Moving to Santa Clara: Why Everyone is Doing it

Santa Clara Depot. California railway station 1863 — Courtesy — TilTul / CC BY-SA

Are you moving to Santa Clara? If so, you’ve made the right choice. Santa Clara was voted the number one city in California to live by Chamber of Commerce.org and it’s easy to see why. With its location in the heart of Silicon Valley, living in Santa Clara is a great spot if you’re employed by one of the over dozen giant tech companies inhabiting the region.  In addition, the city has a number of excellent universities nearby, including Santa Clara University that provide tech talent to the aforementioned companies.

Santa Clara Valley Beauty 

Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge — Courtesy — Dicklyon / CC BY-SA

The natural beauty of the area also has a little to do with why people are flocking to Santa Clara. Situated at the very southern tip of San Francisco Bay, Santa Clara is a great stepping off point for boating and fishing enthusiasts. Both Alviso Marina County Park and the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge have miles and miles of walking and biking paths, all set in a beautiful backdrop of the bay. If it’s mountains you prefer, Santa Clara’s got those too. Just west of the city are the Santa Cruz Mountains. A great hiking spot is Black Mountain, a roughly 3,000 foot summit on the Monte Bello Ridge. The Black Mountain Trail offers 9.7 miles of oak and chaparral-covered hiking with incredible views of the Bay once you reach the top. And, of course, the Pacific Ocean is just an hour away to the west.

Santa Clara Things to Do 

Levi’s Stadium — Courtesy — Matthew Roth / CC BY-SA

If you’re looking for other things to do, Santa Clara can accommodate. Visit Levi Stadium, the city’s largest venue for sports, concerts, and other live events.  

Just up the road, you’ll find California’s Great America, a 100-acre theme park featuring 40+ rides and attractions. 

If you love tech, you’ve got to visit the Intel Museum. Get a behind-the-scenes look at how silicon chips are made in this 10,000 sq. ft. museum.  

Santa Clara Cost of Living 

The median household income in Santa Clara is $108,609 (2017), making it the Richest City in America. But you’ll need that money in order to buy or rent a house. The median home value as of July 2020 is $1,340,559. If you want to rent, that’s going to cost a bit too. As of July, 2020, the median rent in the area is $2,974 with the average apartment size being 896 sq. ft.  

Santa Clara Storage Options 

If you’re able to find a place to live that doesn’t break the bank, it’s probably going to be fairly small. But what to do with all of the furniture and other items that won’t fit in that small space? Your best, and most affordable option is to rent a Santa Clara storage unit. West Coast Self-Storage Santa Clara is a great choice. Its storage spaces are climate-controlled, meaning they’re kept at a constant temperature year-round. Why is this good? A constant temp means that your belongings won’t be damaged as they would if they were stored in a unit with large temperature swings, which bring big humidity swings. Humidity does real damage to many types of things you may store including electronics, files, photos, and other items. The storage facility offers a wide range of sizes from small 5 x 5 units all the way up to 10 x 25 units, capable of holding a houseful of possessions. Plus, at West Coast Self-Storage Santa Clara, you only pay month-to-month, which means you can only rent when you need it.