A guide for Netflix employees
Working at Netflix, living near the Los Gatos campus
The offer is signed, the start date is set, and now the real question lands: where should you live? This page answers it in one sitting. The four areas around the Los Gatos campus, the drive from each, what homes cost, how the schools sort out, the money, and the road from first tour to keys, all in plain words.
I am Simon Sahi, a real estate agent with Signature Properties here in Silicon Valley. Buying and selling homes in the towns around this campus is my weekly work, and I built this page so a Netflix employee can read it once and see the whole board.
The campus sits in a town of oak shade and front gardens, where many streets look like this one.
Who this page is for
Short answer: anyone at Netflix choosing where to live near the Los Gatos campus, from new hires landing in the South Bay to families moving up from the Los Angeles offices.
This page was written for you if:
- You are joining Netflix and landing in the Bay Area for the first time.
- You are moving up from the Los Angeles offices and trading one California life for another.
- You rent in Willow Glen or Campbell today and want to own before the next lease renewal.
- Your family is coming from another state or another country and needs one honest briefing, not forty browser tabs.
How to use this page: each section opens with the plain answer and then lays out the detail. Skim the short answers and you have the story in minutes. Stay in the sections that carry your questions. And when a question belongs to your family alone, call me and we will work it through together.
The short answer
Short answer: Los Gatos for the whole life in the campus town itself, Campbell for the gentlest price minutes away, Saratoga for the schools and the quiet, San Jose for room and value with Willow Glen as its village heart.
- The whole life, shortest drive: live in Los Gatos. The campus is in town, the downtown is the one other towns visit, and whole evenings come back to you.
- Gentlest price, still minutes away: Campbell. A true little downtown, the light rail, and the lowest median of the four.
- The schools and the quiet above all: Saratoga. Foothill streets, garden estates, and school rankings at the very top of the state, at the top price of the four.
- Room, value and a village heart: San Jose, with Willow Glen as its front porch. The widest choice and the citywide median, twenty minutes from the campus doors.
Something unusual is true here, and it shapes this whole page: this campus sits inside the town most people would pick on feel alone. The choice is rarely about distance, since three of the four areas sit within about twenty five minutes at peak. The choice is about price steps and daily feel, and the rest of the page shows both, area by area.
The four areas compared
Short answer: each of the four works for campus life. They part ways on price, schools and daily feel far more than on drive time, and the right area is the one that fits your budget and your family in the same breath.
Streets, a creek and a main street gathered at the foot of the hills: the shape of life on this side of the valley.
| Area | Morning drive at peak | Drive off peak | Median price | High end | In one line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Gatos | About 5 to 15 minutes | About 5 to 10 minutes | About $2M | $5M and up | The campus town itself, a landmark downtown under the foothills |
| Campbell | About 10 to 20 minutes | About 10 to 15 minutes | About $1.8M | About $3M and up | The gentle entry of the four, a real downtown and the light rail |
| Saratoga | About 15 to 25 minutes | About 10 to 15 minutes | About $3.88M | About $5M and up | Foothill quiet, garden estates and schools at the very top |
| San Jose | About 20 to 30 minutes | About 15 to 20 minutes | About $1.35M | About $3M and up | The big city next door, widest choice, Willow Glen as its village heart |
Drive times are typical ranges in a car from the middle of each area to the Netflix campus in Los Gatos, timed from Willow Glen for San Jose, and they grow on rainy days and on summer Fridays when beach traffic joins Highway 17. Prices are approximate medians drawn from the city guides on this site; the San Jose figure is the citywide median, and Willow Glen trades above it.
Los Gatos
The campus town itself: a historic downtown and a lake, with the shortest drive of the four.
The drive. The campus stands on the northeast side of town near Winchester Boulevard and Highway 85, so most Los Gatos homes sit five to fifteen minutes away at peak, and the closest streets measure the trip in single digits. Off peak nearly the whole town is inside ten minutes. Homes up in the hills add a few winding minutes, and in return they take the views.
The homes and prices. Victorian homes in Almond Grove, craftsman bungalows on the flat streets near downtown, ranch homes across Belwood and Blossom Hill Manor, and hillside estates in Glen Una, Alta Vista and Surmont with the whole valley below. The median price is about $2M, and the high end runs $5M and up where the hills and the views take over.
The schools. Los Gatos Union serves the younger years across most of the town and feeds Los Gatos High School, a landmark campus with academics to match. Some eastern pockets fall into Campbell Union and other neighboring districts, which is why the exact address always matters here.
The feel. The South Bay mountain town. Santa Cruz Avenue is the storied main street, Vasona Lake is the town playground, the creek trail starts in town, and the redwoods begin twenty minutes up the hill.
Who it suits. Anyone who wants the campus close, the evenings back, and the town itself to be the prize.
Campbell
The gentle entry: a true little downtown, the light rail, and a drive measured in minutes.
The drive. About ten to twenty minutes at peak, straight down Winchester Boulevard or by the freeway, and ten to fifteen minutes off peak. After Los Gatos itself, this is the closest ground to the campus, and the creek trail makes it a bike ride as much as a drive.
The homes and prices. Classic ranch homes and bungalows form the core stock, with townhomes and condos near downtown and the Pruneyard offering lower entry points. The median price is about $1.8M, and the high end runs about $3M and up on the largest rebuilt homes.
The schools. Campbell Union serves the younger years across most of the city, then the Campbell Union High School District, with Westmont, Leigh and Prospect among its high schools. Some pockets fall into San Jose Unified or other neighboring districts, so the address check matters here too.
The feel. A small city with a social streak. Campbell Avenue carries the dining, the evenings and a farmers market that fills the street on weekends, the Pruneyard handles movies and groceries, and the creek trail runs through town toward Los Gatos in one direction and San Jose in the other.
Who it suits. Buyers who want the campus close, daily life on foot, and money left over for the home itself.
Saratoga
The foothill address: garden estates and quiet streets, schools at the very top, and the top price of the four.
The drive. About fifteen to twenty five minutes at peak, most of it on Saratoga Los Gatos Road, the tree lined run that joins the two towns, and ten to fifteen minutes off peak. It is the prettiest commute of the four and the one drivers here speak of with real affection.
The homes and prices. Large lots, garden estates and custom homes under the foothills, with vineyard pockets and very few condos or townhomes anywhere in town. The median sold price is about $3.88M, the average sale runs about $4M, and the high end reaches about $5M and up.
The schools. Saratoga Union for the younger years and Saratoga High School in the Los Gatos Saratoga Union district, ranked among the very best in California. Some western pockets fall into Cupertino Union instead. In this town the school assignment and the lot carry the price together.
The feel. Quiet, green and unhurried. The Village on Big Basin Way holds the dining, Hakone Gardens holds the stillness, Villa Montalvo brings concerts to a villa lawn, and the hills above town hold the wineries and the trailheads.
Who it suits. Families who put schools, space and quiet at the top of the list and are ready to pay what that takes.
San Jose
The big city next door: the widest choice of the four, with Willow Glen as its village heart.
The drive. From Willow Glen, about twenty to thirty minutes at peak by Highway 85, Highway 17 or the surface streets, and fifteen to twenty minutes off peak. Almaden Valley runs a little shorter, the downtown and Rose Garden about the same, and the far districts of the city run longer, which is why this card is timed from Willow Glen.
The homes and prices. The widest ladder of the four by far. The citywide median is about $1.35M and the high end about $3M and up. Willow Glen trades above the city median for its bungalows, its tree lined streets and Lincoln Avenue, and Almaden Valley trades above it too, while Berryessa and South San Jose offer the gentlest entry points in this whole guide.
The schools. Willow Glen sits inside San Jose Unified, where Willow Glen Elementary, Willow Glen Middle and Willow Glen High form one true neighborhood path from the first day of school to graduation. The wider city is cut into more districts than any other in the valley, each with its own map, so here the exact address check matters most of all.
The feel. A city of villages. Lincoln Avenue is Willow Glen's main street, with dining, coffee and the December lights the whole city drives in to see. The Rose Garden keeps its roses and its bungalows, downtown keeps the museums and the arena, and every district keeps its own weekly rhythm.
Who it suits. Buyers who want room and value with a village main street, and are glad to trade a few drive minutes for both.
Getting to campus
Short answer: driving leads and it is short from all four areas. The Los Gatos Creek Trail makes cycling a true option from Los Gatos, Campbell and Willow Glen, and the light rail plus company commute support round out the picture.
Low buildings among the oaks at the edge of town, the low profile this campus keeps in keeping with the town around it.
By car
The campus stands on the northeast side of Los Gatos, where Winchester Boulevard meets Highway 85. From inside Los Gatos, the surface streets do the work. From Campbell, Winchester runs straight to the campus doors, with Highway 17 and 85 as the freeway line. From Saratoga, Saratoga Los Gatos Road is the whole trip in one road. From Willow Glen, most drivers take Highway 85 from the south of the district or Highway 17 through Campbell.
The pinch points are few and learnable: the junction where 85 meets 17 on hard mornings, and Highway 17 itself on summer Fridays, when beach traffic builds early and the commute shares the road with the weekend. The valley rhythm otherwise holds: pressure builds after about half past seven in the morning, and the evening wave starts at about half past four. Learn one alternate route for each direction in your first weeks, and give yourself a slower first month on purpose. The times in the table above already assume those busy hours.
The shuttle and commute support
Like every large valley employer, Netflix supports the commute in ways that change as the campus and its teams grow, and for plenty of people that support decides where home can be. A home on a served line can hand the driving to someone else, stretch the map of workable areas, and turn commute time into rest or reading.
The honest limit is this: the current routes, stops and benefits live on Netflix internal pages, so no public page can print them for you, this one included. Make the commute picture one of your first week questions at work. Ask your team what runs between the campus and the areas you like, bring me what you learn, and we will weigh it in the search next to schools and price, because the home that fits the commute usually fits the life.
By bike
The Los Gatos Creek Trail is the quiet treasure of this corner of the valley: a paved path that runs from the foothills above Los Gatos through the town, through Campbell and Willow Glen, and on into downtown San Jose, passing close by the campus side of Los Gatos. From most of Los Gatos and Campbell the ride to campus is short and largely off the road, and from Willow Glen it is a steady, pleasant run. Many riders here treat the trail as their daily road in both directions.
By train and light rail
The VTA light rail Green Line ends at Winchester station in Campbell, a few minutes from the campus by bike, bus or car, and runs through downtown San Jose to Diridon station, where Caltrain carries riders up the Peninsula toward San Francisco. If your life includes regular trips up the Peninsula, or a partner whose work sits along the Caltrain line, living within reach of the light rail deserves a place on your list.
The money picture
Short answer: four close in areas with four very different price steps, from the San Jose citywide median to Saratoga at nearly three times that figure. Wherever you land, plan the whole cost of owning, not just the purchase price.
What homes cost by area
In round numbers, the medians climb like this: San Jose at about $1.35M citywide, Campbell at about $1.8M, Los Gatos at about $2M, and Saratoga at about $3.88M, where the average sale runs about $4M. Below those medians sit the condos and townhomes that form the first rung, thick on the ground in Campbell and San Jose, thinner in Los Gatos, and rare in Saratoga. Above them sit the estates, reaching about $3M and up in Campbell and San Jose and $5M and up in Los Gatos and Saratoga. Willow Glen, remember, trades above the San Jose citywide median. A median is a middle marker, not a quote, so before any offer we price the real home against the recent sales on its own street.
Renting first or buying first
Renting first suits you if you are new to the South Bay and want a season of living here before a decision this size, if you want to test the run in from two different areas, or if a large share of your pay lands later in the year and you want it counted at full strength.
Buying first suits you if you already know these towns, if your family wants one move and then roots, or if you would rather build your own equity from the first month than pay a landlord through a long search.
Neither order is the right one for everyone. What protects you is choosing on purpose, with the numbers in front of you, instead of drifting into whichever lease or listing shows up first.
Buying while paid partly in stock
Netflix is known across the industry for paying at the top of the market, and for letting each employee choose how much of that pay arrives as salary and how much as stock options. Lenders here understand the shape of tech pay because they see it every working day. In general terms, salary is the part they read most plainly, while the stock side counts through its record: what you have exercised and held over time, and how steady that pattern looks across the past couple of years. A calm, documented history counts for more than a single strong year.
So build one folder early: your offer letter, your pay records, the pay mix you chose, and your exercise history if you have one. Put the whole picture in front of a lender who works with tech pay before you fall for a home, not after. This is general education only, never a promise about any loan. Your own numbers will decide what you can carry, and a straight talking lender will lay them out plainly.
Closing costs and taxes, the basics
- Closing costs. On top of the down payment, budget roughly one to two percent of the price for the bundle of loan, title, escrow and recording charges. The precise figure follows the loan and the home.
- Property tax. Santa Clara County taxes run at about 1.2 percent of the purchase price per year, resetting to your price when you buy, billed in two parts each year. It is among the most predictable costs of owning here.
- Insurance. Every lender requires home insurance, priced by the home and its setting. Hillside homes in the Los Gatos and Saratoga foothills, close to open space, can cost more to insure than homes on the flat streets below.
- Monthly dues. Condos and townhomes carry monthly association dues for shared costs. Single family homes across these four areas usually carry no dues, or small ones.
That is the shape of the costs, in general educational terms. For counsel on your own taxes and finances, sit with your own tax professional. For the numbers on a specific home, sit with me.
The buying journey on a relocation timeline
Short answer: first tour to keys most often runs about two to four months in these areas. Here is the order things usually happen, so nothing surprises you.
- Weeks one and two: get your bearings. Settle at work, learn what commute support runs to the areas you like, and drive all four areas twice, once at school run hour and once in the early evening. Decide as a family what you will not trade away.
- Put the money in order. Meet a lender early, hand over the full pay picture including the stock side of it, and come away with approval in writing. Sellers across these areas expect to see it beside any offer.
- Tour across areas. Walk homes in two or three areas on the same day. Price against space against drive only becomes honest when you feel all three within a few hours of each other.
- Learn the weekly rhythm. Fresh listings land through the week and open homes cluster on weekends. Strong homes in Los Gatos and Campbell often take offers roughly a week after they list.
- The offer. Price opens the conversation; terms finish it. Short timelines and lean conditions are common at this level, and good homes can draw several offers at once. We set your number from the recent sales on that street, never from hope.
- Closing. After an offer is accepted, closing usually takes about three to four weeks, holding inspections, the appraisal and the loan work inside it.
- Keys, then settling. Move in, set the school run or the trail run, and exhale. My work does not stop at the door: call me for the roofer, the gardener, or the question about a permit.
Family life in the four areas
Short answer: all four areas are built for family life. Schools lead the choice, and lakes, trails, gardens and four walkable main streets fill in everything after.
Lake parks like this one are the weekend headquarters of family life in these towns.
Schools, in one view
The cards above carry the school picture area by area. Hold on to one warning from long experience here: boundaries in this valley can turn mid street, and two homes that look like twins on a map can be assigned to different schools. San Jose adds a further twist, with more districts inside one city than anywhere else in the valley. Before you offer on any home, we confirm its assigned schools by its exact street address, together and in writing. Ten minutes of checking protects the very reason many families pick these areas.
Parks and the outdoors
Vasona Lake County Park gives Los Gatos its paddle boats and picnic shade, with Oak Meadow Park beside it and a little railroad that carries children around the grounds. The Los Gatos Creek Trail ties the whole guide together, running from the foothills through Los Gatos, Campbell and Willow Glen toward downtown San Jose. Hakone Gardens brings Saratoga its stillness, Villa Montalvo its concerts on the lawn, and Campbell Park and the Pruneyard green hold Campbell's share of the weekends.
Daily life
Every area keeps a walkable heart. Santa Cruz Avenue in Los Gatos, the most storied main street in the South Bay. The Village in Saratoga for dinner under the foothills. Campbell Avenue for food, coffee and the weekend market. Lincoln Avenue in Willow Glen, where the December lights turn whole streets into a city tradition. Libraries are strong in all four areas, youth sports run year round, and the ordinary errands of a week stay mercifully close.
Weekends
The ocean at Santa Cruz sits about half an hour from Los Gatos over Highway 17, with one honest warning: on hot summer days the whole valley has the same idea, so go early or go late. Wine tasting waits in the hills above Saratoga and Los Gatos. The redwoods rise at Castle Rock and Big Basin, a short run up the hill roads. And San Jose, ten to twenty minutes east, brings the museums, the arena and the big city evenings. Families here run out of weekends before they run out of things to fill them.
Questions Netflix employees ask
Short answer: these are the questions I hear most from people joining Netflix, answered the way I answer them across a kitchen table.
Where do Netflix employees live?
The thickest cluster is Los Gatos itself, in the streets around the campus and the downtown, then Campbell and Saratoga, with more spread through Willow Glen and the wider city of San Jose. A smaller group lives over the hill toward Santa Cruz and takes Highway 17 against the main flow. The pattern follows the feel of the town first here, then schools, then price.
How long is the drive from Saratoga to the Netflix campus?
About fifteen to twenty five minutes at peak and ten to fifteen minutes off peak, almost all of it on Saratoga Los Gatos Road. Homes on the Los Gatos side of Saratoga run shorter, and the far western foothill streets run longer.
What does a home near the Netflix campus cost?
The median runs about $2M in Los Gatos, about $1.8M in Campbell, about $1.35M across San Jose as a whole, and about $3.88M in Saratoga. Willow Glen trades above the San Jose citywide figure. Condos and townhomes start well below those medians, and estates run far above them. All figures are approximate.
Which area has the best schools?
Saratoga sits at the very top of most rankings, Los Gatos stands close behind, Campbell is solid and even, and Willow Glen offers one neighborhood school path inside San Jose Unified while the wider city varies district by district. The sound method is to choose the exact schools first, then shop inside their lines.
Should I rent first or buy right away?
If you know these towns and your budget is settled, buying right away spares you a second move. If the South Bay is new to you, a season of renting buys knowledge that guards a very large decision. If your employer is helping with the move, check what the help covers before you decide, because it can tilt the math.
Can I buy if much of my pay is stock?
In general, yes. Netflix lets employees choose the mix of salary and stock options in their pay, and lenders who serve this valley read that shape of pay every day. They weigh the salary plainly and the stock side through its record over time. Bring the whole picture early and let them judge it whole. That is general education; your own lender will give you your own answer.
How fast do homes sell here?
Fast enough that readiness decides outcomes. Good homes in Los Gatos and Campbell often take offers within a week or two of listing, and Saratoga estates can move quickly when they are priced from the recent sales around them. Approval in writing and a clear top number matter more than raw speed.
What will my property tax look like?
About 1.2 percent of your purchase price each year in Santa Clara County, resetting to your price at the moment you buy. It arrives in two bills a year and is one of the steadiest numbers in the whole cost picture.
Is the commute from Campbell really that short?
Yes, and it surprises people. Campbell begins just minutes north of the campus along Winchester Boulevard, about ten to twenty minutes at peak by car, and the Los Gatos Creek Trail turns the same trip into a bike ride for many riders. It is the closest ground to the campus after Los Gatos itself.
When is the best time of year to buy here?
Spring and early fall bring the most listings, and winter brings fewer rivals and quieter rooms. Summer adds beach traffic on Highway 17 but changes little inside the towns themselves. In truth this market rewards readiness more than calendar craft. The best time is usually when your life is ready and the right home appears.
Can you help if I am buying from another state or country?
Yes, happily, and it is a large part of my work. We start with video calls and filmed walk throughs while you are still far away, then one focused visit to stand inside the finalists together. Nearly everything before the keys can be done well from a distance.
Your first month checklist
Short answer: work through these ten in your first month and the move turns from a flood into a plan.
- Ask at work what commute support runs between the campus and the areas you like, and bring me what you learn.
- Drive Saratoga Los Gatos Road and Winchester Boulevard at school run hour, then drive them once more in the early evening.
- Walk all four main streets: Santa Cruz Avenue, the Saratoga Village, Campbell Avenue and Lincoln Avenue.
- Name the schools that matter to your family and learn their exact boundary lines.
- Place your full pay picture, salary and the stock side of it, in front of a lender and get approval in writing.
- Set your true top number: the price, plus the tax and insurance that ride behind it.
- Tour homes in at least two areas on the same day.
- Give one weekend morning to Vasona Lake and the Los Gatos Creek Trail.
- Ask me for the recent sales on any street you fall for, before you think about an offer.
- Save my number today, so your first question costs you nothing to ask.
A word from me
For more than twelve years I have helped families buy and sell homes across these towns, from first homes to grand estates, and I give every home the same care. My clients have left me 104 five star reviews, and the homes I have helped sell here add up to more than $250M. The number I trust most is quieter: my phone still rings when a past client has a question, years after the keys changed hands.
If you are weighing a move for Netflix, or a move across town, let us talk it through. One call, no pressure, and you will leave knowing the towns, the numbers and the next step. Call me on the Peninsula line at (650) 274 1134 or the South Bay line at (408) 389 6939, or write to me at SIMON@SPSILICONVALLEY.COM.
However your search ends, I am glad you found this page. Welcome to the neighborhood.
Simon Sahi
Real Estate Agent, Signature Properties
CA DRE #01953287
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