I'm screwed - WHERE in Concord is safe? (Sacramento, Walnut Creek: apartment, rent)

[sav858]

To get the most bang for you buck in this immediate area I'd look out in the Clayton area or Martinez. Both areas will be cheaper as the commute will be longer but doable. From Clayton the traffic sucks going down Treat and especially Ygnacio. Martinez you'll have to deal with some traffic from around 242 to WC but that's not that long of a distance.

[DocGoldstein]

Keep in mind Martinez also stinks in some areas from refinery fumes.

[sav858]

I don't think violent crime is really an issue in Concord as much as property crime. Shootings and stabbings can happen but overall they aren't common from what I can tell. Concord can just be dumpy and have some trashy people overall.

[rockandhardplace]

Originally Posted by YongAe

There is nothing Ghetto about Concord. I don't understand why people would say that. Pittsburg/Bay Point have ghetto's, yes. Concord. No.Concord is fairly large and spread out too. There is one area with a large Latino population which is why I think people may be saying that. Even that area is not what I'd consider high crime or "ghetto". I hate that term by the way.

Thank you. This is what I have been trying to figure out! I don't care for the term either but for lack of a better word, the searches I have done and from what I have heard from locals (not necessary Concord locals, but that part of the East Bay as a whole), everyone says it is ghetto or trashy! I just can't see where the perception comes from and that is what I am trying to figure out, why are people saying this? I think I said it in a previous post (or possibly I was just thinking it :P), but I keep worrying that maybe there is something that I am missing that is different from what I have actually seen while in the area? Because like I said, I have seen some of the shopping areas, but never really ventured into the neighborhoods except for by getting lost. But based on responses, that does not seem to be the case, so I am definitely feeling more comfortable.

By what I have read, I swear I felt like I was moving to Meadowview/Oak Park/Del Paso Heights (some of the worst areas here)!! I am glad that does not seem to be the case afterall

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by rockandhardplace

Thank you. This is what I have been trying to figure out! I don't care for the term either but for lack of a better word, the searches I have done and from what I have heard from locals (not necessary Concord locals, but that part of the East Bay as a whole), everyone says it is ghetto or trashy! I just can't see where the perception comes from and that is what I am trying to figure out, why are people saying this? I think I said it in a previous post (or possibly I was just thinking it :P), but I keep worrying that maybe there is something that I am missing that is different from what I have actually seen while in the area? Because like I said, I have seen some of the shopping areas, but never really ventured into the neighborhoods except for by getting lost. But based on responses, that does not seem to be the case, so I am definitely feeling more comfortable.

By what I have read, I swear I felt like I was moving to Meadowview/Oak Park/Del Paso Heights (some of the worst areas here)!! I am glad that does not seem to be the case afterall

They say it because they aren't very familiar with it. People do this to a lot of cities. It's a middle class/and working class city and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. People generalize that working class automatically means danger, or ghetto. When it's not really the truth.

In fact, on three separate occasions I've had very nice people walk up to me when I get out of Costco (also on Monument) just to help me with 30lb bag of dog food into my car or allow me to go ahead of them in line when I have just a few items. I really can't say that this kind of old fashioned every day sort or niceness has ever happened to me in an upscale type area, like Danville, for instance (where there's also a Costco).

[California Vagabond]

I don't think I know the East Bay as well as some who have contributed to this thread, but just the same:

I spent a day in Concord a couple of months ago, and drove through most of it. It's much more congested than I remember from my growing up years in NorCal, but I can't imagine how anyone could hang the word 'ghetto' on it.

Several people have told me that nearby Antioch is going downhill.

Sacramento is roughly seventy minutes from Walnut Creek. I think it's worth the time and the gas to visit the Bay Area frequently before you move, to make your own investigation of neighborhoods that would offer you an acceptable commute to your job, and post follow-up questions on this forum about the neighborhoods you decide to consider in your search.

I don't know what you'd consider an acceptable commute time, and also don't know traffic patterns between Walnut Creek and, say, Benicia or Vallejo or even Fairfield. But others on city data do! Most questions get answers here.

As an experiment, I just plugged a $900 rent ceiling into zillow.com, and searched for rentals in Concord, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, Vallejo, Benicia and Fairfield. I found a nice selection in Vallejo and Fairfield. You might not want to live in either place, and probably can find someone here who can give you far better tips on apartment hunting than I can, but still.

[DocGoldstein]

Vallejo is cheap, but for reason. First off, anything across the bridge is going to be a bit cheaper (sans Benicia).

Secondly, besides Oakland, and Richmond, Vallejo has one of the worst crime problems in the Bay Area. I actually have rental properties in the area (that have lost 20% of their value since 2009). If you get into a car accident or get injured, good luck getting a response time of under 1 hour. The city is seriously underfunded and the public services show it. I'd skip Vallejo if I were you.

[rockandhardplace]

Originally Posted by California Vagabond

I don't think I know the East Bay as well as some who have contributed to this thread, but just the same:

I spent a day in Concord a couple of months ago, and drove through most of it. It's much more congested than I remember from my growing up years in NorCal, but I can't imagine how anyone could hang the word 'ghetto' on it.

Several people have told me that nearby Antioch is going downhill.

Sacramento is roughly seventy minutes from Walnut Creek. I think it's worth the time and the gas to visit the Bay Area frequently before you move, to make your own investigation of neighborhoods that would offer you an acceptable commute to your job, and post follow-up questions on this forum about the neighborhoods you decide to consider in your search.

I don't know what you'd consider an acceptable commute time, and also don't know traffic patterns between Walnut Creek and, say, Benicia or Vallejo or even Fairfield. But others on city data do! Most questions get answers here.

As an experiment, I just plugged a $900 rent ceiling into zillow.com, and searched for rentals in Concord, Walnut Creek, Pittsburg, Vallejo, Benicia and Fairfield. I found a nice selection in Vallejo and Fairfield. You might not want to live in either place, and probably can find someone here who can give you far better tips on apartment hunting than I can, but still.

I do know the area pretty well - well, Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill anyway :P I don't know Concord so well, especially the neighborhoods or schools, but I am down in that area 2-3 times a month for several days at a time, which is part of the reason why I had intended on moving. I am going to be down there this weekend, so I am going to do some driving around for sure. I think I was more looking for areas to avoid because all I have heard is bad things, areas to look, and whether my price range is even remotely possible - which it seems to sort of be. It'll be a downgrade on life, that's for sure, but it sounds like as others have pointed out, that it is a working class city, and quite frankly that is right up my alley because it's pretty much who I am.

I did consider Fairfield, but my feeling is, if I am commuting into Walnut Creek 5 days per week, that is $5 per day toll, x5 days per week, x 4 weeks = $100/month just for toll fees because I have to cross the Benicia-Martinez bridge toll every day home. It doesn't seem worth it to pay $900 in Fairfield, plus $100 in toll fees, plus the extra gas! It seems like it would be about the same financially, if not worse, and it would cause a slightly worse quality of life due to traffic frustrations and time. The traffic is pretty nasty for the most part, I would be with the normal traffic commute instead of reverse

Vallejo is an absolute hell no.

Thanks for the tips

[aslowdodge]

the smart thing to do would be to drive the areas you think you like, then drive back on a friday evening after 7 and see if it still feels right to you.
I took a female friend to concord and told her there were a few areas not so nice. I told her there was a large hispanic population there and probably some gang activity.
She called me a racist.
I drove thru the areas and she started screaming at me to turn the car around. I asked her why . . . was she scared? Quite a few people were eyeballing her from their apartment railings and driveways. She said it was obviously a bad area but when i asked her how could she tell she wouldn't elaborate. I called her a fellow racist and we left.

That said I eat at some of the taquerias in that area all the time and love it, but I still would prefer not to live there.

[rockandhardplace]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

the smart thing to do would be to drive the areas you think you like, then drive back on a friday evening after 7 and see if it still feels right to you.
I took a female friend to concord and told her there were a few areas not so nice. I told her there was a large hispanic population there and probably some gang activity.
She called me a racist.
I drove thru the areas and she started screaming at me to turn the car around. I asked her why . . . was she scared? Quite a few people were eyeballing her from their apartment railings and driveways. She said it was obviously a bad area but when i asked her how could she tell she wouldn't elaborate. I called her a fellow racist and we left.

That said I eat at some of the taquerias in that area all the time and love it, but I still would prefer not to live there.

Is this the area around Monument, Detroit Avenue, and other streets that run parallel between Monument and Clayton? There seems to be a lot of apartment complexes there. The only part of Monument I know is where it pops out at Contra Costa Blvd.

What about the sort of triangular area between Monument and and Meadow Lane by Cambridge Park?

What you're talking about is pretty much the only thing I would REALLY like to avoid. I don't have a problem with people hanging out doing their thing, but not really into getting gawked at and feeling creeped out all the time, no matter a person's race. Then again, I did live in an apartment complex in Roseville, CA awhile back that was predominately Hispanic, but we never saw the adults, only the kids who would run around outside in their diapers and leave toys in the middle of the road I was okay with that. Lol.