CT lifer thinking about moving to CA. Please advise! (Oakland: to rent, house)

[GbaileyCT]

Hi All! I lived in CT all my life, now at 49 have an opportunity to get transferred to East Bay, CA. I mostly work from home with occasional visits to my customers. I don't have to live in any particular area/city. Looking for a safe neighborhood to rent a house for up to $2,800 a month and a good high school for my son. I'm considering moving for 2 main reasons- sick of shoveling & driving in the snow and more opportunities for my kids. I have 2 musician sons who want to move to a place where the music scene is not dead yet like here in CT. I also like to be outdoors more and not stuck in the house all winter (up to 6 months). We took a trip to East Bay in August to check it out, stayed in Alameda for a week while taking day trips to nearby towns. My sister used to live in Alameda years ago before moving to Seattle, WA, so I was familiar with that area. We've visited Oakland, Pinole, Hercules, Benicia, San Leandro, Martinez, Berkley, Dublin, San Ramon didn't get to explore South Bay area due to limited time. Cannot say one of these above mentioned towns jumped out at us as a great places to live. Berkley seemed gritty w/obvious drug problems, Benicia & Martinez had large oil refineries. San Leandro looked run down. I read on-line about fights at Hercules high school as well as many other high schools, and it raised some concerns as my son is currently in a very safe high school with no fights or riots. Some days, I think moving is a good idea, where others I'm not so sure. I would really appreciate everyone's input, especially, if someone moved from East coast to CA recently. How do 2 states compare? Was it a good move? What about Monterey, Brentwood, Discovery Bay? What other areas I should consider?
Thank you in advance!

[jribe]

the nicest areas in east bay in my opinion would be danville, orinda, lafayette, morinda, and walnut creek. Your budget should be ok for housing; might need to up in for a house in all of those areas except walnut creek

[ctwindow]

gosh , 5 snow days literally last winter and you sound like you live in north pole

[bmw335xi]

I would look into Walnut Creek. However, I think Seattle has a better music scene and they definitely have better schools with a thriving economy. I honestly think the Bay Area is so over-valued right now, there are just so many other options. I would really consider Seattle, especially since your sister lives there too.

[dandylion84]

I do not like the East Bay at all, especially around Oakland - very gritty, run down, and sketchy, even the claimed good areas. A musician got shot and killed in Oakland after a performance recently. There are absolutely nice parts of the Bay Area though. Take a look at the Peninsula, Marin, and further east like Walnut Creek.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

A good friend of my daughter moved to Pacific Grove (next to Monterey) and brought her middle-school-aged son who was troubled. He blossomed in that school. So much so, that she declined a job offer in Marin, so her son could finish school in the PG school district.

I grew up in San Leandro many years ago, but my folks sent us to private Catholic schools. I don't know about any other schools in the Bay Area, other than the glowing endorsement of Pacific Grove's schools.

[Chuck5000]

Agree with BMW that the Bay Area is not worth it (IMO for everyone other than highly-paid professionals or the already-wealthy) because it's insanely expensive and commutes are generally terrible unless one can spend minimum 5k+ per month (for a family sized place, 3 bedroom, 2 bath) or 1.2m plus (for well located 3/2 with good schools k thru 12).

However, the OP's situation is really good re: not needing to commute. This could make it worthwhile for him. The East Bay is getting better every year re: amenities and retail. Oakland is very interesting now, although anyone priced out (i.e. tons of people) won't be happy with the changes.

You need to understand that you will be stepping down probably 3 levels in quality of home, size, and location. You are also going to have far fewer choices of towns with good schools at every price point. Therefore, if you're not impressed with the towns you saw, you should reconsider this move. Because the only moves up that might satisfy you are Lafayette, Orinda, Walnut Creek, Danville, and San Ramon. If you can't afford those, but everything else is not appealing, you're out of luck. Livermore is nice but a step further away.

Forget the South Bay, it's more expensive because it's closer to many high paying jobs. Marin is smaller and at a similar cost level to Orinda, without Orinda's access. You could consider Sonoma county, although like Marin it is very compromised re: commuting. If you can make Monterey or Pacific Grove work (they are far away from central Bay Area, that's a specific conversation you should have with folks who live there. I like this idea for you.

Remember, though, that regional traffic is pretty bad, basically comparable to the NYC metro area, although maybe 10% better. Look at maps.google.com > directions > commuting times tool. Very useful.

Seriously, though, I am from NY and have a hard time hearing people complain about weather - whether they're from CA or NY or whereever. It's usually a screen for complaining about other things in their lives. Moving to CA because of weather alone is basically insane these days.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

...

Forget the South Bay, it's more expensive because it's closer to many high paying jobs. Marin is smaller and at a similar cost level to Orinda, without Orinda's access. You could consider Sonoma county, although like Marin it is very compromised re: commuting. If you can make Monterey or Pacific Grove work (they are far away from central Bay Area, that's a specific conversation you should have with folks who live there. I like this idea for you.

Remember, though, that regional traffic is pretty bad, basically comparable to the NYC metro area, although maybe 10% better. Look at maps.google.com > directions > commuting times tool. Very useful.

Seriously, though, I am from NY and have a hard time hearing people complain about weather - whether they're from CA or NY or whereever. It's usually a screen for complaining about other things in their lives. Moving to CA because of weather alone is basically insane these days.

Regarding going a bit further out to places like Monterey/Pacific Grove, I think can could work for them *if* they can find one of the deals that come along like the one I posted in the larger CA forum.

I don't know East Bay prices in those nicer areas. But from what I've heard its a bit higher than here in Monterey. Another consideration may be a bit north of the city keeping in mind that daily commuting is not an issue. We have relatives in Santa Rosa who really love living there with their kids. And there are other nice towns between there and the city. Obviously, for the daily driver its not as good. But that doesn't seem like the issue here.

Regarding moving because of the weather, that's totally based on individual preferences. So, there really is no right or wrong answer no matter how strongly *one* person feels about it. Its all relative. Many have moved to the warmer climates from colder ones and are very glad they did. It really does improve their overall quality of life. I know when I lived in snow country in Colorado there were definitely trade offs living there vs. here. For us, having access to mountains with snow when we want to visit it, the ocean and overall more moderate weather is really worth the cost of admission. But some love the snow and colder temperatures or at least don't mind it as much. Then you have snowbirds who live in both climates when its best. So this will really does vary a lot.

That being said, places like the PNW (Seattle or Portland) can be nice compromises. While not perfect weather, they are definitely more moderate than other areas of the nation.

Derek

[Oakformonday]

Not sure where you live in CT but it sounds like you would be better off staying there. Your initial impression of a good part of the East Bay was that it is gritty and run down. That's not going to change. Plus, your children will most likely get a much better education in CT than here. They can always go to college out here or there is the Berkeley School of Music in Boston. Only you can make this decision so it sounds like you are doing your due diligence before making a decision. Good luck with whatever you decide.

[dylvargas]

Just do it. You only live once. I think everyone should experience California once in their lives. Use common sense and have an exit strategy if you freak out about housing and the lifestyle in California. You and the kids will love it. Give it a whirl. As long as it pencils out financially and not living in a ghetto go for it. Great food, great sights, tons of opportunity and you can always move back or elsewhere in California where it is a little cheaper.