My daughter is moving to Santa Clara, a new area for her. Any suggestions of where to live or where to avoid would be greatly appreciated.
Most the areas around Santa Clara are desirable (and expensive!) – although there are parts of San Jose (east SJ or downtown) that give some people pause.
She could also live in Mountain View and take the train to Santa Clara.
Agreed. Eastside/Downtown San Jose are a bit more worrisome, but the Santa Clara area is great from my understanding. It’s also in the heart of Silicon Valley, close to a lot of great technological companies if your daughter wants to go into that field.
Traffic jams are ugly. There are VTA light rail and buses, although they are relatively slow.
Why is your daughter moving there? A job? Just because?
Is she working for a large company? Sometimes they have apartment information too.
If she got a job at a workplace that adopted casual dress code and she likes biking, she can research apartments along good biking routes. It is a good alternative to battling gridlock because it rains like only 3 days a year in Santa Clara. 
Thanks, She will be working for a school.
Which school?
Up the top of my head, I’d recommend somewhere along El Camino for bus service and convenient cycling, and avoid east San Jose (Not necessarily downtown. It’s not that bad.) Mountain View and Sunnyvale aren’t bad, Cupertino is nice but expensive. Los Altos is boring (lived there for 2 years and visited monthly for 18, never found anything to do).
For public transit, use the bus. Avoid VTA light rail. It’s a horribly designed system.
I would rather not say the name of the school for her privacy, but it isn’t too far from El Camino and San Tomas pkwy intersection.
She is looking in Mtn View, but I understand it is very expensive there.
I think Sunnyvale is the new Mountain View…expensive, but not as expensive as MV is these days, and a bit closer to Santa Clara. Murphy Avenue is very hip and there are lots of apartments and good transportation options nearby.
Thanks. I will pass this along.
Do RE agents help people find apartments?
@busyparent yes…real estate agents can help you find an apartment. BUT they cannot comment on neighborhood safety and the like.
The good CC folks helped us locate neighborhoods in Winston Salem when DS moved there. Thank goodness for their help! We were clueless…but one family in particular even went and looked at places for us to help with choices before I went down to sign the lease!
Decades ago I lived in W-S. I hardly recognized the town when I visited last.
There is a App Radpad. I don’t know if they use it up in that area but it is used in the LA area by many young adults. My D works for a property management company. They list on Radpad, Craigslist and a few rental list companies. They don’t work with realtors unless the realtor brings them a client. That only happens with high end properties.
Beware on Craigslist of scammers. My friend recently sold her condo. She had someone stop and go to her door and ask about the rental. Someone was posting her condo for rent on Craigslist using the photos from the MLS. He used a story that he had just bought the place and was renting it out. If the price seems to good to be true, it usually is. My friend contacted Craigslist and they pulled the ad. A few days later the ad was back.
I don’t know why this would be the case. A good real estate agent should be an expert on the pros and cons of a neighborhood on a street-by-street basis. That’s what I would expect from an agent if I were buying a home.
I believe realtors can certainly comment on the area and help find an area suitable for a client to rent. No idea what a good realtor would cost, but it could be worth considering and inquiring.