Middle Class Neighborhoods in the Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland: to rent, condo)

[jade408]

Since every other thread is "help me find a middle class and safe neighborhood." Maybe it is time for a consolidated thread.

Here is the definition of middle class:

• Home price: $300-500K for 3/2 in a home or condo or townhome
• Parking: Deeded or Frequent Full-Service Public Transit can be substituted
• Neighborhood Amenities: groceries, drugstores, services within a 5 mi radius, parks and green space within 5 mi
• Location: In the imediate bay area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, SF, Marin, Santa Clara
• Reasonable commute to a job center in Silicon Valley, SF or the East Bay: 45 min drive or 1 hour on transit
• Safety: Safe enough to walk around in the evenings with common sense

Neighborhoods can be defined by two types:
For Families (requires decent schools)
For Couples/Singles/Retired/Empty Nesters (schools are unimportant, amenities are more important

Where would you choose? Start with which type your neighborhood is.

[memorytheatre]

Home price: $300-500K for 3/2 in a home or condo or townhome

Doesn't exist and where it does the average "middle class" person won't want to reside.

Try $650,000 - $1.2 mill for 3/2 in a home or condo or townhome
The rest of your criteria exists in most of the areas you mentioned.

[CAVA1990]

SFHs there aren't really for the middle class.

[batransplant]

This is untrue. There are middle class neighborhoods in the east bay meeting all the criteria and price point's you mentioned. Look into Fremont, Dublin, El Cerrito, Alameda, or Pleasant Hill. These are all nice, safe neighborhoods. You just don't hear about them because they are somewhat blah, average areas where not much is happening...good or bad....hence middle class.

All of these areas have all of the amenities you listed close by, parking, public transit, moderate to low crime, and decent (but not the TOP TOP schools). Everything offered in these areas is perfectly fine...its just not deluxe or the absolute best, which is what most people want. The reality is that most people in the bay area will never be able to afford to live in Tiburon or Palo Alto when their income/budget clearly puts them into Pleasant Hill. Its a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people living here.

Using PH as an example, go visit the little downtown Pleasant Hill shopping area...there is a multiplex, several restaurants,shops, chain stores, and a very nice park w/ a pool and tons of classes for adults and kids of all ages. Its just not really fancy. Its middle class, but its clean, well maintained, and safe. But then again, even fancy bay area neighborhoods aren't fancy compared to other cities' counterparts.

And heres some news, just because your kid goes to a school rated a 7 or 8 vs. 10 doesn't mean he/she has to get below average grades. They can still pull in a 4.0 at a decent school just as they could at a 10 school. Its the parents motivation to keep the kid on the college bound track that makes the difference.

I am not too familiar w/ South Bay or San Mateo, but I am sure there are some places similar to these east bay cities which exist in those counties as well.

[mayorhaggar]

The vast majority of middle class people can't afford to buy anything. Home ownership in SF is something like 10%.

So if you're gonna be middle class you're just gonna have to rent.

[18Montclair]

batransplant, the places you call neighborhoods are actually cities many of whom have very wealthy neighborhoods as well as neighborhoods that appear middle class. As far as test scores, Fremont does in fact have TOP TOP schools-better than districts in the 925( except Lamorinda) or the 415 or 650 (except Palo Alto) or 408.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

The vast majority of middle class people can't afford to buy anything. Home ownership in SF is something like 10%.

So if you're gonna be middle class you're just gonna have to rent.

According to the Census Bureau it's 35% in SF and 41% in Oakland.

http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/06/0667000.html

Oakland (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

[Mr. Fantastic]

Originally Posted by memorytheatre

Doesn't exist and where it does the average "middle class" person won't want to reside.

Try $650,000 - $1.2 mill for 3/2 in a home or condo or townhome
The rest of your criteria exists in most of the areas you mentioned.

This.

Either you're going to be paying over 600k to live in a decent neighborhood, or you can pay $350,000 to live in some jungle in Oakland that is 2 bedrooms and 1 bath.

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

According to the Census Bureau it's 35% in SF and 41% in Oakland.

San Francisco (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Oakland (city) QuickFacts from the US Census Bureau

Well I got that one wrong. I know I've seen rates listed between 10 and 20% but maybe that was for during the dot com years before subprime mortgages became common.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by jade408

Since every other thread is "help me find a middle class and safe neighborhood." Maybe it is time for a consolidated thread.

Here is the definition of middle class:

• Home price: $300-500K for 3/2 in a home or condo or townhome
• Parking: Deeded or Frequent Full-Service Public Transit can be substituted
• Neighborhood Amenities: groceries, drugstores, services within a 5 mi radius, parks and green space within 5 mi
• Location: In the imediate bay area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, SF, Marin, Santa Clara
• Reasonable commute to a job center in Silicon Valley, SF or the East Bay: 45 min drive or 1 hour on transit
• Safety: Safe enough to walk around in the evenings with common sense

Neighborhoods can be defined by two types:
For Families (requires decent schools)
For Couples/Singles/Retired/Empty Nesters (schools are unimportant, amenities are more important

Where would you choose? Start with which type your neighborhood is.

I'm thinking Pleasant Hill or Walnut Creek. I just looked and there are tons of houses in that price range. Both towns fit the bill on all of the above requirements.

I'm not as familiar with the South Bay/Peninsula home prices though. I'm sure there are some on the market in that price range ( probably more along the lines of a townhome)