For those who know MA: Help me find Brookline, Massachusetts in the Bay Area (San Jose: high crime, house)

[daepro]

My family moved to Oakland from Western MA Amherst/Northamptom two years ago. We all have no regrets. However I must say California is way different than New England. There is no comparison. One just has to embrace the way of life here and try not to look back.
Education, weather, relationships and lifestyle really cannot compare. I am not saying which is one better or worse just not the same.
Suggest you visit and get a feel for it yourself.

[bellalunatic]

I agree with others that have suggested Piedmont Rockridge and Berkeley as potentials, they bring up some very valid educational and attitude points.
I find the South Bay/Silicon Valley places to be the closest to the SoCal vibe you are trying to avoid.
As a former New Englander myself. I do agree that there really isn't much comparison between CA. and NE, but there are pockets of areas that can work, if you are willing to compromise a bit.
I would also like to suggest Albany, which is low key, great schools, borders Berkeley but has Solano ave for your mom and pop stores rather than Berkeley's architecturally offensive downtown.

[alamo andrea]

Hey Chixor! I, too, am from the East Coast (spent some time in CT, husband is from Boston area) and I think that we could comiserate about our feelings about SoCal! You'll find most of NoCal to be night and day - so much so that there is tongue-in-cheek talk of sesession on both sides

Some of the areas that have been mentioned I find to be snooty. I agree that if old, preservation and architecture are important to you - and good schools are a concern - then one of your few good choices is Piedmont. I second the 'new' comment - there isn't much focus on preservation because our 'old' archecture is from the 50s.

That said, no one has mentioned Walnut Creek. It has a great downtown, doesn't allow box stores (except that Target snuck in), has considerable affluence, is one of the more down to earth towns I know, has top schools and is a quick 30 minute BART ride to downtown SF.

If you are looking for 'older' money without snootiness, Westside Alamo has that. I read online somewhere, that Alamo has the same demographics as Malibu (income, age spread, population size, etc.) with a quiet, understated lack of attitude. Truly, there is no attitude here. You'll have a very nice home next to grandma's cottage that hasn't been improved since it was built in 1949 (I know, I bought one of those!) And I'm 1 mile to Walnut Creek and 4 minutes to BART.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

The West Coast is a lot newer. The towns in many cases didn't exist until just 50-60 years ago. There is a lot of "New" wealth- as in people from all over came here and earned it on some new idea. There is a ton of money for sure and the same economic, socioeconomic disparity is every bit as apparent to me as it was on the East Coast. The Bay Area is also unique in that almost every square inch of it is expensive- both in terms of rent and buying.

I've from the East Coast but have lived on the West Coast for 14+ years. I just couldn't let this ignorant statement go unnoticed. Are you really trying to say that most of the towns on the West Cost just appeared out of nowhere 50 or 60 years ago? Seriously? Do you realize that many towns are much older than that. Some towns are as old, if not older than towns on the East Coast.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I've from the East Coast but have lived on the West Coast for 14+ years. I just couldn't let this ignorant statement go unnoticed. Are you really trying to say that most of the towns on the West Cost just appeared out of nowhere 50 or 60 years ago? Seriously? Do you realize that many towns are much older than that. Some towns are as old, if not older than towns on the East Coast.

I think the intent is really that most towns on the West Coast formed their identify 50 years ago, or less. Look at cities like Dublin, Pleasanton and San Ramon that have seen huge growth in the past 20 years.

[baybook]

Intent or not, the statement is off base.

Dublin, Pleasanton and San Ramon are suburbs. 50 years ago, the area was still "out" there. Cities in the Bay Area like Oakland, Berkeley, SF, Alameda, Fremont, etc... were established in the early 1800's if not before.

Originally Posted by jade408

I think the intent is really that most towns on the West Coast formed their identify 50 years ago, or less. Look at cities like Dublin, Pleasanton and San Ramon that have seen huge growth in the past 20 years.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by alamo andrea

That said, no one has mentioned Walnut Creek. It has a great downtown, doesn't allow box stores (except that Target snuck in), has considerable affluence, is one of the more down to earth towns I know, has top schools and is a quick 30 minute BART ride to downtown SF.

I grew up in Walnut Creek, and my parents still live there. I love the town, but I do think it's rather materialistic and shopping/pedicure-oriented. The lack of box stores has more to do with walkability in creating a vibrant downtown, but the downtown is chock full of high end stores, restaurants, and valet parking -- Neiman Marcus coming soon, Nordstrom, Tiffany, etc. It's not quite as shallow as SoCal, but you do get a lot of the ditzy bimbo types coming in to shop from Blackhawk, and if you listen to people's conversations, I've literally overheard many people actually discussing shopping. I don't think it's an area with a big intellectual vibe. Danville might be nicer, with a quaint downtown that has a much smaller town feel.

FYI, there are synagogues through the Lamorinda/Walnut Creek/Danville area (some reform, some conservative), and there are also synagogues throughout the Piedmont/Oakland/Berkely areas, mostly reform.

If you're looking for a more liberal vibe, then I'd stay west of the Berkeley hills.

[daepro]

Just a little anecdote about the difference between how it feels to be Jewish here in Northern California.


I moved here November 2008 and shortly thereafter I was looking to purchase Hanukkah candles. In MA or NYC where I grew up they were always available in local stores but,
nowhere to be found in local stores in Alameda where I was now living. What to do. I called the local synogogue. The Rabbi himself answered the phone and said that he will be in the office for another half hour and if I stopped by he would give me a box. I still do not attend regularly at all but it was comforting to know there is a community.

From my 3 year observation we are not as noticeable a cultural presence as we are on the east coast.

[IDASpaceman]

Grew up in Cambridge...been to SF/Oakland...I just don't see it. Best of luck.

[theh]

Originally Posted by zitsky

I've from the East Coast but have lived on the West Coast for 14+ years. I just couldn't let this ignorant statement go unnoticed. Are you really trying to say that most of the towns on the West Cost just appeared out of nowhere 50 or 60 years ago? Seriously? Do you realize that many towns are much older than that. Some towns are as old, if not older than towns on the East Coast.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but I think the poster was intending to say that in comparison to say, Boston (where the OP is from), the West Coast is overall, much newer. Many, possibly even most, towns in Massachusetts were established long before California was even a state, and settled before the United States existed as a country. There are houses and buildings in Massachusetts that are still standing that date back as early as the 1630's. There are generations everywhere in New England that have been there for over a century, some even since around the time of the pilgrims (my mother's side of the family is one of them). Compared to New England, yes, the west coast is new.