moving to Fairfield (San Francisco, Sacramento, Vacaville: housing, rent, travel)

[Mara7]

Hy ALL!
I have a job contract offer in Fairfield. I will move out there just me with my two kids. I would appreciate any comments or advices about the city. How about crime? Are the schools good? is the city family oriented?.
Someone told me that are better cities around, is the way to Benicia complicated because traffic or something.
I am quite worried so I will appreciate any suggestions.
Thank you

[cybie]

Hello, Mara7!

Well, I have lived in Fairfield since 1967, and it has seen quite a bit of growth and change. I think the population is somewhere around 90k to 100k. The housing costs are generally affordable, compared to California as a whole, and you can buy a decent home in a decent area for around 400k in this current market. A lot of people move here because of it's lower prices and location between San Francisco and Sacramento, and if you are working here, you don't have to worry about a commute. Leaving town can be a bear, especially hwy 80, and there are so many new housing developements that the hwys are bulging at the seams! The congestion can be mind boggling, and this can happen even on weekends, especially travelling west to SF or if an accident occurs!

Benicia is a very nice town, but can be quite pricey. It's about 20 minutes from Fairfield along hwy 680. It's downtown area is very quaint with people going for evening walks by the water, and antique shops, but I don't think you can find a home larger than 1200 sq ft there for less than 500k, and waterfront properties go for around 900K and up. I'm not sure how much it costs to rent there. And hwy 680 can see major congestion during the evening commute back into Fairfield, but is generally OK at other times due to road expansion. 680/780/80 are the major routes between Benicia and Fairfield. An area called Glen Cove, right next to Benicia seems to be a bit more affordable and basically a bedroom community.

Crime has increased in Fairfield, with certain areas seeing more of it than others, but this would be true of any city that has seen a high population growth in the last 10 years! The west side of town seems to be the more desirable side, with home prices reflecting this sentiment, and Green Valley just west of town along hwy 80 has a ton of new, higher end homes. I'm not sure what your affordability factor is, but if you can swing it, check out the west side.

I think that Fairfield is a family oriented town, with lots of programs for kids through the community center and other venues. There is a new library, new high school (which I hear is great), large shopping mall, and all the big stores such as Target, Home depot, etc. I'm not too familiar with the public school system nowadays, but when I went through it back in the 70's, it stank! I believe it has improved since then.

Vacaville is another town to consider, about 10 minutes east of Fairfield. It has a decent school system and some very nice areas with comparable home prices in the 400k range. Your commute to Fairfield would be a piece of cake, with side roads in case there was an accident on the hwy or something. You should check out the info that is here in the city-data site for Fairfield and Vacaville. You can get a better idea if the crime stats and other info!

I wish you the best of luck with your new job!

[Mara7]

Originally Posted by cybie

Hello, Mara7!

Well, I have lived in Fairfield since 1967, and it has seen quite a bit of growth and change. I think the population is somewhere around 90k to 100k. The housing costs are generally affordable, compared to California as a whole, and you can buy a decent home in a decent area for around 400k in this current market. A lot of people move here because of it's lower prices and location between San Francisco and Sacramento, and if you are working here, you don't have to worry about a commute. Leaving town can be a bear, especially hwy 80, and there are so many new housing developements that the hwys are bulging at the seams! The congestion can be mind boggling, and this can happen even on weekends, especially travelling west to SF or if an accident occurs!

Benicia is a very nice town, but can be quite pricey. It's about 20 minutes from Fairfield along hwy 680. It's downtown area is very quaint with people going for evening walks by the water, and antique shops, but I don't think you can find a home larger than 1200 sq ft there for less than 500k, and waterfront properties go for around 900K and up. I'm not sure how much it costs to rent there. And hwy 680 can see major congestion during the evening commute back into Fairfield, but is generally OK at other times due to road expansion. 680/780/80 are the major routes between Benicia and Fairfield. An area called Glen Cove, right next to Benicia seems to be a bit more affordable and basically a bedroom community.

Crime has increased in Fairfield, with certain areas seeing more of it than others, but this would be true of any city that has seen a high population growth in the last 10 years! The west side of town seems to be the more desirable side, with home prices reflecting this sentiment, and Green Valley just west of town along hwy 80 has a ton of new, higher end homes. I'm not sure what your affordability factor is, but if you can swing it, check out the west side.

I think that Fairfield is a family oriented town, with lots of programs for kids through the community center and other venues. There is a new library, new high school (which I hear is great), large shopping mall, and all the big stores such as Target, Home depot, etc. I'm not too familiar with the public school system nowadays, but when I went through it back in the 70's, it stank! I believe it has improved since then.

Vacaville is another town to consider, about 10 minutes east of Fairfield. It has a decent school system and some very nice areas with comparable home prices in the 400k range. Your commute to Fairfield would be a piece of cake, with side roads in case there was an accident on the hwy or something. You should check out the info that is here in the city-data site for Fairfield and Vacaville. You can get a better idea if the crime stats and other info!

I wish you the best of luck with your new job!

Thank you very much indeed, I´m moving from Europe and every comment is of great help, it´s been very kind of you, thanks again.