Contra Costa or Marin County (Oakland, Berkeley: job market, neighborhoods, buying)

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

So why not piedmont,rockridge,Adams point,lakeshore,montclair,Berkeley etc. your commute would be more reasonable and these are desirable urban walkable areas

I wondered the same. OP is worried about fitting in, these areas would be perfect for them. They can afford Marin and Lamorinda, These places you mentioned should be in their ballpark budgetwise too.

[Rina120]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

So why not piedmont,rockridge,Adams point,lakeshore,montclair,Berkeley etc. your commute would be more reasonable and these are desirable urban walkable areas

I figured if I'm going to leave San Francisco, I may as well have a POOL. And I love anonymity/privacy in my home which is hard when all the houses are all on top of each other in those areas. Plus you are paying more for less...you are paying for the location to walkable areas.

I was never in love with any one of those areas, but Orinda seems to be 10 mins drive to all of them, so I dont have to pick. I'll have them all!! Plus my backyard Oasis.

[Dave Coe]

Depends what you prefer. I think a place like Lafayette is far superior to Mill Valley, warmer weather in the summer, access to BART, more scenic with Golden Hills but Marin has the hype to it.

[G Grasshopper]

I think your biggest consideration should be your commute. Marin to SSF? That's pretty bad, and possible only if you live in the south of the county, like Mill Valley. If you can afford that, fine. But the commute will still be long. Mill Valley has a cooler climate generally than CC county because it gets the marine layer - the cool fog. The further north you go in Marin, the less influence you have from this, so Novato is pretty similar to CC and much warmer than Mill Valley. Culturally, I'm not sure there is that big of a difference. You won't have a problem in that way in Marin, but I doubt you would have a problem with the closer in parts of CC either.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by Rina120

Clongirl, good point about the weekend day trippers!

Thanks for your perspective. That's kinda how I'm looking at it about choices of places to hang.
i'm getting so excited at the possibility that my eyes can't absorb all the houses I'm clicking on Redfin!!!

So far, no one has given me a real negative about Contra County...(other than the bridges, but eh..whatcha gonna do??)

The bridges and tunnel yes ... but also ... BART, AC Transit, and also, like Marin, ferries (but honestly, with BART and AC, who really would bother with boats?).

[PixelatedTherapy]

Originally Posted by Rina120

Hi Folks!
I saw that someone had posted this exact topic but the OP needs were different than mine, so I felt I needed to start my own thread.

We've been in SF for nearly 4 years now and after multiple horror stories and considering even my last choice in the world (CONDOS), we've decided that we just cant afford to stay in SF.

We are currently looking at the two counties and would like some advice.

Our needs are: We are a lesbian married couple in our 40s. Schools do not matter. We'd like outdoor space and a backyard. We would like a pool. So the fact that Contra County is warm is actually a good thing.
We like bars and restaurants, but are mostly day drinkers now so just need some solid options. We also like the outdoors, but I think it seems both counties are good for that.

Our take is this: Contra County seems to be best as its located in the center of a lot of hotspots (looking at Orinda). not too far from Piedmont, Oakland or Rockridge. Not too far from Walnut Creek which also have some good restaurants and bars. Also, it does have BART if we'd like to go into SF for a festival or concert or something and remember when we paid exorbitant amounts of money for rent...

We went to Marin County and it seems just sooooooooooo white. Went to San Rafael and the town seemed really sleepy with not many options.
However i recently heard that Marin County is full of liberals and Contra Costa is more conservative.
I may not be ultra liberal, but the the of moving to Trump country makes my skin crawl. Is it conservative like that? Or "conservative for the bay area"?
And should I care if I wont really be interacting much? Since we have no children, it wont be required that we interact and get along with everyone, but you know...sure would be nice!!!! (Imaging 4th of July backyard BBQ parties!)

Also: I work in SSF so...I already know that tunnel is going to be problematic, but how much will this be a problem?

Any comments are appreciated.

Thanks!

Have you considered Vallejo? If you can afford Marin or Contra Costa, you certainly can afford Vallejo. https://thebolditalic.com/in-defense...o-9e693d8628d6 When it comes to diversity, Vallejo is the most diverse city in the United States. Not kidding.

To answer the other questions you have:

Marin County is the most Affluent county in California, and the second most affluent in the United States. It's very nice and upscale. But yes, it is also very, very white. Which isn't a bad or good thing, it's just a fact about the county. Marin is geographically beautiful because the residents pretty much say no to any developers that propose, well anything. The con to Marin is that nimbyism is rampant.

Contra Costa County is too diverse of a region to pin down to any one feel. Richmond is Contra Costa County, as is Concord, Crockett, Brentwood and Orinda. CCC can be broken down into 5 separate regions that are completely different from each other.

West County:

This area is most known for Richmond and it's bad rap in the media, but Richmond has some very nice areas, such as Point Richmond, and the area near Hilltop Mall, but Richmond does contain some of the worst ghettos in California as well, so it's very dependent on area. San Pablo is another city in West County. It's basically an extension of the rougher parts of Richmond. However, West County is also home to some of the best areas in the Bay (at least in my opinion) El Cerrito is an awesome, beautiful community, very diverse and plentiful access to BART. Pinole is middle class suburb. El Sobrante is a semi-rural working-middle class suburb. Not a bad community at all. Hercules is an upper middle class area, very quiet, large Asian population. It has the feel of a smaller, East Bay Daly City. Then there's Rodeo, Rodeo is a refinery town, working-middle class area. Not bad. The next two towns in West County are Crockett and Port Costa, these areas are very old and are very small. It's crazy to think you're only 26 miles from San Francisco while in Crockett/PC, as the towns remain frozen in time, not in bad way, though. It's very charming.

Central County:

Central County includes the largest city in Contra Costa County, Concord. Concord is a middle-working class town with a large Hispanic community. The downtown area is nice, albeit small, and there's good access to San Francisco as the city has two BART stations. Despite Concord being the biggest city in CCC, the focal point of all of Contra Costa is Walnut Creek. Walnut Creek is basically the East Bay's answer to Palo Alto. Very rich, new money vibe. Many of the high end outlets you'd find in San Francisco, you can find in Walnut Creek. Then there's Pleasant Hill, which is an upper middle class area with a large Asian student population as the school is the main feeder into UC Berkeley. Downtown area is small and very suburban in the sense that everything is a major big box retailer. Last, but not least is Martinez. Martinez is the waterfront section of Central Contra Costa. The city is working-upper middle class. The areas near Morello, and in the hills are very wealthy, while the areas closer to downtown are a bit depressed, but seems to be gentrifying. One thing about Martinez is the refinery, also the downtown area seems to have a bit of a problem with methamphetamine. It's not a bad town overall.

East County:

East County is the part of Contra Costa that has been growing the fastest lately. East County includes Pittsburg, Antioch, Oakley, Brentwood, and a few smaller, unincorporated areas. Pittsburg is a working-middle class city that seems a bit depressed, it does have access to BART, which makes it preferable among East County communities, as Pittsburg is the only place with easy access to the rest of the Bay Area. Antioch is the largest city in East County, and can be characterized as suburban sprawl, like Pittsburg the area is working to middle class, and very diverse. However, Antioch is experiencing a surge in crime because of the section 8 from other parts of the Bay Area has been moved to Antioch. During the 2008 crash, Antioch had the highest rate of foreclosures in the Bay Area. Brentwood borders Antioch to the southeast, and is middle to upper middle class. This town you can call a bit conservative, it is semi rural, but is growing quickly as East County is the most affordable region in Contra Costa. Oakley is working to middle class with a large Hispanic community. Kinda like a smaller Concord, but with less to do. There's also unincorporated Bay Point. This area is very economically depressed. Large Hispanic community. So there's a lot of good Mexican food, but other than that, the area is very isolated, and dare I say desolate.


Tri Valley: The Tri-Valley is partly in Alameda County, but the parts that are in Contra Costa are typical affluent suburbs. Very wealthy, with about an even mix of whites and Asians. These cities are San Ramon, Danville, and Alamo

Lamorinda: Lamorinda is basically little Marin County in the East Bay. Very old money. Nibyism runs rampant, although that seems to be charging a bit in the case of Lafayette. The cities in the regions are Orinda, Lafayette and Moraga. The name Lamorinda is a combination of the names of all three cities.


Hope this helps. But don't dismiss Vallejo or Benicia either. Both are bargains and offer a lot. I recently moved to Vallejo and it's very diverse, the city is geographically beautiful and there's a large gay scene here. Which surprised me. Very tolerant. Some areas are crime ridden, but nothing you can't handle coming from SF. There's also direct ferry service to the city. Benicia next door is a bit more affluent than Vallejo, and is gorgeous. The one thing you may find negative about Benicia is the refinery. However, the city may be whiter than you like, judging from your previous comments.

[smashystyle]

Originally Posted by PixelatedTherapy

Have you considered Vallejo? If you can afford Marin or Contra Costa, you certainly can afford Vallejo. https://thebolditalic.com/in-defense...o-9e693d8628d6 When it comes to diversity, Vallejo is the most diverse city in the United States. Not kidding.

To answer the other questions you have:

Marin County is the most Affluent county in California, and the second most affluent in the United States. It's very nice and upscale. But yes, it is also very, very white. Which isn't a bad or good thing, it's just a fact about the county. Marin is geographically beautiful because the residents pretty much say no to any developers that propose, well anything. The con to Marin is that nimbyism is rampant.

Contra Costa County is too diverse of a region to pin down to any one feel. Richmond is Contra Costa County, as is Concord, Crockett, Brentwood and Orinda. CCC can be broken down into 5 separate regions that are completely different from each other.

Good and helpful summary of the various Contra Costa County regions and cities.

[Dave Coe]

Originally Posted by PixelatedTherapy

Have you considered Vallejo? If you can afford Marin or Contra Costa, you certainly can afford Vallejo. https://thebolditalic.com/in-defense...o-9e693d8628d6 When it comes to diversity, Vallejo is the most diverse city in the United States. Not kidding.

To answer the other questions you have:

Marin County is the most Affluent county in California, and the second most affluent in the United States. It's very nice and upscale. But yes, it is also very, very white. Which isn't a bad or good thing, it's just a fact about the county. Marin is geographically beautiful because the residents pretty much say no to any developers that propose, well anything. The con to Marin is that nimbyism is rampant.

Contra Costa County is too diverse of a region to pin down to any one feel. Richmond is Contra Costa County, as is Concord, Crockett, Brentwood and Orinda. CCC can be broken down into 5 separate regions that are completely different from each other.

If the Southern Wealthier half of CCC split off from the poorer North it would be just as wealthy as Marin and similar demographically except with slightly more Asians.

[PixelatedTherapy]

Originally Posted by Dave Coe

If the Southern Wealthier half of CCC split off from the poorer North it would be just as wealthy as Marin and similar demographically except with slightly more Asians.

This is absolutely true. I hope they never try to do that because the northern half would be F'ed.

[silverkris]

Since you are going to work in SSF, have you considered communities in San Mateo County? That would be much more convenient. Such as San Mateo, San Carlos, perhaps?

The big issue with Marin - yes it's beautiful, but the commute will be awful, and it will wear on you over time.