Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 05-05-2011, 08:55 PM
 
8 posts, read 18,341 times
Reputation: 10

Advertisements

We may have to make a move from Memphis, I'm thinking Dublin or Pleasanton? I have read good things about them, and the demographics/area/town pics seem great. Are there any close alternatives that might be worth our while looking up? maybe near a lake/water for boating, picnicking, dogwalking etc? also some nice restaurants and bars etc would be great!! Thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 05-05-2011, 08:58 PM
 
Location: ABQ
3,771 posts, read 7,057,847 times
Reputation: 4893
Ah cool, one of my best friends is from Cordova. =)

What type of rental or home ownership prices are you aiming for?

Will you both be commuting for jobs? If so, where?

It's always easier to give advice when we have a bit more info.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:05 PM
 
8 posts, read 18,341 times
Reputation: 10
Hi! thanks for the quick reply!

He has a job already, out of the airport, and I won't be working, I would say at or less than the $2000 a month mark would be great if renting... Its probably a good market to buy now though..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:08 PM
 
8 posts, read 18,341 times
Reputation: 10
$250k would be our aim... but for Cali!?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:18 PM
 
Location: The Bay
6,914 posts, read 14,674,818 times
Reputation: 3119
For 250 K you should definitely spend most of your energy looking in the East Bay. Suburbs like Pinole would certainly do, as would some good neighborhoods in Oakland. Obviously the benefit with Oakland is that you live right near your job... Pinole is a ways out. I would recommend looking in Dimond... you'd have most of your neighborhood resources (grocery store, bank, library, PD, etc.) and you'd be about 20 minutes away from your job if you take 580 and go down 98th.

Last edited by Nineties Flava; 05-05-2011 at 09:26 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:32 PM
 
8 posts, read 18,341 times
Reputation: 10
We were told the further away from Oakland the better! haha! *by someone with a big house it seems!*
A long commute is fine tbh, it would only be there and back every four days anyway, I hope a beautiful area isn't out of our reach.. I'll look up Pinole and Dimond though thanks!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:43 PM
 
Location: ABQ
3,771 posts, read 7,057,847 times
Reputation: 4893
Ruth, I know it's shocking but $250k can actually go pretty far nowadays here (thankfully).

Dimond is a neighborhood in Oakland. Oakland has a reputation, as you've heard, but the city has two sides and one is extraordinarily gorgeous. All Things Oakland: Exploring the Sunny Side of the Bay is a blog I've started to try to help folks get acquainted with neighborhoods and landmarks, etc.

For suburbs, $250k won't do much of anything at all in Pleasanton or Dublin, unfortunately, BUT, Pinole, Hercules, and parts of Concord, $250k goes a long way and in the case of Concord, it's right on the BART. Pinole and Hercules are just a few minutes drive to the El Cerrito Del Norte BART, which your husband could take to the airport, or for driving purposes, both areas are really not far - roughly 30-35 minutes. In the low 300's range, I'd recommend the same cities, but I'd add parts of Pleasant Hill to the mix. Hercules and Pleasant Hill are both nice - lots of trees, friendly residents. In Hercules, the housing stock and condos are all pretty boring, but the schools are pretty good and it's affordable. Pleasant Hill would be a bit more exciting, I'd think, as they recently developed a bit of a downtown, and it's within a short drive to Walnut Creek, which has an active community life/downtown.

Oakland neighborhoods that $250k could work in (SFH), would be Dimond (though it's pushing it - Lower Dimond occasionally has a steal), Laurel (same story), Eastmont Hills, parts of Millsmont, Adam's Point, Grand Lake, and Cleveland Heights (condos).

Please post back and keep us updated with what you decide or if you have any questions about safety - actually many of the posters here on this board live in Oakland and the surrounding East Bay, so they're good folks to ask.

As for rents, you could spend $1600-$1700 in a good neighborhood for a 2 bedroom in say, Hercules. You could get a fully remodeled condo at the top of Refugio Valley with a view (2 bedrooms, 2 bath) for $1600. Concord's rents are all over the place, but in neighborhoods like Holbrook Heights, Sun Terrace (right near the North Concord/Martinez BART, rents range from $1600-$1900 for a small, 3-bedroom SFH. There are parts of Concord to avoid, but for the most part, it's a pretty decent city and it's affordable.

Rents in Oakland vary quite a bit but in Adam's Point, you could get a 2-bedroom around $1200 but it'll be a converted condominium without a yard. Very safe. Pretty quiet. Walkable neighborhood.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:47 PM
 
8 posts, read 18,341 times
Reputation: 10
Thank you so much! I'll be googling all day!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:47 PM
 
Location: The Bay
6,914 posts, read 14,674,818 times
Reputation: 3119
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruthietwos View Post
We were told the further away from Oakland the better! haha! *by someone with a big house it seems!*
A long commute is fine tbh, it would only be there and back every four days anyway, I hope a beautiful area isn't out of our reach.. I'll look up Pinole and Dimond though thanks!

You'll hear this opinion repeatedly from people who've never been here... the fact of the matter, however, is that this is the city they're talking about:


http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/1476/img1751e.jpg (broken link)

http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/777/img0028f.jpg (broken link)

^Dimond

http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/5592/img0021jl.jpg (broken link)

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/9854/img0965uc.jpg (broken link)

http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/3729/img0832.jpg (broken link)

http://img522.imageshack.us/img522/8696/dsc02899v.jpg (broken link)

http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/5853/img0406k.jpg (broken link)

http://img811.imageshack.us/img811/7223/img1774r.jpg (broken link)

http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/6845/img1042aq.jpg (broken link)

http://img233.imageshack.us/img233/792/img0718mz.jpg (broken link)

The people who talk **** about Oakland are almost guaranteed to have never been here in their lives.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 05-05-2011, 09:57 PM
 
Location: The Bay
6,914 posts, read 14,674,818 times
Reputation: 3119
Here's two more shots:

http://img841.imageshack.us/img841/8584/img0113ck.jpg (broken link)

http://img854.imageshack.us/img854/3645/img0862r.jpg (broken link)
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top