Empty nesters want to retire to a safe part of SF (San Jose: fit in, 2015)

[Rita2015]

We are an Indian, empty nester couple in our 50s wanting to move to the bay area for retirement. Looking for suggestions on where to move to in SF. So far we are considering:

Walnut Creek (downtown is a bit contemporary fo me)
Lafayette (on the small side)
Pleasanton (love it but it seems more suitable for young families)
Los Gatos (love it)
Saratoga (seems a bit small).

Our parameters are (in no particular order):

1 A safe, quiet, tree lined suburb
2 Walkability (shops/ restaurants/ nature hikes)
3 A traditional downtown with a main street and community feel
4 Sunny weather (preferably temps around 70s) and as little fog as possible
5 Mountain views while living on flat ground or views of the bay
6.Entertainment/recreation (theatre, museums, movies, shopping mall)
7 Cultural diversity, with at least some Indians
8 A condo or small bungalow with traditional architechture
9 Transport system to airport/ downtown SF
10 Educated, middle class people

[dalparadise]

Sounds like Lamorinda for everything but the Bay view. Otherwise, maybe one of the Peninsula communities like Burlingame down to Redwood City.

[jk88cal]

For safe, quiet, tree lined suburb, this rules out SF or Oakland.

For transportation to SF, it basically narrows it down to Peninsula, which has access to Caltrain/BART; or east bay access to BART.

For walkability and traditional downtown, this basically limit you to:
- Redwood City
- San Mateo
- Palo Alto
- Mountain View
- Walnut Creek/Lafayette/Pleasanton: you already mentioned.

You mentioned Los Gatos and Saratoga. But these do not have easy public transportation to SF.

You might also consider Fremont. It has everything on your list except walkability and downtown.

[calicoastal]

I second San Mateo and Palo Alto, and also add Burlingame. I wouldn't rule out parts of Berkeley (Thousand Oaks, North Berkeley, Elmwood) or Oakland (Rockridge, Montclair) that are more suburban. And there is Marin to consider as well (Larkspur, Mill Valley, Tiburon, San Anselmo). Probably the Peninsula meets your criteria the most, though.

[Ruth4Truth]

Berkeley Hills, Oakland Hills for views, tree-lined streets, diversity, culture, traditional architecture, upper-middle class neighbors. Also--parts of El Cerrito. Transport to Oakland airport available. San Mateo and Palo Alto are much less diverse, same with Marin Country (Mill Valley, Larkspur, etc.) The main South Asian community is in Fremont, so if you're in Oakland or Berkeley, you'll be nearby.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Berkeley Hills, Oakland Hills for views, tree-lined streets, diversity, culture, traditional architecture, upper-middle class neighbors. Also--parts of El Cerrito. Transport to Oakland airport available. San Mateo and Palo Alto are much less diverse, same with Marin Country (Mill Valley, Larkspur, etc.) The main South Asian community is in Fremont, so if you're in Oakland or Berkeley, you'll be nearby.

San Mateo and Palo Alto are pretty diverse, by American standards. White people only make up 46% in San Mateo, for instance. I see a lot of Asian and latino people around. There are a lot of Indian people, too. And you'll notice that Asian tastes in general are huge in San Mateo (and other surrounding cities). It sure seems like Asian restaurants outnumber traditional American cuisine. Unfortunately (like most of the Bay Area), there aren't as many Black people as you'd expect, though. They're not the most diverse cities in the Bay Area, but I think saying "much less diverse" is a stretch.

If you want to make that statement about most of Marin county you might have a point, though. Asian are a smaller percentage in most Marin cities.

Also, Palo Alto (10-15 miles) and much of the peninsula is closer to Fremont than Berkeley or Oakland (>25 miles) are to Fremont. Also, believe it or not, San Mateo (~25 miles) is about as close (or closer) to Fremont than Berkeley/Oakland are to Fremont. Just some clarification on that point.


To the OP: I think the lower parts of the hills in the communities from San Bruno south to Redwood City would fit what you're looking for. The further down the hill you are in these areas, the closer you are to the walkable downtowns and the transit centers (Caltrain south of Milbrae, and BART/Caltrain north of Milbrae). Also, you have direct and easy access to the many open space preserves of the Santa Cruz mountains right at your doorstep (I prefer the amount of trees in the peninsula hills/mountains to the dryer and less tree-covered East Bay hills/mountains).

Other good recommendations would be Walnut Creek/Lomarinda area. Berekely and Oakland hills could work, too, and are worth a look. Fremont has a really big Indian community (as mentioned) but might not have all of the things you're looking for. It's still worth a look, I think, though.

[Rita2015]

Thanks for all your responses. I forgot to add that I am also looking for a place that has down to earth people. I am more of a spiritual than a materialistic person and don't like to focus on the type of house I live in, car I drive or the type of clothes I wear. I also worry about moving to a bedroom community when we retire. I have heard Palo Alto and San Jose are bedroom communites. Also we are not from the tech industry and wonder how we would fit in to the silicon valley.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by Rita2015

Thanks for all your responses. I forgot to add that I am also looking for a place that has down to earth people. I am more of a spiritual than a materialistic person and don't like to focus on the type of house I live in, car I drive or the type of clothes I wear. I also worry about moving to a bedroom community when we retire. I have heard Palo Alto and San Jose are bedroom communites. Also we are not from the tech industry and wonder how we would fit in to the silicon valley.

People may disagree, but I'd say that for down-to-earth people, Berkeley/Oakland would be your best bet. Those these days, with so many people moving in for the tech industry, it's much more of a mixed bag than it used to be. Still, the university crowds, the artists and writers, cluster in Berkeley and north Oakland. Possibly Albany, because it's less expensive, may have more of that down-to-earth quality, as well.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Add Fremont and Alameda to your list.

[CC12345]

Originally Posted by Rita2015

Thanks for all your responses. I forgot to add that I am also looking for a place that has down to earth people. I am more of a spiritual than a materialistic person and don't like to focus on the type of house I live in, car I drive or the type of clothes I wear. I also worry about moving to a bedroom community when we retire. I have heard Palo Alto and San Jose are bedroom communites. Also we are not from the tech industry and wonder how we would fit in to the silicon valley.

Maybe I use the term "bedroom community" differently, but I would say most of your original list (Pleasanton, Lafayette, etc) are much more like bedroom communities than Palo Alto or San Jose. It sounds to me like anywhere from Burlingame to mountain view would fit your criteria well. I would also say some parts of Oakland, except your description of a traditional downtown/community feel sounds more like a small city/big town feel than an actual city like Oakland.