A family in our neighborhood recently put their house on the market. One day while bike riding with our kids, we spotted the mom in the front yard and inquired about their plans.
“Hey there,” my husband said. “Where are you moving?”
“The west side,” she responded.
Confused and directionally challenged, I had to ask, “The west side of what?”
“The west side of Los Gatos,” she clarified. “You know … 95030.”
Suddenly The Jeffersons’ theme song ran through my mind:
We’re movin’ on up …
To the “west” side …
To a dee-luxe apartment in the sky …
My soon-to-be ex-neighbor continued, “We’ll have more yard and a house that needs remodeling, but it’s a long-term buy. We alway wanted to be on that side of town.”
This got my twisted brain pondering the differences between the west and east sides of Los Gatos–or more loosely, 95030 and 95032.
I decided to share this neighborly exchange with some friends during a dinner party. After a couple of margaritas, we started brainstorming the subtle distinctions between the ZIP codes.
First, a disclaimer: If you don’t have a sense of humor, stop reading. If you have the ability to laugh at yourself and our uniquely wonderful town, read on.
Second, the following observations came from the mouths off residents of 95032. Representatives from 95030 could not be reached before press time.
Now, for those who enjoy an occasional cocktail in town, you’re lucky if you live in 95030. Not only are all the bars (with the exception of Viva and Boulevard Tavern) located in that ZIP, you can probably frequent a watering hole within stumbling distance of your home. Whether or not you can afford a drink after paying your property taxes is another story.
Gourmet cooks are fortunate in 95032. The east side boasts the majority of grocery stores where all yummy culinary ingredients can be found. In fact it could be argued ‘032ers eat more at home since decent restaurants are scarce on the Boulevard. No offense to Viva, but a little more variety in the mid-range would be nice for the Eastsiders. We promise to put our napkins in our laps.
The flip side of hoarding all the good restaurants in 95030 is an overabundance of Westsiders attending Weight Watchers meetings. All that Forbes Mill steak and Fleur D’Coco pastries are bound to catch up with your waistline.
One way to work off the extra pounds is to join one of the many health clubs in town. The 95030s are permitted to join Courtside without question, while 95032s are subjected to a thorough background check. The Eastsiders are more likely to have extensive rap sheets listing unimaginable offenses such as putting on mascara while driving or attempting to poison innocent subjects by serving homemade (rather than store-bought) treats at the school fundraiser.
From a retail perspective, the town has done an excellent job of keeping chains stores off the Boulevard. It warms my heart to see out-of-towners enjoying an afternoon of strolling, shopping and eating at unique Eastside haunts such as Happy Hound, Jiffy Market and A1 Rentals. Amazingly a few bold retail establishments have dared to straddle the two ZIPs–Ace Hardware, Starbucks and the Los Gatos Café. Now, those folks know how to get along with everybody.
If you were to find RVs in town, they would most likely reside in 95032. While no doubt violating a town code, some are quasi-concealed by large canopies next to garages. Have you ever seen a Winnebago parked on Glen Ridge Avenue? I don’t think so.
In terms of family vacations, both ZIP codes pack up their vehicles and head north to Interstate 80. At the Vacaville exit, the 95032s pull their RVs into the now defunct Nut Tree resort for a little rest and relaxation, while the 95030s continue east in their Range Rovers to their Tahoe vacation homes.
Then there’s the growing gang problem in town. The noticeable uptick in violence between the west side “Lattes” and the east side “Cappuccinos” is alarming. Maybe the proposed skatepark will be neutral ground where all caffeine-addicted Los Gatos teenagers will put aside their vast differences and broker a Facebook peace treaty.
It could also be argued there is more silicone and less facial expression in 95030, but that seems more like a town-wide epidemic. Someone’s got to keep our local dermatologists and plastic surgeons in business. To be truthful, I’m feeling the post-40 magnetic pull to Samaritan Drive myself. Better sell the RV.
I think we can all agree whether you reside in 95030 or 95032, this town is a wonderful community for all of us. Look at it this way: Your house is holding its value, unlike most homes across the nation. Even our former neighbors with a multimillion-dollar tear-down “finally got a piece of the pie” just like The Jeffersons. “Weezie” would be so proud.
