Poway vs Walnut Creek (San Diego, San Francisco: low crime, houses, job market)

[Cabound1]

I have the option of relocating to either the Poway or Walnut Creek office of my current employer.

Walnut Creek seems to have higher housing costs, but what about COL other than that? Utilities? Tax structure the same? What is the general vibe in each city? What about the climate?

I am an early forties divorcee, no kids. Could care less about School systems or commuting issues as I would work from home a lot.

What do you see as the pros and cons of each area?

[oddstray]

Poway is quite family-oriented. It's not my idea of where I'd have wanted to be when I was early forties and on my own, but it's a nice place. Poway is inland, so the climate is more extreme than at the coast in San Diego. Summer can go into the 100's, and there's an occasional freeze in winter.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Cabound1,

Have you tried posting this in the Bay Area forum as well for Walnut Creek?

We have some friends with kids that are from here in San Diego and now live and work up there. They basically said, its a family oriented suburb with good schools not too dissimilar to Poway.

If you are not having to go into an office much, what are you looking for outside of work in terms of lifestyle considering all things are even?

[sfosyd]

This is interesting. When I first moved to San Diego, I expected Poway to be a lot like Walnut Creek. In reality, I think the demographics/income are similar but overall they are nothing alike.

Walnut Creek has a cute walkable downtown with lots of restaurants, bars and shopping. Poway is pretty much strip malls, cookie cutter houses or older homes with large lots. There is little in the way of walkability in Poway if that is important to you. Walnut Creek also has the BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit System) that comes right into downtown allowing easy access to Oakland, San Francisco and the airport. Except for limited bus service there is little public transportation in Poway and public transportation is looked down upon. I'd say they are both about the same distance from their respective city centers (San Francisco and San Diego) and both would offer a variety of interesting hiking. Weather is great in both places, with Walnut Creek having more of a four season climate. Walnut Creek has very early springs, late falls and a gorgeous sunny, dry summer. Winter would be a bit rainier with Poway definitely getting the edge for winter weather. If skiing is important, Walnut Creek is closer to world class skiing at Tahoe. The closest "real" mountain to Poway is Mammoth which is a good seven hour drive.

I think tax structure would be the same as they are both California - high income taxes. I really don't think there is too much of a COL difference between the two, my hunch is Walnut Creek is getting lumped in with general Bay Area costs compared with general San Diego costs which are higher.

Good luck

[bloom]

Do you have to live in the areas you would work? Given your situation, I would favor living elsewhere and doing a short commute. Commuting is easy in the SD area. All things being about equal, do you prefer living in the SD or SF areas? I like both, but SD is more manageable, less dense people wise, better climate, but SF has overall better job market.

[Cabound1]

As far as lifestyle goes, I would be looking to live in a smaller SFH. I have 2 large dogs that need some space. I enjoy mainly outdoor activities. Been there, done that as far as nightlife goes.....don't need walkability, but I do like being within a couple miles of nice restaurants, grocery shopping, etc.

[futbol]

You will be able to find homes in Poway with a (relatively) spacious yard. But yeah, the main positives of Poway are the school system and low crime rate.

If having a house with some land is important, you could consider some of the surrounding communities, like Ramona.

[AADAD]

Poway is more rural with better access to the beaches. Better traffic (by far). People are more laid back in Poway. Walnut Creek tends to be more expensive.

[JohnSoCal]

We lived in Poway for several years and have also lived in the San Francisco Bay area for many years. The big advantages to Poway is the schools and family environment. These 2 things are of no interest to the OP. Walnut Creek is more of a city rather than bedroom community. The winter weather is warmer in Poway. Actually if I were the OP, I probably would go with Walnut Creek.

[sav858]

Walnut Creek offers much more than Poway overall it in terms of amenities. Poway is very quiet and suburban. WC has a pretty big downtown with way more shopping, restaurants, NIGHTLIFE (does that exist in Poway?), and cultural amenities. I think WC would be much better for someone single and in their 40's than Poway.

Even if schools mattered pretty sure they aren't any better than Walnut Creek at all.