DANVILLE- tacky? old? superficial? self-centered? (San Jose, Concord: real estate, crime, new home)

[amsmith825]

Hi there-

My husband and I are young professionals in our late 20's and early 30's. We planned to move to Danville within the year as we plan to have kids within 2 years, love the warm weather, access to trails, great schools and all the house you get for your money vs where we live now in the peninsula.

A few weeks ago we went and visited the new Shapelle Homes by Blackhawk and loved them and ventured over to hike Mt. Diablo this weekend and go to dinner and explore downtown. At dinner, we met a lovely, down to earth woman at a restaurant bar who proceeded to tell us that raising her 4 kids in Danville was a HUGE mistake. She said the superficiality, plastic surgery, cliqueness, and need to keep up with the Joneses was nauseating. She also mentioned that people lack a global mindset, rarely travel and only see the world through their Danville bubble. She did mention this was a BROAD generalization and that she had met 2 wonderful girl friends in her 15 years spent there but all in all she was not a fan and looking to get out ASAP.

Lastly, as we looked around the restaurant we did notice that most everyone appeared to be 50+ and she mentioned that most people are "older." Also, when we walked around downtown we noticed that the way people dressed seemed to lack a general sophistication (i.e. older women wearing spandexy dresses with rhinestone accessories and guys in cuban shirts... just not what you'd see in the peninsula).

The whole experience for us was a little sad and made us look at a place that we once thought would be our "utopia" with very different eyes. Does anyone have any insight on the above? What is Danville like REALLY? Are there young, non-superficial couples and if so what part of town do they live in?

And if not Danville, does anyone else have a suggestion for a place we can call home? We've thought of Walnut Creek, Campbell, or Cambrian, Almaden and Willow Glen in San Jose area (most of those lack excellent schools though). Thanks for ANY info you can provide!

[Ceece]

Wherever you go, there you are. Or something like that. You will meet all sorts of people who have all sorts of opinions but their lives are colored by their personal issues. Check demographics, schools, crime stats, etc. and if you personally like the area then thats all that matters.

You can't be this picky when it comes to where you live because people you come in contact with are who they are. Danville is really nice, but what it's REALLY like depends on what you are REALLY like. Walnut Creek, Pleasanton, whatever. How your life and the life of future kids will turn out depends entirely on you. However, if you want to raise your kids somewhere less affluent and try to make them grateful for everything they have there is no lack of ghetto areas to choose from...assuming they don't take to that lifestyle themselves.

[04kL4nD]

Danville is a great place to raise kids if you're white, wealthy, and into suburban living.

I think those exaggerations from your friend are a bit overblown- there's plenty of young/active people that live in Danville. The Forward Motion running group is a great example.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Danville is a great place to raise kids if you're white, wealthy, and into suburban living.

I think those exaggerations from your friend are a bit overblown- there's plenty of young/active people that live in Danville. The Forward Motion running group is a great example.

I think you could attach just about any upscale city in/around the Bay Area with the exact same descriptions. Woodside, Hillsborough, Ross, Los Altos, Belvedere, San Anselmo, Sausalito, Larkspur, Saratoga, Pleasanton, Tiburon, Mill Valley, Palo Alto,San Carlos, Orinda, Walnut Creek, Kentfield, Alamo, etc.

I think any upscale, safe, pretty, locale with good schools and nice houses are going to attract the exact kind of people that can afford it --generally white, wealthy, and not interested in urban living.

Ceece is right...wherever you go, there you are. You never know and can never predict the kind of people you'll live next door to or what kind of friends you'll end up making.

[sav858]

Well Danville is generally wealthy, white, and older. It's not particularly a place I would want to live in my late 20's/early 30's. Personally I think Walnut Creek would be better for younger couples as it offers more amenities, things to do, and a more 'diverse' population. Not quite as rich, white, and older like Danville, Alamo, and Lamorinda.

As far as the way the people dress, you have to remember it is one of the warmest parts of the Bay Area so that may have something to do with it. People I've noticed tend to dress a bit more casual in warmer climates imo.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by amsmith825

Hi there-

My husband and I are young professionals in our late 20's and early 30's. We planned to move to Danville within the year as we plan to have kids within 2 years, love the warm weather, access to trails, great schools and all the house you get for your money vs where we live now in the peninsula.

A few weeks ago we went and visited the new Shapelle Homes by Blackhawk and loved them and ventured over to hike Mt. Diablo this weekend and go to dinner and explore downtown. At dinner, we met a lovely, down to earth woman at a restaurant bar who proceeded to tell us that raising her 4 kids in Danville was a HUGE mistake. She said the superficiality, plastic surgery, cliqueness, and need to keep up with the Joneses was nauseating. She also mentioned that people lack a global mindset, rarely travel and only see the world through their Danville bubble. She did mention this was a BROAD generalization and that she had met 2 wonderful girl friends in her 15 years spent there but all in all she was not a fan and looking to get out ASAP.

Lastly, as we looked around the restaurant we did notice that most everyone appeared to be 50+ and she mentioned that most people are "older." Also, when we walked around downtown we noticed that the way people dressed seemed to lack a general sophistication (i.e. older women wearing spandexy dresses with rhinestone accessories and guys in cuban shirts... just not what you'd see in the peninsula).

The whole experience for us was a little sad and made us look at a place that we once thought would be our "utopia" with very different eyes. Does anyone have any insight on the above? What is Danville like REALLY? Are there young, non-superficial couples and if so what part of town do they live in?

And if not Danville, does anyone else have a suggestion for a place we can call home? We've thought of Walnut Creek, Campbell, or Cambrian, Almaden and Willow Glen in San Jose area (most of those lack excellent schools though). Thanks for ANY info you can provide!

Try San Ramon instead.

I'll share an experience from my sister about one of the high schools in Danville. My sister went to Dublin High. The Danville kids came over to Dublin High for an academic competition. One of the kids said, after parking their car in the Dublin High lot:

"OMG is this the ghetto, is my car going to get stolen?"

I don't know if you took the time to visit Dublin......

[They replied, if you think this is the ghetto, you should head over to International and Durant and see how you feel. ]

So my opinion is, if you want to raise more normal kids, and live somewhere newer in suburbia, you are better off with Dublin and San Ramon. They also have good schools, and less snooty kids.

[jade408]

I think part of the reason Danville and Blackhawk got so snooty (and Pleasanton) is because they jumped from Cowtown/Timbuktu to "affluent" in a matter of 3 or 4 years during the real estate boom. Some people got a big head" for lake of a better term because i 2 weeks their neighborhood went from a place with $200k homes to super desirable with $800k-$1M homes.

A family friend left Alamden Valley or so in San Jose for Blackhawk in the late 80s. His neighborhood changed a lot in the early 2000s, and he was less happy, because people became less friendly. I also find the non-white families (no matter hat type) have wildly different experiences fitting in as well. I don't think you mentioned you ethnicity, but the feedback I got from friends around my age who grew up other the, is that they felt left out: indian, asian, whatever. It might be better now, but who knows.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by jade408

I think part of the reason Danville and Blackhawk got so snooty (and Pleasanton) is because they jumped from Cowtown/Timbuktu to "affluent" in a matter of 3 or 4 years during the real estate boom. Some people got a big head" for lake of a better term because i 2 weeks their neighborhood went from a place with $200k homes to super desirable with $800k-$1M homes.

This isn't true at all, Danville has always been affluent and exclusive in my lifetime and Blackhawk was planned as a wealthy community with all of its new subdivisions and gated communities. Danville may have been some "cowtown" at some point decades ago but Blackhawk has ALWAYS been affluent and was designed to be that way.

Not sure when Danville had $200k homes either because that was the low end for Walnut Creek 20 years ago.

I have friends and know many people that grew up in this area and they ended up fine. But there is that wealthy, snotty kid factor and "real housewives" crap going on.

Dublin is the least affluent town along that 680 corridor until you get to Concord, which is why it gets ragged on

[jade408]

Originally Posted by sav858

This isn't true at all, Danville has always been affluent and exclusive in my lifetime and Blackhawk was planned as a wealthy community with all of its new subdivisions and gated communities. Danville may have been some "cowtown" at some point decades ago but Blackhawk has ALWAYS been affluent and was designed to be that way.

The way my dad's friend tells it, Blackhawk is affluent in the same way Brentwood or Discovery Bay was marketed as affluent early in the 2000s. You have a "nice" place, that is surprisingly affordable since it is in Timbuktu. Kinda like affordable luxury, available at a fraction of the cost of the luxury available closer into the core of the Bay Area. It went fro let's call it tier 2 affluent to tier 1 affluent.

As more stuff started moving to that section of the region, it began to no longer seem like Timbuktu.

[DevionisDream]

I've been looking at Norris Canyon estates. In short, I've been told that other ethnicities in both San Ramon and Danville aren't well accepted. It's not so much blatant racism as much as it is xenophobia. However, I don't really believe in xenophobia. Any who, my main concern is the lack of diversity in the school systems. If you are not concerned with that then I think it will be nice. You can always live in Danville and socialize elsewhere. I'm looking in the Pleasanton area (they lack newer homes and large lots) and Dublin (they're building a few new homes but on small lots).