North Whisman

Framed by US Route 101, 85, East Middlefield Road and North Whisman Road, North Whismman is a flat and boring Mountain View community. It is almost exclusively residential, with an eclectic mix of housing inventory. For prospective residents, the area is, for the most part, an apartment home haven. You have your choice of dozens of apartment homes and complexes that you won’t know which one to pick. North Whisman is also, if you might have guessed, a blue-collar neighborhood with a diverse community of immigrant families.

North Whisman’s residential quarters are hard to define, mostly because they vary drastically in style and size. There is everything from starter homes, to sprawling, modern apartment complexes (and condominiums) to old-fashioned, single-family homes. The area is mostly dominated by old, two-story apartment homes that offer little aesthetic appeal (although some are much more polished than others). In a few complexes, you have the luxury of parking on the ground level while stairs skirt the side of the building into second floor living accommodations. Yet, the landscaping around the communal spaces for most are only a bit mildly attractive, at best.

There are a few standouts from what I have seen, specifically along Evandale Avenue. These apartment buildings offer a better outer aesthetic with some attractive architectural designs and modern appeal. They are also a bit narrow but can provide three-stories of living space. If you’re looking to own, I’d live here. But that’s if you can afford the median price of the condo/apartment home which circles around $450,000.

Of the single-family homes, they are rather old, built within the 1950’s. But some have gone under a recent transformation in the last decade to keep up with a more modern aesthetic. These homes are priced around $600,000 to $900,000, according to recent house listings.

Its only amenity is the Whisman Park, which offers a children’s playground, soccer fields, youth softball fields, an outdoor basketball court and a few tennis courts. It can be a bit noisy though, with traffic coming and going from the US Route 101 and 85 junction.

Skirting Highway 101, North Whisman has some condo creep of the kind that has completely taken over Whisman Station, but it also has a sprinkling of homes as well.

As far as Mountain View goes, this is one of the more affordable areas that you will find. A one-bedroom apartment goes for about $1400 here and a 3 bedroom is only about $2400. Given the soaring property prices you come across here those could be labeled as steals.

Buying a home here is also relatively affordable compared with the rest of Mountain View, with single family homes going for around $600K for the most part and condos usually going for about half that much.

Why is it more affordable here? A few factors may come into play. For one, there are a lot of apartment buildings here, and many residents don’t like the idea of having their homes across the street from apartment buildings.

Second, Moffett Air Field is just to the north, so some residents may feel there will be too much noise from airplanes landing and taking off, although Moffett doesn’t get that much traffic as far as I can tell. Adding to the noise is the freeway just to the north, packed every day with Silicon Valley commuters.

A third factor may be the schools, which tend to be a bit weaker in the northern portions of Mountain View. I’m not sure if you end up in Theuerkauf Elementary in Rex Manor or down by Landels Elementary, but there is definitely a big difference between the two, Theuerkauf being a middling school while Landels is a significantly above average school--at least if you go by test scores anyway. It could definitely make a difference however.

North Whisman, however, also has a number of positive aspects to it as well. First, it is within walking distance of the Whisman light rail station, which can be helpful in terms of commuting. Nowhere in the neighborhood are you more than a mile away from the station.

It also has a tiny bit of a restaurant scene. There is a Thai place, a sushi place and Mario’s Pizza up by King of Clubs. This is hardly the Gourmet District in Berkeley, but it is better than a lot of neighborhoods have. (North Whisman also has a few fast food places such as Carl’s Jr. and Subway.)

You even have a bit of nightlife in North Whisman. Up by the freeway, King of Clubs is a karaoke bar/club. I have heard it is a gay club, but have not been able to confirm that, though I do know that it turns into a Goth Club on Tuesdays, a Latin Club on Fridays, and supposedly a Burlesque Club on Saturdays. I’m not really into the club scene but I can see where singles might be happy to have a place like this in their neighborhood to go belt out some anxiety.