Walnut Creek--Near Citrus Marketplace (Sacramento, Concord: house, neighborhood, movie theater)

[ho.ivan1980]

Hi,

I am planning to move to the area for new employment. Is it a good neighborhood?

My wife and girls like to be near a good local shopping center--get their groceries/nails done--is Citrus Marketplace a good place to get basic shopping done?

Any thoughts/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Ivan

[ubu]

You might get better responses on one of the bay area forums.

Most people who live in Sacramento don't make it out to Walnut Creek that often.

[tstieber]

I just coincidentally looked at this forum today, but I grew up in that area, and my parents still live there. Yes, that area has access to very strong public schools, and the shopping at Citrus Marketplace is great. You have Nob Hill Foods, which is an upscale grocery store, a post office, Beverages and More, It's a Grind coffee house with a nice patio, Mary's Pizza Shack (which is popular with families on weekends) and a few other things (not sure about a nail place, but there must be one nearby). It's also a newer shopping center. But if you can't find what you're looking for, why only shop at one strip mall? Within a mile, there is Countrywood Shopping Center, which has a HUGE upscale Safeway, an all-outdoor Starbucks overlooking fountains and flowers, Noah's Bagels, Longs Drugs, Jamba Juice, some sort of lodge-style breakfast place, an amazing Italian deli, a Chinese restaurant, a music store, a book store, and a small mini-department store. And just around the corner from Citrus Marketplace is the not-so-attractive Encina Grande center with another Safeway, Applebee's, a sushi place, Ace Hardware, a drugstore, and a bunch of other things.

On top of that, it's only a five minute drive to either downtown Walnut Creek for quaint strollable shopping and dining, to Pleasant Hill's cute downtown with their movie theater and shops, and Concord with its abundance of chain restaurants and big box retailers. You'll be in the midst of more shopping than you'll ever need, and downtown Walnut Creek has tons of boutique day spas if the wife and kids want to make a whole day of pampering out of it.