Moving to East Bay area from Indiana. Commuting to Oakland and Stockton. (Concord: rentals, crime)

[adambarber]

We are moving from Indiana to the East Bay area. We are not familiar with the area or the commute at all. Here's our situation: I will be commuting to the Oakland Port area 4-5 times a week and Stockton about once a week. We have looked at houses in Antioch, which we like because it seems like you get a lot more house for the money, but are worried about the commute into Oakland. I have also read on here (in much older posts) that there may be a crime problem there?

We are looking to buy a place and plan on staying fairly long time since the new job is pretty permanent. Our price range is around $250K-$300K and we would like to have a decent outdoor space. We are a young couple (22 and 23) with two dogs. We want an area where we can meet others around our age and around entertainment/restaurants/shopping etc. We also want to be in a good school district.

Specific areas would be greatly appreciated as we are doing all of our research online at the moment and would like to jump in and find a place fairly soon once we get out there in a month. Even names of great first time home buyer realtors would be great!

[Hemlock140]

I lived in Castro Valley and would recommend looking at it. The schools are good, it's an easy commute to Oakland (for the bay area) and farther but still not too bad to Stockton. Dublin/Pleasanton would be another choice but probably above your price range and would add to the Oakland commute.
Antioch is not nearly as safe as the other 3 I mentioned and the schools are
not nearly as good though it's not terrible. The commute to Oakland would be awful, though.

[Think About It!]

Unfortunately your price range really limits you to certain areas or a certain type of housing or just renting. I would look into Brentwood before Antioch based on your criteria. The commute from Brentwood would probably be terrible to Oakland but I have never done it.

I would suggest renting for a while until you figure out where you want to live in regards to commute and school district choice. Craigslist.com is pretty good for finding rentals.

Schooperformancemaps.com - for schools

[jade408]

Keep in mind Stockton is about 70 miles from Oakland. And the last 45 or so miles of the can be heavily trafficked during commute hours.

You aren't going to find all of your wants in one area. In Indiana, it is probably really common for young couples to buy a home. Here, not so much. Good school districts generally start at $500K for a starter home (depending on your definition of good.) Generally, very few 22-25 year-olds are "settled down" in the Bay Area. Young people generally do not live in "family friendly areas." Couples generally get started settling down in their late 20s and early 30s. You need to prioritize your list before choosing a place to live. I'd recommend renting in an area with young people until you get settled.

[cardozoj]

Don't buy a house here. Coming from Indiana, within 6 months you are going to be looking to leave. Just rent for a while and in the unlikely event you decide to subject your spouse and kids to a life in this area, you'll have a better idea where to buy after you have been here a while.

[Ceece]

Yeah, never buy. Rent. No way you can pick a place to live forever (or at least a long long time) without actually living in the area for awhile. Especially in the Bay because there are far too many variables.

[andrew61987]

Renting to get an idea of the area is always a good idea.

The commute from Antioch to Oakland is ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS. BART is currently under expansion out to Antioch but it's still a couple years away at best. I don't even drive from Concord to Antioch during the peak times. What should take 15 minutes can easily take 50.

I do not feel safe in most neighborhoods in Antioch at night. I wouldn't recommend it unless you've grown up a bit of a "hood rat" and know the ropes and what to expect. Check out South and East Concord. Not as affluent as neighboring Walnut Creek but more reasonably priced. Central and North Concord, not so much (but still better than Antioch). These areas are what give most people a bad impression of Concord because you have to drive through them to see anything, but Concord is huge and underrated with many pleasant neighborhoods. Also gives you quick access to BART stations. Concord to Oakland is about 25 minutes on BART.

It takes about an hour to get to Stockton from Concord. But since you're making the Oakland trip more, I suggest you get as close to Oakland as possible.

[EsaEK]

We are actually planning the same relocation. I recently accepted a position with Alameda County and will be leaving South Bend next month. I have been heavily researching the area's school districts, as I am a bit older than you two and have kiddos. Have you guys thought about Livermore? Even still, I have decided to rent first, just in case...

[jsba]

You might want to consider Alameda. Its directly across form the port so your commute there will be very short. the trip to Stockton will be a bit long but if you take 580 you'll be going the oposit direction as everybody heading into the city so you wont hit too much traffic. Just my 2 cents.

[Davachka]

If you are not familiar with an area, never, ever buy. The times that either my husband has, or we have done together, we ended up selling the house to move to a different area. You should always rent for minimum 6-12 months first. Yes, I am moving to the bay area and buying but I have lived/worked in SF before, and thats the only way to do it.

As for the person who said since you're from Indiana, you will likely move, that is absurd. I know half a dozen people from Indiana who live in SF proper, and have done so for 10-20 years.