to be built on slab also (10-15 years of age or less).  Most of our valley has 40-60 year old ranch style homes, though, and these are mostly "raised" foundations with a crawl space. 
   • Houses are built to move in case of an earthquake - most of our homes are built with wood and are intended to move in the case of an earthquake.  It is very rare to find a house made out of brick here because they don't do well in case of severe shaking.

Sunny Silicon Valley: Sunrise, Sunset, Dawn and Dusk Times

A couple of days ago I made a quick trip to Spokane, Washington, on some family business. As I'm writing this in mid-December, just short of the winter solstice (shortest day of the year), I was struck by how early the sun set and then, the following morning, how late it rose again.  It seemed like I'd "lost" an hour of daylight.

Upon returning home to the San Jose and Los Gatos area (Silicon Valley), I found an awesome site that charts sunrise and sunset (dawn and dusk) times for all of the world.  The link below will take you to the page for San Jose, California, which is a good representation of Santa Clara County and the general Silicon Valley area.

http://www.gaisma.com/en/location/san-jose-california.html

I played with this site awhile, checking the hours of daylight for today going north and south of this area.  It will be the same amount of daylight hours (or very close) during the shortest daylight day of the year, December 21st.  So for people moving around on the west coast, here's a comparative glimpse on the number of daylight hours during these shortest days of the year:

In summer, of course, it's the opposite. The further north you go, the longer the days, while the closer to the equator, the shorter the days (and the smaller the swing between summer and winter).

During these "shortest days of the year", a later sunrise and earlier sunset are really noticed.  In Spokane (about the same as Seattle) the sun is coming up at 7:33 and setting at 3:59pm vs the San Jose area's 7:16 sunrise and 4:52 sunset (8:26 hours of sun up north vs 9:36 in the south Bay Area - 1 hour, 10 minutes more sun here).

How does this compare to other major cities around the US?  How many hours of sun are they all getting during these darkest days?

Anchorage 5:28
Seattle 8:26
Portland 8:43
Boston 9:05
Chicago 9:08
New York City 9:13
Denver 9:31
San Jose 9:36
Los Angeles 9:53
Atlanta 9:55
Phoenix 9:56
San Diego 10
Miami 10:32
Honolulu 10:50

Seeing the wide differences in sunlight hours alone, I can see why "snowbirds" would migrate south in winter!

Another factor to consider is how much sun you actually see during those hours of daylight!  The San Jose area gets only about 20" of rain during most years.  Most of our rain comes between November and March or April, but even so, it's unusual to get rain day after day for more than 3-5 days.  Normally there are sunny and dry days inbetween patches of overcast, drizzle or rain.  The weather will be drier in south county or in the east valley and wetter closer to the coastal foothills (Almaden Valley, Los Gatos, Los Altos).  The Santa Cruz Mountains usually hold back the summer fog, leaving the inland areas sunnier and drier than the coast. 

Sometimes the winter fog is "ground fog", or fog from the Pacific which snakes its way inland through the Golden Gate and inches down the bay southward.  When that happens, you can sometimes go to the top of the Santa Cruz Mountains and enjoy the sunshine while hiking the trails off Skyline Boulevard.

We have 300 sunny days per year in our mild, subtropical climate. Not bad!  Even our winters are not so tough.  As one of my Finnish clients said to me recently, "Mary, you don't really have winter in San Jose!"

Finding New Homes for Sale in Silicon Valley

Frequently, people new to Silicon Valley and the San Jose area arrive from places where their last home was new construction, and they hope to find a brand new home here, too.

Unless you are looking to purchase a condominium or a townhome, though, it can be really challenging to find truly new homes for sale here.  (There are tons of fabulous new condos in downtown San Jose, which is enjoying a great redevelopment period.) 

For the most part, Silicon Valley had a post World War II housing boom that stretched primarily from the 50s into the 70s.  By the 1980s, even, most of the open space was gone.  Today we do have a few new patches of new homes "here and there", but there aren't many.  Unfortunately, too, since most of the best land was built up long ago, some of the newest developments are in less desireable areas such as next to freeways.

For the Silicon Valley new home buyer, I want to suggest a couple of strategies: first, in addition to checking out whatever new homes are currently being built, consider homes that are younger than 20 years of age.  Many of them are still in great shape.  Some have already been remodeled!  Another option is to look for the "fully remodeled" home.  With the latter, you must be extra dilligent to make sure that the house has not just been gussied up to be be flipped, but is truly remodeled in areas you cannot see, such as the wiring and the pipes.

Please also read:
Myths and Misconceptions about Buying a New (or Newer) Home

Some younger neighborhoods:
Introducing a Beautiful Willow Glen Neighborhood, “The Willows”
The Almaden Winery Neighborhood of San Jose

Understanding School Scores in Silicon Valley

If you are coming to the Silicon Valley area from outside of California, you may not know what to make of our school scoring system. It's actually pretty straightforward: the API scores (Academic Performance Index) are based on a 1 - 1,000 point system. The target number for "good schools" is 800 (that's the goal for the county). Anything close to 800 is considered decent. Over 800 is good. Over 900 is rare and is the indicator of an excellent school. Here's an example of a very strong elementary & middle school district:

Browse school districts by county in CA:

Santa Clara County Schools (San Jose, Sunnyvale, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Palo Alto & most of Silicon Valley)

San Mateo County Schools (north of Palo Alto along "the peninsula" south of San Francisco, includes San Mateo, Burlingame, Hillsborough, Woodside, etc.)

Alameda County Schools (Fremont and cities & areas along the "east bay" near Santa Clara County)

Santa Cruz County Schools (Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz and areas close to the northern part of the Monterey Bay)

I'm often asked: where are the very best schools in the San Jose area?  The answer depends a lot on your expectations and possibly also the needs of your family.  If you need special services, such as support for autism or learning disorders, you may want to investigate which schools or districts have the best support. If your child plays a musical instrument, you may want to seek out the schools with a strong band program.  Or if you have a serious swimmer, you may be drawn to schools and districts with a great program there.  Not everything is measured by the API scores and sometimes you may just have to do more research to find the very best "fit".

A note about the various school levels and API scores: while in many areas the elementary schools can be extra strong, sometimes as you go on to middle school and high school those numbers will fall a bit.  What seems to be happening is that unless all the elementary and middle schools are equally high scoring, the lower performing schools' impact will be to pull the upper schools' scores down.

In areas where all three sets of schools go into the 900s, home prices tend to be the highest and buyers face the most competition for real estate because so many families put a premium on education. For instance, in the city of Palo Alto (home to Stanford University), there are 18 schools in all levels.  Of those, only 2 are under 900! One of those two is 896!  Homes in Palo Alto are highly prized for many reasons, not the least of which are these outstanding scores.  And they cost a fortune.

Sartoga has more than one school district, but if kids are enrolled in "Saratoga Schools", they will enjoy schools in the 900s - only in the 900s - all the way from kindergarden through 12th grade. And again, these homes are very, very expensive (upwards of a million dollars for a very small house).

What is a middle class family to do?  To get into a strong school district for under $650,000 is not easy in Santa Clara County, but it is possible if you can be flexible on your home's size and condition.  There are many 3 bedroom, 2 bath homes in the wonderful Union School District or Cambrian School District in the Cambrian Park area of San Jose.  Kids in these areas get really fine schools, especially at the elementary and middle school levels, but the houses are in the 600s and 700s instead of over $1 million.  If you happen to find a short sale or bank owned home, you might be able to get it in the 500s, depending upon condition.  Most of these homes are on the small size, though, as in 1100 to 1400 square feet (smaller ranch style homes). Typically, homes in the upper 5s or mid 6s will require some updating - so being flexible on the condition is important if you want that tradeoff with the great schools.

There are other areas with high scoring elementary schools too, and some of them are more affordable than Cambrian.  Have a look at the numbers - it can be a helpful starting point in figuring out where you may want to live.

Open House in Almaden Winery on Sunday

Almaden Winery, Cambrian Park  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at 5641 Le Fevre Dr. on October 17 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Property information

Open House in Sunnyvale Meadows on Saturday

Sunnyvale Meadows, Sunnyvale  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at B-1095 Reed Avenue on October 16 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

Property information

Where are the Silicon Valley luxury homes? Where are the more upscale Silicon Valley neighborhoods?

If you are relocating to Silicon Valley and wish to choose an upscale or luxury neighborhood, where should you begin looking?  Where are the very best areas in or near San Jose?

Here are some quick lists of areas in Silicon Valley areas which enjoy beautiful estate properties:

Luxury Home Neighborhoods in Silicon Valley's west side

Most of the more expensive parts of Silicon Valley are along the "west valley" areas, and these all enjoy excellent public schools.  If you were to look at a topographical map, they would be the cities, towns and neighborhoods close to the coastal foothills (also known as the Santa Cruz Mountains).  Or if you looked at a road map, most of them would be on the west side of Highway 85. Unless otherwise noted, the districts, cities or towns are all in Santa Clara County.

These "west valley communities" are listed from southernmost to northernmost, extending from southwestern San Jose up into the San Francisco Peninsula.

• Almaden Valley (part of San Jose)
• Los Gatos
• Monte Sereno
• Saratoga
• Cupertino (foothills area in particular)
• Los Altos
• Los Altos Hills
• Palo Alto
• Portola Valley (San Mateo County)
• Woodside (San Mateo County)
• Hillsborough (San Mateo County)
  

These are not the only places to find high end real estate in the South Bay area, though - it's just that most of them are located along the west valley corridor.

More Luxury Home Neighborhoods in Silicon Valley

More communities which are "exclusive" can be found:

• The Silver Creek area of San Jose (eastside, within the Evergreen district)
• Part of the Alum Rock neighborhood near the old San Jose Country Club (also on the east side). 
• The Rosegarden area of central San Jose
• The Naglee Park neighborhood near downtown San Jose
• Willow Glen enjoys some beautiful old mansions (between downtown SJ and the west side)
•  Part of the Mission District of Fremont (Alameda County)
• Eagle's Ridge community in Gilroy (south part of Santa Clara County)

Something to be aware of is that many of these areas are served by more than one school district. In some cases, the different school districts can be very different in terms of school performance scores.  In Saratoga, for instance, there are 3 different districts. Two have excellent scores and the third has good scores - but very different numbers!  This can be a surprise to people who relocate to Silicon Valley: so be aware of this quirk if you move here!  (Even if you are not interested in utilizing the schools, know that they are a prime driver in home values and pricing.)

Would you like to learn more about luxury real estate & homes in Silicon Valley? I have some other blogs with posts that you might find helpful

Related posts on the Valley of Heart's Delight blog:

Luxury Real Estate in Silicon Valley

The Silicon Valley Luxury Home Market (browse listings over $2 million in a few areas)

The Luxury Real Estate Market in Almaden, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and Saratoga

Monte Sereno Real Estate and Homes for Sale

Saratoga, CA, Real Estate Market Update

What Type of Home Can You Get for $1,000,000 in Silicon Valley?

Almaden Valley Housing Market by Price Point in June 2010

Real Estate Inventory & Sales in Silicon Valley’s “West Valley” Areas of Los Gatos, Saratoga, Campbell and Cambrian Park

Related posts on the Live in Los Gatos blog:

Fewer Sales, but Higher Prices, in Los Gatos & Monte Sereno

What's Selling in Los Gatos Now? How's the Market?

A Five Year View of the Los Gatos Real Estate Market (Jan 2005 to June 2010)

Where Are the Good Public Schools in Silicon Valley?

Many relocating families search specifically for neighborhoods with the very best schools.  There are many sites which will give you this information in immense detail, but if you want a "quick answer" on excellent schools in Silicon Valley and San Jose, I can give that to you quickly here.

The finest public schools and districts (with excellent scores at all levels of schooling) tend to be found in the most expensive parts of Santa Clara County, and most of them are along the "west valley" areas, including Almaden Valley (an area of San Jose), Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga, Cupertino, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, and Palo Alto.  Most of these communities are found along the base of the coastal foothills, aka the Santa Cruz Mountains, are are located not too far from Highway 85.  The Silver Creek area (of the Evergreen District of San Jose) on the east side also has some fine schools.  There are pockets with great elementary schools scattered throughout the valley too. 

What do these homes cost? In the best areas, it is not uncommon to spend a million dollars or more for a "turnkey" home of 1800 square feet with no issues (no high voltage lines, no busy road, etc.).  In some areas, like Saratoga, that might be closer to $2 million.

In many parts of Santa Clara County the elementary schools are excellent, middle schools are "very good" and the high schools are good.  This is true for parts of west San Jose (bordering Cupertino and Saratoga) and Cambrian Park.  These areas tend to be much more affordable than those with excellent schools in all levels. For home buyers not so worried about high schools as cost, these can be a great option for getting more home (and school) for your money.

While many home buyers are reluctant to consider private schools, sometimes it is much less expensive in the long run to purchase a comfortable home in an area you like but which doesn't have fantastic schools and then send your kids to private or parochial schools.  In Los Gatos, where the schools run from very good to exceptional, about one-third of students are not in public schools.

If you are planning a relocation to Silicon Valley and want to know more about local schools (public or private) please email me at mary (at) popehandy.com and I'll be happy to chat with you about them more in person. I can also help you to find areas which are more affordable and offer strong schools.

Linguistic Quirks in Silicon Valley

Every area has its linguistic quirks or slang, and the San Jose – Silicon Valley – Santa Clara County region is no exception. Some of it is in the words we use, some of it’s the way we pronounce things, and some of it is just the way we think. If you relocate to the South Bay, you may want to know what some of these mean!

Places:

The Hill – refers to the Santa Cruz Mountains. Going “over the hill” means going to Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, or somewhere along the coast.

The City – means San Francisco, even though it’s smaller in population than San Jose.

South County – areas such as Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin and Coyote Valley (and outlying areas)

The Bay – is the San Francisco Bay, not the Monterey Bay.

The Airplane Park – this is Oak Meadow Park in the Town of Los Gatos

Read the rest of the post on the Valley of Heart's Delight blog post,
Silicon Valley Local-Speak: A Guide to Understanding Folks in the South Bay

Swim Teams and Cabana Clubs in Silicon Valley

Got swimmers?  Our sub tropical climate in Silicon Valley makes swimming a popular sport, so if you relocate to the "Valley of Heart's Delight" you may find an increased desire for jumping into a pool. 

Perhaps swimming is already important to you or to your family.Several community centers have excellent swimming facilities, including the Cambrian Park Community Center in San Jose (at Union & Camden Avenues, approximately), the Y and several provate clubs.

If you are looking to live in a neighborhood with a swim club and cabana, you will find many options in the San Jose - Santa Clara County region.

The city of Santa Clara probably has more pools, cabanas and swim teams than any other part of the south bay.  There are plenty in San Jose, too, though, including in Los Gatos, Cambrian Park and Almaden Valley. There are different leagues, not all of them with easily findable websites.

Valley Cabana Swim League is a local association with these member teams

Almaden Country Club (in San Jose's Almaden Valley)
Belwood Dolphins (Los Gatos - Belwood & Belgatos area)
Los Paseos
Montevideo (in Almaden)
Silver Creek Valley Country Club (in Evergreen area of east San Jose)

Here's a good list of local and greater Bay Area swim teams:
http://www.swimconnection.com/pc/exec/Teams 

Relocation can be challenging but if you know what features you want to find when you get to Silicon Valley, I can help you to locate them, whether it's a place to swim or virtually anything else.