Monta Loma
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Great for
- Neighborly Spirit
- Parking
- Peace & Quiet
- Shopping Options
- Schools
Not great for
- Nightlife
- Childcare
- Lack of Traffic
- Medical Facilities
- Parks & Recreation
Who lives here?
- Retirees
- Professionals
- Families with kids
- LGBT+
Got a burning question? Why not ask the locals! Simply ask your question below
Reviews
Monta Loma
rating details
2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Clean & Green
- Peace & Quiet
- Shopping Options
- Cost of Living
- Schools
"Old-style suburban ambiance"
Bordered by San Antonio Road, West Middlefield Road, North Rengstorff Avenue and the Central Expressway, Monta Loma is an all-too-ordinary Mountain View community. For one, it gives off an ugly suburban ambiance that only a traditional, an old-style, anonymous suburban can. It is dominated by those uninteresting, Eichler homes that you can’t seem to get away from in the city. As a result, I couldn’t see any young families moving here, or, at least, enjoying themselves here.
Monta Loma’s flat residential terrain is underwhelming at best. Houses are usually old, boxy, constructed within the mid 20th century and are one-story in size. They are coined “California modern,” which gained popularity in the 1940‘s and 1950‘s because of their open floor design, among other things. But it has, since, lost its appeal. Properties are homogeneously square and offer the same bland, lower middle-class amenities: old-fashioned two-car garages, small front lawns and narrow and shallow driveways. And you won’t seen any luxury cars parked out front, just mostly old, raggedy cars and suburban minivans. Lots, as you might expect, are very condensed along the residential streets. Its one, of I guess, few perks are its street parking, which is easy to come by considering the roads afford plenty of width.
For the prospective resident, house values tend to be between $700,000 to $900,000. If you’re looking to rent, you have your selection of condominiums that circle around $750,000. You can find the more newly-built and refined condominiums towards the northern end of the neighborhood. They offer a Mediterranean-style unique to the district.
For your commercial needs, locals travel just down the block to the San Antonio Shopping Center, an average strip mall that hosts a Kohl’s a 24-Hour Fitness, a Walmart, a Safeway, a Target and a Trader Joe’s, a couple chain restaurants, among other things. Elsewhere, you can find the San Antonio Caltrain for those looking for public transit options. The station skirts the southern end of the neighborhood. Monta Loma students attend, in order, Monta Loma Elementary, Crittenden Middle School and Los Altos High School, all of which garner middle-of-the-road online reviews (greatschools.org).
Monta Loma’s flat residential terrain is underwhelming at best. Houses are usually old, boxy, constructed within the mid 20th century and are one-story in size. They are coined “California modern,” which gained popularity in the 1940‘s and 1950‘s because of their open floor design, among other things. But it has, since, lost its appeal. Properties are homogeneously square and offer the same bland, lower middle-class amenities: old-fashioned two-car garages, small front lawns and narrow and shallow driveways. And you won’t seen any luxury cars parked out front, just mostly old, raggedy cars and suburban minivans. Lots, as you might expect, are very condensed along the residential streets. Its one, of I guess, few perks are its street parking, which is easy to come by considering the roads afford plenty of width.
For the prospective resident, house values tend to be between $700,000 to $900,000. If you’re looking to rent, you have your selection of condominiums that circle around $750,000. You can find the more newly-built and refined condominiums towards the northern end of the neighborhood. They offer a Mediterranean-style unique to the district.
For your commercial needs, locals travel just down the block to the San Antonio Shopping Center, an average strip mall that hosts a Kohl’s a 24-Hour Fitness, a Walmart, a Safeway, a Target and a Trader Joe’s, a couple chain restaurants, among other things. Elsewhere, you can find the San Antonio Caltrain for those looking for public transit options. The station skirts the southern end of the neighborhood. Monta Loma students attend, in order, Monta Loma Elementary, Crittenden Middle School and Los Altos High School, all of which garner middle-of-the-road online reviews (greatschools.org).
Pros
- San Antonio Cal Train
Cons
- Kind of Dull
Recommended for
- Professionals
- Families with kids
- Retirees
Monta Loma
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
"Mountain Views Eichlers"
Unlike Palo Alto, Mountain View is not as well known for Eichlers. In fact, in most Mountain View neighborhoods you are unlikely to find these homes named after that iconic Bay Area architect. Not Monte Loma, however. This big neighborhood is filled with those low flat roofed creations, based on a modernist sensibility and a feeling openness on the inside.
Eichler homes, for all there seeming conformity allow for an amazing amount of individuality in everything from the colors these homes allow one to choose to the types of front lawns these types of homes allow. In a sense these really are throwbacks to an earlier time, when there was less emphasis on work and more time spent at home entertaining.
I was recently listening to an interview with John Updike—the American author known for his domestic tales of middle class suburban life. In it he mentioned how the 60s was a time when people focused on the domestic and not as much on their jobs (like we do now). If we might perhaps think of the Ranch home as the house of the 50’s and the Town Home as the iconic dwelling of the 1980s, then the Eichler is probably the house of the 60’s.
This is the home of life after the Bomb, during the period when house parties and the cultivating of your personal life was in vogue. It is all about expressing your individuality rather than conforming to societal expectations. But perhaps I am reading too much into it.
When it comes to this specific neighborhood, these are really nicely kept Eichlers for the most part. They aren’t as colorful as in some neighborhoods in Palo Alto, but you definitely do get the sense that you are in the same vicinity as those neighborhoods.
There are also some apartment complexes in this neighborhood (on the western end mostly).
So what does it cost to live here?
Most of these Eichlers go for around $850K or so. But there are a number of foreclosures in this area right now and they go for around $600K. Obviously a pretty big difference.
Either way, you will have to focus on your career to afford them.
Eichler homes, for all there seeming conformity allow for an amazing amount of individuality in everything from the colors these homes allow one to choose to the types of front lawns these types of homes allow. In a sense these really are throwbacks to an earlier time, when there was less emphasis on work and more time spent at home entertaining.
I was recently listening to an interview with John Updike—the American author known for his domestic tales of middle class suburban life. In it he mentioned how the 60s was a time when people focused on the domestic and not as much on their jobs (like we do now). If we might perhaps think of the Ranch home as the house of the 50’s and the Town Home as the iconic dwelling of the 1980s, then the Eichler is probably the house of the 60’s.
This is the home of life after the Bomb, during the period when house parties and the cultivating of your personal life was in vogue. It is all about expressing your individuality rather than conforming to societal expectations. But perhaps I am reading too much into it.
When it comes to this specific neighborhood, these are really nicely kept Eichlers for the most part. They aren’t as colorful as in some neighborhoods in Palo Alto, but you definitely do get the sense that you are in the same vicinity as those neighborhoods.
There are also some apartment complexes in this neighborhood (on the western end mostly).
So what does it cost to live here?
Most of these Eichlers go for around $850K or so. But there are a number of foreclosures in this area right now and they go for around $600K. Obviously a pretty big difference.
Either way, you will have to focus on your career to afford them.
Pros
- Nice Eichlers
- San Antonio Cal Train
- Good Schools
Cons
- A Bit Over Priced
- Kind of Dull
Recommended for
- Retirees
- LGBT+
