Morgan Hill
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Great for
- Clean & Green
- Parks & Recreation
- Peace & Quiet
- Safe & Sound
- Internet Access
Not great for
- Medical Facilities
- Nightlife
- Public Transport
- Pest Free
- Lack of Traffic
Who lives here?
- Families with kids
- Professionals
- Retirees
- Country Lovers
- Students
Got a burning question? Why not ask the locals! Simply ask your question below
Reviews
Morgan Hill
rating details
2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Safe & Sound
- Clean & Green
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Shopping Options
- Cost of Living
- Schools
"Reeks of a modest, middle-class suburbia"
Located at the southern end of Santa Clara County, Morgan Hill is a large suburb of the vastly popular Silicon Valley. In fact, it is known as a bedroom community to the local high tech industry. Those that live within the city’s quarters are a vast mix of ages and cultures with most residents leaning democratic in popular election polls. The city itself is an average size, spanning 13 square miles of residential terrain and housing just under 30,000 residents. The city also enjoys a mild, Mediterranean climate due to its convenient proximity to the Pacific Ocean.
Morgan Hill’s residential quarters are largely surrounded by steep foothills. It is bounded by the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and Diablo Range to the east with the distinctive hill of El Toro draping the background of the city’s landscape. For perspective home buyers, you’ll be interested to know that median house prices circle around $650,000, but can range from $400,000 to upwards of $1 million. For renters, the bulk of the clientele pay close to $1,300/month for your average condo. Also, median household incomes in the town are estimated at $95,000/year, well above the California average. Aesthetically speaking, Morgan Hill subscribes to the clean-cut image of middle-class suburbia, but looks to do better. More specifically, the town is brimming with modest, single story homes, with small but moderately attractive front lawns. It is also relatively flat, making great walking terrain for elder adults (that you see so often).
With approximately a 20 minute drive from the heart of downtown San Jose, Morgan Hill is saturated with tech savvy residents. But for those that need to travel elsewhere for work, US Route 101 traverses the city’s easterly border and connects locals towards the San Francisco peninsula. For young families, Morgan Hill Unified School District serves the community well. Not only does it boast a respectable reputation, but it is also the city’s top employer.
Morgan Hill’s residential quarters are largely surrounded by steep foothills. It is bounded by the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and Diablo Range to the east with the distinctive hill of El Toro draping the background of the city’s landscape. For perspective home buyers, you’ll be interested to know that median house prices circle around $650,000, but can range from $400,000 to upwards of $1 million. For renters, the bulk of the clientele pay close to $1,300/month for your average condo. Also, median household incomes in the town are estimated at $95,000/year, well above the California average. Aesthetically speaking, Morgan Hill subscribes to the clean-cut image of middle-class suburbia, but looks to do better. More specifically, the town is brimming with modest, single story homes, with small but moderately attractive front lawns. It is also relatively flat, making great walking terrain for elder adults (that you see so often).
With approximately a 20 minute drive from the heart of downtown San Jose, Morgan Hill is saturated with tech savvy residents. But for those that need to travel elsewhere for work, US Route 101 traverses the city’s easterly border and connects locals towards the San Francisco peninsula. For young families, Morgan Hill Unified School District serves the community well. Not only does it boast a respectable reputation, but it is also the city’s top employer.
Pros
- Country Feel
- Safe
Cons
- Little Nightlife
Recommended for
- Professionals
- Families with kids
- Retirees
- Students
- Country Lovers
Morgan Hill
rating details
2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Safe & Sound
- Clean & Green
- Pest Free
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Shopping Options
- Gym & Fitness
- Internet Access
- Lack of Traffic
- Parking
- Cost of Living
- Resale or Rental Value
- Public Transport
- Medical Facilities
- Schools
- Childcare
"Pretty Good for a Place that Stinks"
Morgan Hill is known as a popular bedroom community for Silicon Valley execs to live because of its location.
Given what I have just said, you might expect home prices to soar here, but actually they are relatively moderate given the population. The median home price is around $525K right now. Compared to Gilroy to the south (which has nowhere near the reputation of Morgan Hill) this is only about $75K higher. Less than 10% of homes are above the $1 mil range here.
There is a nice mix of homes here, with about a quarter of homes having been built in the last 20 years, with the average home dating from the late 1970’s.
Some people complain about the schools in Morgan Hill, claiming they have a mixed record or saying that they are just okay. However, test scores seem to indicate otherwise, showing schools that are clearly above average, though perhaps not quite as strong as in some other communities farther north in Silicon Valley.
Crime is pretty low as well being about half that of the national average. All of which are consistent with the high end community that this is.
One thing that does stink about Morgan Hill is the smell. There is definitely a manure smell at certain times of the year.
This is farm country and there is simply no avoiding the smells that blow over it in the summer.
That said, there are a lot of positives about living in a country setting like this, one of which is nearby Anderson Lake, a real popular spot in the summer when school is out.
Morgan Hill is also commuter friendly, being connected to San Jose by the Cal Trains line that stretches down to Gilroy.
Now Morgan Hill is not really a great center for bars or nightlife and it is certainly not a singles destination, but it does have some restaurants and a handful of waterholes where you can get a drink if you don’t want to head into San Jose. It also has everything else you would want from your suburban neighborhood, from supermarkets to java joints and some stores.
Nothing spectacular but nothing that forces you to leave town every time you need underwear or the like.
Overall, Morgan Hill is what it is billed as: a solid bedroom community where the well-off can escape city troubles without moving out of state.
Given what I have just said, you might expect home prices to soar here, but actually they are relatively moderate given the population. The median home price is around $525K right now. Compared to Gilroy to the south (which has nowhere near the reputation of Morgan Hill) this is only about $75K higher. Less than 10% of homes are above the $1 mil range here.
There is a nice mix of homes here, with about a quarter of homes having been built in the last 20 years, with the average home dating from the late 1970’s.
Some people complain about the schools in Morgan Hill, claiming they have a mixed record or saying that they are just okay. However, test scores seem to indicate otherwise, showing schools that are clearly above average, though perhaps not quite as strong as in some other communities farther north in Silicon Valley.
Crime is pretty low as well being about half that of the national average. All of which are consistent with the high end community that this is.
One thing that does stink about Morgan Hill is the smell. There is definitely a manure smell at certain times of the year.
This is farm country and there is simply no avoiding the smells that blow over it in the summer.
That said, there are a lot of positives about living in a country setting like this, one of which is nearby Anderson Lake, a real popular spot in the summer when school is out.
Morgan Hill is also commuter friendly, being connected to San Jose by the Cal Trains line that stretches down to Gilroy.
Now Morgan Hill is not really a great center for bars or nightlife and it is certainly not a singles destination, but it does have some restaurants and a handful of waterholes where you can get a drink if you don’t want to head into San Jose. It also has everything else you would want from your suburban neighborhood, from supermarkets to java joints and some stores.
Nothing spectacular but nothing that forces you to leave town every time you need underwear or the like.
Overall, Morgan Hill is what it is billed as: a solid bedroom community where the well-off can escape city troubles without moving out of state.
Pros
- Nice Newer Homes
- Country Feel
- Safe
Cons
- Stinks in the Summer
- Little Nightlife
Recommended for
- Professionals
- Families with kids
- Country Lovers
jessicac16
I was looking at homes and noticed that NH spelled like cow. When does it get better and where are the farms? It's pretty bad but not as bad as the hot garbage smell in Milpitas.
2yrs+
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