Moving family to bay area, home area advice needed thank you (Fremont: private school, costs)

[jade408]

Originally Posted by gianttama

Thank you all. We don't care about restaurants or shopping, we don't mind having to drive to shop.

Top priority is safety and school, parks would be a bonus. Is there anywhere we should definitely avoid? How about south of emeryville, any area we could look into? Won't be able to afford any of the elite are or 2 million dollar homes with a single income and don't want to over-committ with unknown income from my side, would like to play it safe especially with a young kid.

Thanks

Just being frank - if you want safety, easy commute and good schools in the Bay Area you need to pay a million. or give up 1-2 of those items to find something cheaper. What you want doesn't exist for under a million dollars. So choose what you want to give up.

[BurnInTheMil]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

Well surely they aren't coming to the Bay Area with 500k and expecting to be debt free buying a house. With a 500 to 600k mortgage they can buy in those areas and get great schools.

Of course they don’t expect to be debt free, but they did say they didn’t want to spend $1-$2 million and I don’t blame them, it’s senseless.

There are other areas like Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, Dublin, etc... that you buy can a home for $700K-$800K and only have a $200K-$300K montage instead of $500K-$1 million. All of which have decent schools and the commute is doable

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by DriveInsAndMaltShops

Just because you refuse to take my advice doesn’t mean you don’t have a secret sauce of your own that you need to tap into. Isn’t the Bay area know for its entrepreneurial spirit?

rotfl

[jeopardyd]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

Ok if it is schools that are a priority then I would look at the San Ramon valley corridor and lamorinda. Excellent schools.
Probably Lafayette, moraga, and orinda. Nice rolling hills, safe, excellent schools, parks, family oriented. It meets your needs and is closest to where you will work. A little bit of a commute, but it sounds like it is the closest to your work and family wants.

those are very good choices, safe and great schools.

[likealady]

Originally Posted by evening sun

I still think renting is the way to go, for a new area. They might not like the Bay Area, it is not for everyone. Not everybody will be happy in the Bay Area, especailly with a young family, they may be moving on, to a different state after a while, so they do not need to be tied to a house. renting gives them a chance to find out more about different areas.

This. This. This. I spent half a decade here before I even thought about buying. In fact, I hated it here the first year and a half (and still dislike many things about the Bay, too). I say wait it out, see how you like it, see how you can raise your family and continue your career path here before you start thinking about buying.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by gianttama

Thank you all. We don't care about restaurants or shopping, we don't mind having to drive to shop.

Top priority is safety and school, parks would be a bonus. Is there anywhere we should definitely avoid? How about south of emeryville, any area we could look into? Won't be able to afford any of the elite are or 2 million dollar homes with a single income and don't want to over-committ with unknown income from my side, would like to play it safe especially with a young kid.

Thanks

Haven't read through all these responses yet, but I know Emeryville really well because I lived there for years and we still own a condo there. In fact, we'll be there this spring for an extended period of time. South of Emeryville is another possibility for you, but you have to go quite a ways south. The area immediately south of Emeryville is West Auckland, which is one of the worst and most dangerous parts of the area. As you drive a little ways south on the freeway, however, you should definitely look into Alameda. It's a very easy commute of about 15 minutes, and it's more or less on an island that you access via Bridge or tunnel, and it's extremely family friendly and safe. Also has a very Charming Little American type of downtown. However, it has gotten a bit expensive. You could probably find a smaller home or larger town home in your budget. Further south from there, you can look into areas like San Leandro or Hayward come but at that point, you're starting to get into a little bit longer commute. Some of the other recommendations north of Emeryville have been very good also. Just keep in mind that traffic coming down the freeway from the north is really really bad in the mornings, so what seems like a short commute can take quite a while. I wouldn't necessarily discount Emeryville. Although some say it's sketchy, it depends where you are. The Eastern and Southern borders are not so safe, as they border poor parts of Auckland, but much of the rest of the city is safer than some people say. Just look up the crime maps on Trulia or Zillow, and you'll see. Most of the housing stock and Emeryville is multi-family, so you're talking condos or townhouses. That's not necessarily bad, but it is a relatively urban lifestyle. There are some nice Parks, one in the center of town, and then the whole Emeryville Marina among the water, which are both very nice. The Park at Hollis Street has a lot of family-friendly events like movies in the park, and there is also a great playground there. But it's not cookie-cutter safe Suburbia. It's an urban hodgepodge.

Good luck in your hunt!

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by tstieber

The area immediately south of Emeryville is West Auckland,

That's Oakland. A decade or two ago, a passenger at LAX boarded a plane for what he thought was a flight to Oakland. Well, he actually got on an Air New Zealand flight for Auckland, New Zealand.

[phantompilot]

There aren't any very good public schools on that side of the bay, but Alameda is pretty nice and close to Emeryville. you could do private school. The problem with the schools is they are full of bad students (and bad parents). If you go over the hill to Lamorinda area it will be much better.

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by phantompilot

There aren't any very good public schools on that side of the bay, but Alameda is pretty nice and close to Emeryville. you could do private school. The problem with the schools is they are full of bad students (and bad parents). If you go over the hill to Lamorinda area it will be much better.

Wrong, Piedmont has superb schools. The OP can't afford Piedmont but it still exists as a great choice for those who can afford it

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by phantompilot

There aren't any very good public schools on that side of the bay, but Alameda is pretty nice and close to Emeryville. you could do private school. The problem with the schools is they are full of bad students (and bad parents). If you go over the hill to Lamorinda area it will be much better.

Wrong, Piedmont has superb schools. The OP can't afford Piedmont but it still exists as a great choice for those who can afford it