Moving from Conservative South to East Bay area (Los Angeles, San Francisco: upper-class, low crime)

[bound4cali]

Hi! I need some advice! My family is moving to the East Bay area from the very conservative Bible belt of the south. We have school aged children, so good schools are a must! We were considering Walnut Creek/San Ramon areas. I am also a stay at home mom...are most families duel income? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

[PittNewbie]

Just keep your conservative background in check and in the closet.

[Ceece]

Those are good areas with good school, but you can check school rating sites to get a better idea. Many families in CA rely on duel incomes, but being a SAHM isn't all that uncommon. Generally speaking the more affluent areas like SR, WC and the Tri Valley area tend to be more conservative than some other places, but it's not bible-belt conservative. You can probably find a church that meets your needs but the general population is so varied that they won't be open or accepting of unsolicited comments on politics or religion. Know your audience and accept that everyone doesn't think the same and you should be fine.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by bound4cali

Hi! I need some advice! My family is moving to the East Bay area from the very conservative Bible belt of the south. We have school aged children, so good schools are a must! We were considering Walnut Creek/San Ramon areas. I am also a stay at home mom...are most families duel income? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Your thread is almost identical to an already existing thread on the same subject: http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-f...elocating.html

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by PittNewbie

Just keep your conservative background in check and in the closet.

I hope that was a joke. I love how Bay Area liberals can hypocritically force their agendas down everybody's throats and conservatives are just supposed to keep their opinions to themselves. What's worse, a Bible thumper forcing his/her beliefs on somebody or a wacko socialist liberal who does the same thing?


In response to bound4cali, you'll be fine. I'm a conservative Republican and I manage to do just fine here and get along well with everybody. I think you'll find that people in the Bay Area are pretty accepting of anybody as long as you don't try to tell them how to live their lives.

You really can't go wrong in the Walnut Creek/San Ramon/Danville etc. corridor. It's a very nice, family-oriented place to live and has mostly good to great schools. The only reason I don't currently live there is because I don't want the horrendous commute to Fremont and for my wife who works near Campbell.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by bound4cali

Hi! I need some advice! My family is moving to the East Bay area from the very conservative Bible belt of the south. We have school aged children, so good schools are a must! We were considering Walnut Creek/San Ramon areas. I am also a stay at home mom...are most families duel income? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

The San Ramon area is somewhat of a conservative stronghold in the Bay Area-mind you California conservatism in my experience is much more Libertarian than the sort of conservatism that exists in the South, more of a live and let live kind of conservatism than the social conversatism that I think you are accustomed to. Its a part of the East Bay known as the "Tri Valley" and includes the towns of San Ramon, Dublin, Pleasanton and Livermore. Excellent schools, very safe, low crime, etc.

A bit pricey but I would say you get what you pay for.

[jman650]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

What's worse, a Bible thumper forcing his/her beliefs on somebody or a wacko socialist liberal who does the same thing?

Neither. They're both equally despicable and each deserve to have the taste slapped out their mouth.

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

In response to bound4cali, you'll be fine. I'm a conservative Republican and I manage to do just fine here and get along well with everybody. I think you'll find that people in the Bay Area are pretty accepting of anybody as long as you don't try to tell them how to live their lives.

Exactly! +1

Probably 99% of the time the type you'll find that isn't accepting of non-liberals are the idiot transplant idealists who have come to SF/the Bay with a certain version of SF in mind. They come from everywhere and always have a lot to prove, and in most cases were ridiculed or at least were in the minority wherever they originated, and now feel powerful and want to return the favor. Its completely hypocritical and that type makes me sick.

Judgmental people of any kind can stay the hell away from here. The only ones who deserve to be looked down upon and treated like they aren't welcome are those who have proven to be worthless jerks (like the tools who attack people during Critical Mass, for example). People who try and force their agenda on others are the exact opposite of "accepting" and really have no place here. And the sooner they realize that the better it will be for all of us. This place was never intended to be an extremist stronghold of any kind, but the accepting nature of the SF of years past caused it to wind up being a magnet for jerks who think its all one way. No one likes being told how they should live their lives. That's why we move away from our parents in the first place!

[HMarchesotti]

Originally Posted by bound4cali

Hi! I need some advice! My family is moving to the East Bay area from the very conservative Bible belt of the south. We have school aged children, so good schools are a must! We were considering Walnut Creek/San Ramon areas. I am also a stay at home mom...are most families duel income? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

You might consider Piedmont or Upper Rockridge. For more information, visit my website, www.HomesByHeidi.com or www.TheHighlandPartners.com

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by PittNewbie

Just keep your conservative background in check and in the closet.

Don't scare her off. That's not true. The vast, vast, vast bulk of people in the Bay Area are more than happy to let you have your beliefs so long as you don't try to prove them wrong. You don't have to "keep them in the closet" so much as you have to be civil.

Someone who moves here from a secondary Texas city and is by all accords a Palin-loving conservative can get by just fine here so long as they don't mouth off about how various social or ethnic groups have ruined the area.

This is no different than someone from the Bay Area moving to a secondary Texas city and proceeding to go around telling everyone they need to be more open-minded or green or whatever. No matter what, you just plain don't move into a new town and start spouting off about what's wrong and how to fix it!

To answer the OP: Walnut Creek and a lot of the more middle- or upper-class suburbs in the East Bay are pretty Reagan conservative, I really don't think that you'll have much of an issue. Despite what a lot of people think, outside of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Los Angeles, the rest of California is pretty middle-of-the-road politically, and reasonably conservative in others. I saw a few anti-evolution billboards along the 5 around Redding when I moved back down from Seattle... people in Vacaville and Riverside drive lifted pickups, ride ATV's and shoot guns...

I'd look at Castro Valley, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Dublin, Pleasanton... all those cities should suit you plenty fine.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by 415_s2k

Don't scare her off. That's not true. The vast, vast, vast bulk of people in the Bay Area are more than happy to let you have your beliefs so long as you don't try to prove them wrong. You don't have to "keep them in the closet" so much as you have to be civil.

Someone who moves here from a secondary Texas city and is by all accords a Palin-loving conservative can get by just fine here so long as they don't mouth off about how various social or ethnic groups have ruined the area.

This is no different than someone from the Bay Area moving to a secondary Texas city and proceeding to go around telling everyone they need to be more open-minded or green or whatever. No matter what, you just plain don't move into a new town and start spouting off about what's wrong and how to fix it!

To answer the OP: Walnut Creek and a lot of the more middle- or upper-class suburbs in the East Bay are pretty Reagan conservative, I really don't think that you'll have much of an issue. Despite what a lot of people think, outside of San Francisco, Berkeley, and Los Angeles, the rest of California is pretty middle-of-the-road politically, and reasonably conservative in others. I saw a few anti-evolution billboards along the 5 around Redding when I moved back down from Seattle... people in Vacaville and Riverside drive lifted pickups, ride ATV's and shoot guns...

I'd look at Castro Valley, Livermore, Walnut Creek, Dublin, Pleasanton... all those cities should suit you plenty fine.

Excellent summary Liberal people are people! No body cares what another person believes or how others live their life [only exception is when you observe child abuse]. Californians are a "live let live" kind of people. There's a lot less social intrusion and no Bible-Belt to speak of. Catholics & Mormons are the biggest offenders but limited influence. There's racism in California but if it's expressed openly, the person is immediately ostracized.

Those Reagan conservaties in Walnut Creek\ San Ramon are the faithful remnants of a type of Republican who is pragmantic and not ideological\ theological. I wish all Republicans were like this because our country would benefit greatly.