For those who know MA: Help me find Brookline, Massachusetts in the Bay Area (San Francisco: rent, home)

[chixor]

Hi everyone,

I'm originally from Massachusetts and am considering a move to the Bay Area. Currently living in SoCal and am over it.

Question for those of you who know Massachusetts. What cities in the Bay Area (SV, Marin or East Bay) feel the most like Brookline? I love Brookline because it's close to the city, it has good public transportation, it has great schools, the citizens care about the city, and it's not full of big box stores and ugly architecture. And it's not as snooty as Newton

I'm looking for a vibe here, not just stats. Yes, Brookline has top-notch schools and and a somewhat affluent population. But so do the Pacific Palisades/Brentwood/Malibu/Bev Hills down here in LA, and I can't stand those places. Same goes for Long Island/NJ in NYC. Way too much materialism and not enough dignity.

Here's what I'm looking for in a Bay Area city - will I be able to find this combination outside of New England?

1) Down to earth attitudes. THE most important thing to me. I'm looking for a place where even if the residents are affluent, they don't feel like flashing their money everywhere. I could go the rest of my life without seeing a Range Rover, an LV bag or a middle aged woman in a Juicy Couture sweatsuit. I also seem to be the only person down here that doesn't have a team of Latino maids cleaning my home, which annoys me. Who buys a home and then doesn't take pride in caring for it themselves?

2) A plethora of smart women who work, or at least have a life of their own. I am a woman, and I work. I want to be able to hang out with other women/moms who don't just live to live off of their husbands' money. There's nothing wrong with stay at home moms, but it would be nice to meet some whose lives don't revolve around shopping and getting pedicures ignoring their children. I wish I was kidding

3) An appreciation of intelligence. The Boston area can be smarty-pants to a fault, but much of LA can't even carry on a conversation that's not about celebrity news, their screenplay, or some new diet fad. I prefer the former.

4) Decent public transportation into the city.

5) A charming downtown and a city council that cares about preserving historic areas and mom and pop businesses. I don't mind driving to the big box stores if I really need to go there, but I don't want to live next to them, and having them further away is a plus, so I can patronize the mom and pop store instead of getting tempted to go to Target.

6) Things to do. Good restaurants, bars, movie theaters, etc. The ability to go out for a drink or to get Chinese food past 10PM.

7) Great public elementary and middle schools, and if the high school(s) are good, bonus.

8) Some semblance of a (reform) Jewish population would be nice.

9) Of course safety is a plus - for those of you who know Brookline, it's remarkably safe for being so close to some not-so-nice areas of Boston, but it still isn't THE safest. And that's okay too. I'd take safe and cultural over VERY safe and boring any day. Just no places that you would put in the "not safe" category.

10) FRIENDLINESS! It seems like so many cities today are so unfriendly. Down here neighbors don't talk to each other. I'd love to live somewhere where the parents are involved (instead of the nannies), where the neighbors talk to each other and hang out (the adults too, not just the kids!).

So... I know it's a tall order, but let me know if you have any thoughts or recommendations. I'm basically looking for a nice place to live that isn't pervaded by the overt snootyness and materialism that I've seen in LA and the suburbs surrounding NYC.

Thanks!!

[Pongmeister]

Goodluck in your search, Brookline is a very good city. I live near there for an extended time period. It's going to be hard to replicate that.

In my humble opinion, Brookline is VERY affluent, I would say ridiculously affluent. I think Brookline actually sweeps its streets EVERY night. Admittedly, there are parts of Brookline that catered more to young professional and grad students.

There are parts of SF and Oakland that fits the criteria but is very cost prohibitive. Is cost a consideration?

[chixor]

Right now I'm trying to keep cost/commute/job out of the conversation and just focus on vibe. Yes, yes, I know that cost is always a consideration but right now our move there is just being talked about and we'd like to keep it open. Thanks!

[chirplet]

I think Piedmont fits the description.

[Pongmeister]

Rockbridge, Piedmont, high end part of Oakland fits your critiera. The problem is that you would have to send your kids to good school (Head Royce, $30K intuition). Alameda is also very nice, something to check out.

[mayorhaggar]

I've never been to Brookline but it sounds kind of like Berkeley in that a lot of people in Berkeley are pretty wealthy but you don't really see people flashing their wealth like you'd see in other affluent suburbs.

[doggz]

Mill Valley fits the bill.

[clongirl]

I'm thinking...the Berkeley hills, Oakland Hills (Piedmont/Montclair etc), Albany, Rockridge (as all mentioned). From personal experiences, I don't feel like Marin is very down to earth at all. It's like LA to me, but in the woods/forest. I always manage to feel economically inadequate when visiting.

Personally, I really love where I live (called Lamorinda- the three small towns of Lafayette, Moraga, Orinda). Affluent but you don't really get that vibe at all. No big box stores except for a Whole Foods coming soon and a Safeway supermarket. We have BART into San Francisco and Walnut Creek is a 5 minute drive (tons of restaurants, shopping etc). Schools are some of the best in the state. There is a bit of "education snobbishness", imo. People tend to show off a bit etc what university they graduated from- Cal Berkeley and St Mary's is HUGE out here. It's very safe and personally I've made a lot of friends. I have hung out with all my neighbors and it really has that community feeling. There are farmer's markets in all three towns.

The only thing on your list that's lacking is the restaurants past 10 and nightlife. It's semi-rural, but is only a short ride to more happening places. Don't have any info on the religion thing (we aren't involved).

[theh]

I don't think there exists a Brookline in the Bay Area, unfortunately. Rockridge, Piedmont, and downtown Berkeley are somewhat similar though, if you made Brookline Californian. You may also want to check out the eastern side of Alameda (on the main island in the general Park Street area, not Bay Farm). Marin, Lamorinda, and the most of hills are very nice areas and beautiful and meet most of your criteria, but the vibe is nothing like Brookline.

Good luck with your hunt - hope you find the right place.

[sliverbox]

I lived in New England for a few years myself and am familiar with the Boston area. Basically the East Coast is totally different from the West Coast. There is a lot of what I'd call "Old" money in New England- as in families living in highly affluent, established enclaves who've always had money because their parents and grandparents had money. Its a lot older too. The towns and cities have been around forever and it looks like it too. Many people have lived there for generations. Personally I've never liked affluent hoity-toity areas at all because to me it all felt fake and phony. Like some sort of act. The kids all go to the "Best" college preparatory schools and the parents seem to buy new BMWs every 5 years. Then again I grew up in a poor rural area and thus I'm predisposed to dislike wealthy areas because they were such a sharp contrast in regards to how I lived. We all have our preferences.

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.

If you want a small affluent city with walkable neighborhoods, scads of smart people, and so on I'd look into Palo Alto, Atherton, and other immediate Silicon Valley towns. These are cute established neighborhoods with nice downtowns, good restaurants, and so on. The drawback is that they are costly. But places like Palo Alto are seemingly seen as where the cream of the crop and the highly successful reside.

I'd probably also second Berkeley. Its wealthy but doesn't show it as much on its sleeve. I lived there for a few years myself. While I'm definitely a liberal person, people in Berkeley take liberalism to a whole new level and after 3 years it got old and I moved out.

The Bay Area's best attribute to me is the diversity in its people. What I mean by this is that just about every kind of person you could want to meet seems to live here. I have a big spread of interesting friends who share my same interests. I seem to meet people easier here. I never had that sort of luck in New England.

But the bottom line is that you're not going to find New England in California. Its going to be different here. Accept it for what it is and you might find what you're looking for. Good luck.