Help me decide - Need good schools. San Rafael? Castro Valley? Novato? (Sunnyvale: foreclosed)

[mystian]

I love Alameda, lived there for years, but sold house (due to family issue) and now can not buy anything reasonable can't even buy a shack over there without 15 others bidding.

Now looking further afield - Novato, San Rafael, Castro Valley, Pacifica, the peninsula...(I work in SF).

Peninsula seems too pricey and schools are patchy.
Castro Valley is affordable with great schools, but seems incredibly boring without a "downtown" vibe anywhere to be found....

Novato you get a lot of house but I don't know which areas to avoid.

San Rafael - also an outsider need tips where to look... and where not to look.

Pacifica - I only like Linda Mar and inventory seems really tight - schools - so/so.

[ippi76]

Well, everyone says the commute sucks from Marin to SF, so maybe factor that into consideration.

Little confused as how you cannot afford Alameda or the Peninsula yet you can afford Novato/San Rafael, seems like it'd be the opposite.

What about Walnut Creek or Pleasant Hill? You can take BART and there's a sort of downtown in WC and good schools in both locations. Dublin/Pleasanton are very nice/good schools but pricy and yes, there's not much there.

Santa Clara/Sunnyvale/Cupertino in the South Bay maybe?

If you have a specific budget/house size in mind that always makes it easier to recommend.

[Tomlcsc]

Imo the commute does not suck going to SF. I do every day albeit I live a little closer.

The only sucky part is that the buses often take longer than it would if you drove your car into the city.

Marin is awesome 100% endorsement from me. Its like nowhere else in the bay area and generally pretty friendly and safe. The only complaint I have sometimes is a lack of affordable shopping options.

[mystian]

I am looking to buy something for less than $600K - I hate being house poor and love my vacations. Alameda has homes listed at $500M to $600M but everyhome I've made an offer on had 15+ offers and sold for $80M to $100K over asking. I even decided to go for a real fixer upper in a second tier locatin and offered $45K over asking and lost that in a field of 15 other offers. So what I have found is that developers are heavy in that market and for any fixer - forget it they are being sold for all cash.

San Rafael and Novato seem very pleasant - I can work from home 2-3 days a week. But its big and I don't know where I should focus my search over there. Novato seems a bit dull, but a quick ride to downtown San Rafael.

[KC999]

mystian, did you ever find a place? My family and I , with one small child, are looking at some of the same options. We'll be up in the bay area to look next month. Just curious if you found any promising towns, neighborhoods. We were particularly interested in Novato, San Rafael and Petaluma...

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mystian

I am looking to buy something for less than $600K - I hate being house poor and love my vacations. Alameda has homes listed at $500M to $600M but everyhome I've made an offer on had 15+ offers and sold for $80M to $100K over asking. I even decided to go for a real fixer upper in a second tier locatin and offered $45K over asking and lost that in a field of 15 other offers. So what I have found is that developers are heavy in that market and for any fixer - forget it they are being sold for all cash.

San Rafael and Novato seem very pleasant - I can work from home 2-3 days a week. But its big and I don't know where I should focus my search over there. Novato seems a bit dull, but a quick ride to downtown San Rafael.

Fairfax. Nice homes at good prices. Quiet area. Or look for foreclosed properties anywhere. There are dozens of them everywhere.

[mystian]

WE are still shopping around KC999 - We also mountain bike, so are giving up on my first love, Alameda, to get a nice hilly area. We are still trying on the penisula or marin. I feel that Novato will be too far for me, but lots of open space and much cheaper per sf, so its tempting.