Possibly prchasing in Benicia??? (Oakland, Berkeley: new home, buyer, middle school)

[RSO]

Don't move from southern California, your kind of destroyed that area, don't come up north and do the same thing.

[gmkarr]

Originally Posted by muddee

We have lived here for over 20 years and still believe that it is the best kept secret of the Bay Area! The elementary schools are better than many private ones and my child is now in the middle school and it has been really good. The town is very Arts and Family oriented, has low crime and lots of events and programs for the family. Arts in the park, outdoor movie night at the city park, christmas parade, fourth of July parade, sports, farmers market, peddlers fair, waterfront festival, family mardis gras, etc. The refineries were a concern when we moved here but really has not been an issue. People tend to get involved. You can walk along first street late at night and not have to worry. Sea breezes throughout the summer allows you to keep the windows open almost all year. It's a town that you tend to get to know your neighbors, your kid's friends and their family. People look out for one another. Close enough to SF, Tahoe, Santa Cruz & Napa . There is no where else I would rather live in the Bay Area...

Thanks so much for everyone's comments on Benicia - this is such a great website. As for the job part, I am still wondering just how bad a commute it is to Oakland during rush hour, driving. Maybe 30 minutes? Would it make sense to drive to a Bart station in Contra Costa, and then take Bart there (and how long would the total commute be then).

Also, if Oakland is too much of a monster commute, then what are the other close towns/cities that are a good source of jobs. My degrees are in public policy and education, so I could work in a number of different types of jobs (nonprofit management, philanthropy, public policy research, etc. I don't want to teach again though.). Of course, Oakland or Berkeley would be ideal for this. Where are the other close cities that I should be looking for jobs. Any thoughts?

[nooneknowsmyname]

Originally Posted by gmkarr

Thanks so much for everyone's comments on Benicia - this is such a great website. As for the job part, I am still wondering just how bad a commute it is to Oakland during rush hour, driving. Maybe 30 minutes? Would it make sense to drive to a Bart station in Contra Costa, and then take Bart there (and how long would the total commute be then).

Thirty-minutes? I doubt it, not during rush hour at least. Maybe I should clarify. While it could take as little as 30 minutes, it could also take as long as 60. It just on what the traffic is like on any particular day. I think it mentioned this before, but you could drive to Vallejo, a town that borders Benicia to the west, catch an express bus that uses the HV lane and drops passengers off at El Cerrito del Norte, where you can catch BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) that will take you to Oakland. Depending on where you want to be in Oakland, it would approximately 5-9 stops on BART.

[QUOTE Also, if Oakland is too much of a monster commute, then what are the other close towns/cities that are a good source of jobs. My degrees are in public policy and education, so I could work in a number of different types of jobs (nonprofit management, philanthropy, public policy research, etc. I don't want to teach again though.). Of course, Oakland or Berkeley would be ideal for this. Where are the other close cities that I should be looking for jobs. Any thoughts?[/quote]

I am a university professor who works in a related field, so I have some knowledge of this area. San Francisco, Oakland, Berkeley and other close Bay Area towns such as El Cerrito and/or Albany are the likely places where these activities take place. Another location would be down on the peninsula--San Mateo, Palo Alto and other cities. But living in Benicia and traveling to the peninsula every day would be worse than traveling from
Benicia to Oakland. If you decide to work on the peninsula, better to live in San Jose. The other possibility would be Sacramento, which because it is the State Capitol and the home of California State Unversity at Sacramento (AKA Sac State), is likely to be a place where activities of this nature take place. Were you to work in Sacramento since you would be traveling east and doing a reverse commute. And although it would increase the distance you would have to travel, it could end up taking the same amount of time as it would to travel from Benicia to Oakland, again depending on the traffic. There is also a commuter train--the Capitol Route-- that travels from Oakland to Sacramento, which you could catch. You'd have to drive to Martinez, across the Benicia-Martinez Bridge to catch it, or alternately you could drive to Suisun and catch the train at that stop. Another possibility might be Sonoma.
Although I am not certain you could find anything in your field there, it is the home of California State University at Sonoma. And as you probably know, sometimes universities have institutes that conduct public policy, education research. It might be a long shot, but worth considering. Hope this helps.

[jturich]

I would like to move to Benicia because of its
Family-Friendly reputation, however, need to be near the areas with
a significant amount of hospitals because of the nature of my job.
Did not realize what a long drive it would be to SF so wonder what
cities are closest and I can target my job search to those cities.

[vtboy99]

Originally Posted by nooneknowsmyname

I don't have school-age children so can't speak specifically about the quality of individual elementary schools in Benicia. Although there is more than one elementary school, the town is small, so there aren't that many elementary schools. For information about the school district, which also contains reports about individual schools, consult the the school district website <http://www.benicia.k12.ca.us/>

There are refineries in several communities including Benicia, Martinez and Rodeo and while the areas are generally safe, occasionally, there have been accidents at the refineries, resulting in leaks. But these are rare and all of the affected communities are part of a warning system.

Last, commuting to San Franciso by automobile is horrible. Although not that far away, during commute hours--6:00-10:00 in a westerly direction toward SF and 3:00-7:00 pm in a easterly direction back to Benicia and points beyond, the traffic is a nightmare and sometimes even worse than that. I'm not sure, but I don't believe the ferry leaves from Benicia to travel to SF, but it does leave from downtown Vallejo, a community slightly west of Benicia, traveling to SF. The trip is approximately one hour.

The rush hour commute between Benicia to/from San Francisco is not that "horrible" at all! If you do "casual carpool" and pick up riders at the Vallejo park and ride at Lemon and Curtola, just off 780/80, then it really only takes about 45-55 minutes each way (with the MacArthur Maze and all). To my standards, being from Southern California, that is a pretty reasonable commute. I am not sure why people are portraying the Benicia/San Francisco commute as that bad, you obviously have never driven in L.A. or San Diego.

I would not rule out Benicia due to commute time, it's totally do-able. Remember, the highest paying jobs are in either San Francisco or Oakland, so working in the Benicia/Vallejo vicinity is really not that lucrative.

[vtboy99]

Originally Posted by gmkarr

Thanks so much for everyone's comments on Benicia - this is such a great website. As for the job part, I am still wondering just how bad a commute it is to Oakland during rush hour, driving. Maybe 30 minutes? Would it make sense to drive to a Bart station in Contra Costa, and then take Bart there (and how long would the total commute be then).

Also, if Oakland is too much of a monster commute, then what are the other close towns/cities that are a good source of jobs. My degrees are in public policy and education, so I could work in a number of different types of jobs (nonprofit management, philanthropy, public policy research, etc. I don't want to teach again though.). Of course, Oakland or Berkeley would be ideal for this. Where are the other close cities that I should be looking for jobs. Any thoughts?

Benicia to/from Oakland is an easy commute. It's about 45 minutes down I-80 to I-880 each way. Not sure how that would qualify as a "monster" commute. Benicia is centrally located, and close to everything in the East Bay.

[snappy]

The refinery that is in Benicia is downwind of most of the town so you dont notice and smells. I lived about a mile from it and couldnt see it or smell it.

[nooneknowsmyname]

Originally Posted by vtboy99

The rush hour commute between Benicia to/from San Francisco is not that "horrible" at all! If you do "casual carpool" and pick up riders at the Vallejo park and ride at Lemon and Curtola, just off 780/80, then it really only takes about 45-55 minutes each way (with the MacArthur Maze and all). To my standards, being from Southern California, that is a pretty reasonable commute. I am not sure why people are portraying the Benicia/San Francisco commute as that bad, you obviously have never driven in L.A. or San Diego.

Of course, what individuals consider "horrible" is relative. For you information, I have driven in LA and find commuting in LA is ever more horrible than commuting in the SF Bay Area. To my way of thinking a 45-55 minute commute each way is horrible, something I would never consider doing. Call me unreasonable, but I am unwilling to spend 90 minutes to 2 hours a day commuting by automobile. That's just not how I want to live my life, but for those who are willing...

[Gretchen Hughes]

I LOVE Benicia!!! I am a bay area realtor and I have lived all over bay area in the nicest of communities including Danville, Moraga, Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Pleasanton, etc. I think Benicia is the best by far! The price of homes is phenomenal in comparison to other bay area locations and there is nowhere else with this much charm. Hard to believe a small, quiet, waterfront town centrally located in the bay area is still a lot less expensive than most areas. My Fiance works in downtown Oakland and leaves at 5 p.m. and is home by 5:30. The new bridge with it's fasttrak system has almost eliminated any traffic issue on the bridge. I would have to agree with the other Benician....There Is No Where Else I'd Rather Live!!!
Most home buyers in Benicia already live in Benicia and just switch homes, there is a reason why we never leave.

[californianative63]

Benicia is the nicest Carquinez Straits town but you need to stay as far away from Vallejo as possible. It's crime ridden and depressed. Check the stats. My workmate was robbed at gunpoint in the "nicest" part of the Vallejo - Glen Cove. Another nice area around the same price is the Martinez/Pleasant Hill/Lafayette border. It has it's perks and make sense. This area has a Martinez zipcode (less$$), Pleasant hill schools (good), and Lafayette appeal (woodsy, quite, high$$). You don't have to deal with the Benicia bridge (toll and congestion) and a drive over Pleasant Hill Rd. takes you right to Lafayette at highway 24, 10 miles from Oakland. It's 1 mile from Diablo Vally College community college and 10 miles to UC Berkeley. Just my 2 cents.