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Nestled between Google and Symantec is a neighborhood with a view of the mountains and an open feel, one resident described.

"(North Whisman is) kind of like a little oasis beneath the clouds of Silicon Valley," said neighborhood resident Lisa Matichak.

Matichak moved into her home in 2007 and is currently vice president, after being president, of the Wagon Wheel Neighborhood Association.

"The (Wagon Wheel) Neighborhood Association has been instrumental in pulling the neighborhood together," she said.

Matichak described her neighbors as people who care about the neighborhood and watch out for each other.

"There are such wonderful people living here," she said. "It's like an extended family."

Even by driving down the street, it is clear that neighbors stop to say hello and catch up with each other.

Jessica Gandhi, the North Whisman Neighborhood Association president, said it is a very tight-knit area.

Gandhi has lived in her home for 14 years since 1999 with her husband and two children.

"It's kind of like an old-fashioned neighborhood where you kind of knew everybody," Gandhi said.

The busy neighborhood is outlined with charming homes and active neighbors walking their dogs or taking a leisurely stroll. And, the two neighborhood associations share information with one another and invite one another to their events, according to Gandhi.

Matichak has been able to meet more of her neighbors through the events the Wagon Wheel association has held, ranging from ice-cream socials to classes on composting and landscaping with drought-tolerant plants.

The Wagon Wheel Neighborhood Association just won the Building Resourceful Inspirational Creative Community (BRICC) award by the United Neighborhoods of Santa Clara County, according to Matichak and Kelley Ketchmark, the Wagon Wheel president.

"I think we're a real gem of a neighborhood," Ketchmark said.

-- Ashley Finden

FACTS
CHILDCARE AND PRESCHOOLS: German International School of Silicon Valley, 310 Easy St.; Kiddie Academy, 205 E. Middlefield Road; NASA Ames Child Care Center, Moffett Field
FIRE STATION: No. 4, 229 N. Whisman Road
LOCATION: bounded by Walker Drive, Leong Drive, Evandale Avenue, Easy Street; Wagon Wheel: East Middlefield Road, Tyrella Avenue, Fairchild Drive, North Whisman Road
NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: North Whisman Neighborhood Association, Jessica Gandhi, 650-969-2429, jessicasgandhi@yahoo.com; Wagon Wheel Neighborhood Association, Kelley Ketchmark, kelleyketchmark@gmail.com or board@wagonwheelna.org
PRIVATE SCHOOLS: German International School of Silicon Valley, 310 Easy St.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Mtn. View-Whisman School District -- Huff, Landels or Monta Loma elementary schools, Crittenden Middle School; Mtn. View-Los Altos Union High School District -- Mountain View High School
MEDIAN 2012 HOME PRICE: $762,500 ($335,199-$1,060,000)
HOMES SOLD: 8
MEDIAN 2012 CONDO PRICE: $505,000 ($253,000-$799,000)
CONDOS SOLD: 26

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