Santa Teresa

Located in the southern portion of San Jose, Santa Teresa is a somewhat laid back community with a very family-friendly atmosphere. It is a relatively large land area made up of a handful of micro-neighborhoods which include Martinvale, Rancho Santa Teresa, La Colina, Silver Leaf and California Maison. While split into sections, the area is primarily made up of single-family homes, which tend to fall into the affordable middle-class range. There are also a couple industrial research laboratories and office parks located along the norther fringe of the neighborhood. And while being a part of the third-largest city in California, the district employs thousands of Silicon Valley workers.

Santa Teresa’s flat suburban terrain is moderately attractive, at best. For prospective residents, the area offers a variety of one and two-story townhouses. These homes usually provide attractive house fronts, polished yards, two-car garages and enough space for two or more cars to sit in the driveway. Properties are still aligned in rows along orderly residential streets with nice little sidewalks. But people have a little bit more space on their lots than most San Jose residents. For numbers sake, median house listings are pretty affordable and run around$500,000. The community also harbors a type of elementary school zone feel, to which traffic runs pretty slowly. There are also patches of uninhabited, grassy terrain and open spaces throughout the neighborhood where mid-rise office parks might pepper the area. Residents also tend be happy about their commuting options because the US Route 85 and 101 junction connects towards the northeastern limits of the neighborhood.

While there is nothing too glamorous about the neighborhood, Santa Teresa does offer some amenities. If you like to hike, the Santa Teresa County Park skits the southern edge of the community and is populated by a wide range of wildlife. It is, however, just acres of dead grassland and scattered bushes with little aesthetic appeal. Also, the Santa Teresa Golf Course lies adjacent to the parkland. For young families, Santa Teresa hosts a handful of schools. These include Santa Teresa Elementary, Bernal Intermediate High School, which are all part of the Oak Grove School District. Students can also attend either Ann Sobrato High School or Live Oak High, depending on the their micro-neighborhood.

The Santa Tereza area, the farthest most southern part of San Jose, is one of those enclaves for the upper-middle class that you expect to find in the vicinity of the Silicon Valley.

On the northern end by Highway 85 which forms the area’s northern border, there is a Kaiser Permanente and a commercial office park that includes such businesses as a Western Career College and Northrop Grumand office.

The neighborhoods to the south of the area (which form a U shape from west to east on its southern end), are very nicely kept residential neighborhoods except on the eastern end where you find a fairly forgettable mobile home park.

On the western end, neighborhoods like Rancho Santa Tereza are made up of attractive wide Ranch homes. Very nice really and with the average price at around $450K, they are relatively affordable.

There are also several condos and apartment complexes in the area where the prices are—of course—about a $100K less on average.

The schools in the area are outstanding as well, with Santa Tereza High being significantly above the California average, and Leland High down in Greystone being even better than that.

Overall, a great place to live, nestled up against the hills so that you can go for jogs or hikes or take in a game of golf at the country club. You are also close enough where you will avoid the worst of the traffic.