Commute to Alameda from where??? (Fremont, Richmond: rental, townhouse, transfer)

[sarahw]

Good morning all,
My husband has been offered a position in Alameda and we're very interested. Sadly I spent the morning on zillow and realized we probably can't afford to buy in Alameda and most rental places say no pets (we have two medium/lrg dogs). So I need to widen the search to within a 1 hour commute. Great high school essential. Any advice most appreciated.

[HockeyMac18]

Originally Posted by sarahw

Good morning all,
My husband has been offered a position in Alameda and we're very interested. Sadly I spent the morning on zillow and realized we probably can't afford to buy in Alameda and most rental places say no pets (we have two medium/lrg dogs). So I need to widen the search to within a 1 hour commute. Great high school essential. Any advice most appreciated.

Budget?

[sarahw]

We're not sure yet, probably in the 500-750k mark.

[JohnS_15]

Originally Posted by sarahw

Good morning all,
My husband has been offered a position in Alameda and we're very interested. Sadly I spent the morning on zillow and realized we probably can't afford to buy in Alameda and most rental places say no pets (we have two medium/lrg dogs). So I need to widen the search to within a 1 hour commute. Great high school essential. Any advice most appreciated.

Originally Posted by sarahw

We're not sure yet, probably in the 500-750k mark.

Are you after a single-family home? I assume you have kids if you are looking for a good high school. Livermore maybe? That commute would be rough. Maybe Fremont? Castro Valley could be an option.


Where will you be moving from? Good luck. The competition for housing right now is soul crushing.

[sarahw]

Originally Posted by JohnS_15

Are you after a single-family home? I assume you have kids if you are looking for a good high school. Livermore maybe? That commute would be rough. Maybe Fremont? Castro Valley could be an option.


Where will you be moving from? Good luck. The competition for housing right now is soul crushing.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out.
We have three kids, one already away at college and has moved away so we don't need to take her into consideration anymore (at least when it comes to housing haha). One has one yr of college under his belt so will transfer with us but we're not sure where he will end up, the last is just about to start high school this summer. Single family or we would consider a town home. We're moving from NJ from a 3000sq ft 3 1/2 acre property for $420k so yes, it's pretty shocking!!!!

[sarahw]

Originally Posted by JohnS_15

Are you after a single-family home? I assume you have kids if you are looking for a good high school. Livermore maybe? That commute would be rough. Maybe Fremont? Castro Valley could be an option.


Where will you be moving from? Good luck. The competition for housing right now is soul crushing.

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out.
We have three kids, one already away at college and has moved away so we don't need to take her into consideration anymore (at least when it comes to housing haha). One has one yr of college under his belt so will transfer with us but we're not sure where he will end up, the last is just about to start high school this summer. Single family or we would consider a town home. We're moving from NJ from a 3000sq ft 3 1/2 acre property for $420k so yes, it's pretty shocking!!!!

[Chuck5000]

I'd do Castro Valley, or maybe see if you could do Richmond hills + private school. If I couldn't do ether of those, I'd bail. Relocating a family to the Bay Area is something I think should only be done at top income levels. Fremont is too far...I think. Check maps.google.com directions feature for commute times. San Ramon is more upscale than Castro and one town further out.....it's possible. Last time I looked, months ago, 750k would be decent lower-mid level (or "upper lower tier") for Castro, maybe slightly more money (and more consistency of property quality) for San Ramon.

[simboticus]

San Ramon and Pleasanton have great schools, but are expensive (what isn't?). Might be able to get a townhouse for $750k

[JohnS_15]

Originally Posted by sarahw

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out.
We have three kids, one already away at college and has moved away so we don't need to take her into consideration anymore (at least when it comes to housing haha). One has one yr of college under his belt so will transfer with us but we're not sure where he will end up, the last is just about to start high school this summer. Single family or we would consider a town home. We're moving from NJ from a 3000sq ft 3 1/2 acre property for $420k so yes, it's pretty shocking!!!!

Wow that will be a shock. On the bright side there are lots of nice places to go walking the dogs!


Not sure about the schools but Pinole could be an option also. The Richmond Hills could be a good option if you were in an area assigned to El Cerrito High School.

[HappyinCali]

I think Castro Valley is affordable and the commute should not be a disaster. It will be bad for a part of it (on 880), but then you will be going against traffic into Alameda, which is important, because Alameda is an island and the tunnel and bridges that lead into it get backed up in rush hour.

Google maps says that leaving at 8:10 am on a Tuesday will take you 30 mins to 1 hour. The distance is 12 miles. For your commute back, it says 25-45 mins

Castro Valley is a bit weird, because one part of it has good schools and the other one doesn't. I don't know it well enough to tell you where to look, but I know two people who live on the good side and they are both very happy with it.