Mill Valley or Piedmont (Oakland, Berkeley: how much, houses, neighborhood)

[skraj011]

We'll be moving to the bay area in a few months and are trying to figure out where to live. We've narrowed it down to Mill Valley (and Larkspur and Corte Madera) and Piedmont. We'll be commuting to Mission Bay SF and want to send our kids to public elementary school. We know that the north bay will be a longer commute, but what else separates these areas/towns?
thanks.

[jade408]

Piedmont looks more like Connecticut (home types). The north bay is more stereotypically California. Piedmont gives your kids access to more diversity. Piedmont itself isn't that diverse. But it neighbors more diverse places.

It would be a bit easier to get a walkable neighborhood in Mill Valley. Piedmont isn't that walkable. Unless you are at the edges.

I personally love Piedmont. I live a few blocks away. It borders the best areas of Oakland with stellar amenities within a mile.

[MountainHi]

Marin County is more rural. Piedmont is in the middle of a huge metropolitan area, very urban, though there are big parks in the Oakland Hills not far away. Larkspur and Mill Valley are in the redwoods, and have a small-town feel. Schools would be about comparable.


How were you planning to commute to Mission Bay? Car? Bus/BART? There's a ferry from Larskpur, though it's a little farther from the the ferry dock to Mission Bay than it would be from the bus terminal or BART to Mission Bay. I don't know where the Golden Gate Transit bus stops in that vicinity. You could check their route from Marin.

[skraj011]

Originally Posted by MountainHi

Marin County is more rural. Piedmont is in the middle of a huge metropolitan area, very urban, though there are big parks in the Oakland Hills not far away. Larkspur and Mill Valley are in the redwoods, and have a small-town feel. Schools would be about comparable.


How were you planning to commute to Mission Bay? Car? Bus/BART? There's a ferry from Larskpur, though it's a little farther from the the ferry dock to Mission Bay than it would be from the bus terminal or BART to Mission Bay. I don't know where the Golden Gate Transit bus stops in that vicinity. You could check their route from Marin.

thanks for the info. We'll likely drive. How much longer will the commute be to/from mill valley?

[skraj011]

Originally Posted by skraj011

We'll be moving to the bay area in a few months and are trying to figure out where to live. We've narrowed it down to Mill Valley (and Larkspur and Corte Madera) and Piedmont. We'll be commuting to Mission Bay SF and want to send our kids to public elementary school. We know that the north bay will be a longer commute, but what else separates these areas/towns?
thanks.

Great info. Thanks

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by skraj011

thanks for the info. We'll likely drive. How much longer will the commute be to/from mill valley?

Not sure on minutes, but has anyone explained to you yet that commuting to that part of sf by car will be an utter hell on a daily basis? Much smarter to take bart, ac transit, or ferry if you choose mv. You have been warned: ignore at risk of your own sanity... however, its possible your job requires client visits around the bay, in which case you will need a car.if you have issues with public transit (understandable) now would be a good time to get over those issues....

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Commute wise, Marin sucks. You'll either have to drive (and note the bridge toll - it's not a Cal Trans bridge - it has the most expensive toll in the state) or deal with limited-hours public transit. Yuck.

Compare with an East Bay commute. Both driving and public transit are way, way better than Marin.

[jade408]

The commute from Piedmont via the Bus to SOMA is about 25-30 minutes. BART is roughly the same but driving to BART is tricky since parking is full. Piedmont is a bit denser than Marin County. Smaller yards, but lots of stately older homes (think 1920s-30s). Tree lined streets. Lots of Spanish style architecture too.

Mill Valley and Marin County has homes from mostly 1950s-60s.

[Chuck5000]

Disagree on walkability with the above poster - there is a tiny little downtown in Mill Vallley, it's super-luxe, and only a small number of homes really live very close to it. In Piedmont, you can get to two different walkable strips, both of which are much more real. You have easy car access to all of the best of Oakland as well, i.e. Jack London, downtown stuff, Berkeley, etc. Much more fun. More crowded, but much more lively.

In both Piedmont and MV you have steep hills; higher homes are more, especially with a view. MV's "bottom end" is bigger than Piedmont's. Piedmont does have more beautiful early 20th century houses. Mill Valley would offer a more natural feel (slightly so, as long as you choose a house in certain areas; it's mostly suburban in feel.)

Mill Valley would definitely be my choice if I could work from home forever and never commute. Also, with Marin, you are limited forever to commuting to SF....anywhere south of SF, unless you have very odd hours, you have super long car commutes from Marin. And it's getting worse rapidly.

Really, why choose Piedmont or Mill Vallley if you have to commute to SF? Prestige? Maybe look at Hillsborough. It's stuffy, but more convenient.

[MountainHi]

Originally Posted by skraj011

thanks for the info. We'll likely drive. How much longer will the commute be to/from mill valley?

You don't want to drive the GG Bridge at any time within a 1-hr. window of standard commute time. I would look up the Golden Gate Transit system's route, to see how close it comes to where you'll be working. Unless you can arrange non-standard work hours, or some sort of compromise, where you link up with your office by internet until after the commute crush, and drive in at around 9:30 or 10:00 a.m.