Walnut creek?? (San Francisco, Pleasant Hill, Lafayette: apartment, rentals, house)

[GP1152]

My fiancé and I are moving out to the bay area (from Miami, fl) and so far we really liked the downtown Walnut Creek area as it seemed clean, affluent and offered easy access to the city with the Bart station close-by (a must). It also had a nice mix of restaurants and shopping.
My question is, what other areas are there like Walnut Creek, offering the above characteristics, are similar in distance to the city and offer a similar downtown area within walking distance? Any suggestions?

[ttocs99]

You really can't go wrong with Walnut Creek. It is such a beautiful area, very convenient, 35 minute ride on the BART to San Francisco. I loved every minute of my 7 years living there. I didn't have a car when I moved there in 1999, but found an apartment 3 blocks away from the BART. Basically, right across the street from me was Target. So many conveniences in WC, movie theater, Apple Store, great food (all types), etc. I lived there from 1999-2006, and when I move back to the Bay Area in the future, I would most likely wind up in Walnut Creek again.

That being said, I also like towns like Pleasant Hill (one town further east from SF) and Lafayette (one town closer to SF), Orinda was nice also. Lots of nice cities similar to Walnut Creek, and it's a lot of fun discovering them. My favorite was Walnut Creek though.

[alamo andrea]

When I moved to California from the East Coast 13 years ago, I purchased a home in downtown Walnut Creek and loved it. I spent a very happy 8 years there. That said, living downtown became a bit of a grind (a lot of rentals nearby that became the annual game of roulette - good if the new tenants were good, bad if the new tenants were bad, traffic, etc.) You could live further out in Walnut Creek or you could to go Alamo which is the direction I went. I live on the Iron Horse Trail, ride my bike 1 mile to downtown WC and it's a 4 minute drive to BART.

[sliverbox]

I'm not exactly a huge fan. I worked there for a year and a half. Its a bit far from the Bay Area- mainly because all the traffic has to squeeze through a 2 lane tunnel thus its always backed up. As far as it being upscale... well for the area- not exactly. To me it felt more like an old person's retirement community. Sure- there's money there for sure but mostly because there are rich retirees with "old" money. You might be ok coming from Florida since FL too is full of old people too.

It was a weird mix too as far as restaurants and stores: Most of the downtown restaurants were chains. It had an "upscale" feel... but for the Bay Area its not exactly cream of the crop either. Basically its the "burbs" and not a part of the central Bay Area. Probably the best thing about it was the iron horse trail, a 40 mile long hiking and biking trail that runs throughout the city. That and it feels a little more "old school", as in it has some original pre-hoity-toity Bay Area vibe going on.

Personally I'd be ok living there. I wouldn't want to buy a house there though because the commute to my job would be a killer. I commuted back and forth to the East Bay for the whole time I worked there and that got old really quick.

[415_s2k]

Originally Posted by sliverbox

I'm not exactly a huge fan. I worked there for a year and a half. Its a bit far from the Bay Area- mainly because all the traffic has to squeeze through a 2 lane tunnel thus its always backed up. As far as it being upscale... well for the area- not exactly. To me it felt more like an old person's retirement community. Sure- there's money there for sure but mostly because there are rich retirees with "old" money. You might be ok coming from Florida since FL too is full of old people too.

It was a weird mix too as far as restaurants and stores: Most of the downtown restaurants were chains. It had an "upscale" feel... but for the Bay Area its not exactly cream of the crop either. Basically its the "burbs" and not a part of the central Bay Area. Probably the best thing about it was the iron horse trail, a 40 mile long hiking and biking trail that runs throughout the city. That and it feels a little more "old school", as in it has some original pre-hoity-toity Bay Area vibe going on.

Personally I'd be ok living there. I wouldn't want to buy a house there though because the commute to my job would be a killer. I commuted back and forth to the East Bay for the whole time I worked there and that got old really quick.

I always thought of Walnut Creek as the prototypical Ronald Reagan-style American subelt suburb.

[sliverbox]

I always thought of Walnut Creek as the prototypical Ronald Reagan-style American subelt suburb.

Nice way of putting it.

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by ttocs99

I moved there in 1999, but found an apartment 3 blocks away from the BART. Basically, right across the street from me was Target. So many conveniences in WC, movie theater, Apple Store, great food (all types), etc.

That's the area where we saw a few places that we really liked. Actually we saw one place that would have been perfect because it had a two car garage but we really aren't ready to make our move just yet. The garage issue is one that limits where we can go also. We have 2 cars and a couple of motorcycles so a garage is a must (for me anyway....I like my garage). This pretty much rules out the city.

[Norcal94595]

South Walnut Creek, from Saranap to Rudgear, is A+++. No crime, excellent schools, plenty of housing options, easy freeway access, and close to downtown.

[GP1152]

Originally Posted by Norcal94595

South Walnut Creek, from Saranap to Rudgear, is A+++. No crime, excellent schools, plenty of housing options, easy freeway access, and close to downtown.

Good info. Thanks. We'll definitely look into it.