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Old 01-07-2016, 07:49 PM
 
520 posts, read 611,129 times
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Three primary reasons, IMO. 1) Concord's schools aren't great -- although there are some good schools scattered around Concord, especially as you get out towards Clayton. 2) It's a long commute from Concord, especially to jobs in Silicon Valley (unlike Dublin/Livermore/etc.). Everywhere close to SV is benefitting from their proximity, especially given the crazy housing prices on the Peninsula. Look at Hayward, Union City, and Newark's housing price increases. 3) Many houses in Concord are old and/or small, unlike the Tri-Cities. New, larger houses in Concord are much more expensive, $700-800k.
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Old 01-07-2016, 11:27 PM
 
Location: Living rent free in your head
42,840 posts, read 26,247,208 times
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Martinez is a bargain and from what I hear the schools are quite good, but it's close to an oil refinery and some folks don't like that. If I was looking for a place to live in the bay area it would be Martinez or Pinole Valley both are relatively cheap compared to everything else in the bay area.
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Old 01-08-2016, 10:47 AM
 
520 posts, read 611,129 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2sleepy View Post
Martinez is a bargain and from what I hear the schools are quite good, but it's close to an oil refinery and some folks don't like that. If I was looking for a place to live in the bay area it would be Martinez or Pinole Valley both are relatively cheap compared to everything else in the bay area.
Agreed. I like both Martinez and Pinole Valley (and some areas around Old Town Pinole, too), especially for the value. It's remarkable how expensive almost the entire inner Bay Area has become.
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Old 01-10-2016, 10:43 AM
 
Location: Daly City (San Francisco Metro)
113 posts, read 133,544 times
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it's FAR. That is why. Ever done that commute on BART? I'd prefer not to do 3+ hours a week commuting for a job... might as well just move to LA area or SD or Sac...
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Old 01-10-2016, 10:56 AM
 
Location: Living rent free in your head
42,840 posts, read 26,247,208 times
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Originally Posted by AtlasTraveler View Post
it's FAR. That is why. Ever done that commute on BART? I'd prefer not to do 3+ hours a week commuting for a job... might as well just move to LA area or SD or Sac...
well sure unless they happen to have a job in the Bay Area in which case none of the places that you mention would be feasible.
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Old 01-10-2016, 11:37 AM
 
Location: Bay Area
3,980 posts, read 8,986,281 times
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Originally Posted by AtlasTraveler View Post
it's FAR. That is why. Ever done that commute on BART? I'd prefer not to do 3+ hours a week commuting for a job... might as well just move to LA area or SD or Sac...
It's actually a 40-45 minute ride depending on station...it used to take over an hour from my place in the Sunset to Downtown San Francisco, and the commuters from Concord are probably lucky enough to get a seat. It's a good option, imo, if one cannot afford 900k and up for a property closer to the City.

But anyway...Concord's not a bad place. It's quite a large city in terms of population. Some neighborhoods are lovely---some are grubby and run down/trashy. Those are generally in the Western parts. The schools are not rated highly (but that's because of the large non English speaking population of children). I often think high parental involvement and expectations (and of course extra $$ donated by parents) is a bigger indication of whether a school is "good". Teachers all have the same curriculum set by the state. Children can succeed and learn in most environments.

I own a rental house in Concord, and rent to a family with kids and have several colleagues living there---and all seem to like Concord and don't complain of issues regarding the trashy element along Monument. None as far as I know have had any issues with crime.

Last edited by clongirl; 01-10-2016 at 12:07 PM..
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Old 01-10-2016, 02:15 PM
 
1,185 posts, read 1,502,541 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2sleepy View Post
Martinez is a bargain
NOTHING is a bargain in the SF/Bay Area right now.

Concord house prices were averaging low 300's 3 years ago. They're averaging in the low 500's right now.

Martinez is similar.

Although compared to the gastly 1.4 million average Lafayette is currently catching or the mid 700s in Walnut Creek, I guess it would be a bargain.

Still, 500s to live surrounded by gang-infested areas.

No thanks.
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Old 01-10-2016, 02:50 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,980 posts, read 32,634,523 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AtlasTraveler View Post
it's FAR. That is why. Ever done that commute on BART? I'd prefer not to do 3+ hours a week commuting for a job... might as well just move to LA area or SD or Sac...
My wife does it everyday from DTSF and it's slightly less than an hour door to door. Have you ever done it? Doesn't sound like it.
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Old 01-10-2016, 03:11 PM
 
520 posts, read 611,129 times
Reputation: 753
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lockdev View Post
NOTHING is a bargain in the SF/Bay Area right now.

Concord house prices were averaging low 300's 3 years ago. They're averaging in the low 500's right now.

Martinez is similar.

Although compared to the gastly 1.4 million average Lafayette is currently catching or the mid 700s in Walnut Creek, I guess it would be a bargain.

Still, 500s to live surrounded by gang-infested areas.

No thanks.
You may be right that nothing in the Bay Area is an absolute bargain right now (and I think the Martinez and WC averages understate the sale prices of actual 3/2 detached houses you see on the market). But I don't think it's fair to say that Concord is surrounded by gang-infested areas. There's a small bad area around Monument but most of the city is totally fine. Concord is surrounded by gang-infested areas in the same way as SF or San Rafael are, in that they both have pockets of bad areas. And as a whole, Concord is much safer than SF; just look at crime rates. You might call Concord blue collar or even redneck (although this isn't true for much of the city today), but gang-infested is a pretty big stretch.
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Old 01-10-2016, 03:41 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,980 posts, read 32,634,523 times
Reputation: 13630
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lockdev View Post
NOTHING is a bargain in the SF/Bay Area right now.

Concord house prices were averaging low 300's 3 years ago. They're averaging in the low 500's right now.

Martinez is similar.

Although compared to the gastly 1.4 million average Lafayette is currently catching or the mid 700s in Walnut Creek, I guess it would be a bargain.

Still, 500s to live surrounded by gang-infested areas.

No thanks.
The area's of Concord where homes are are $500K are not gang-infested areas at all or even that close to them.

Martinez is a better value as well because you get pretty good schools for under $500k, problem being proximity to refineries that can bother some.
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