Thoughts about Concord and Clayton?

[CaliforniaNative2]

Originally Posted by tstieber

I grew up in the Northgate area of Walnut Creek and Crystyl Ranch very well. In my opinion, it's the nicest neighborhood in Concord it's well located near Ygnacio Valley Road, it's safe, there's lots of infrastructure nearby, and it's very scenic. I really don't see any downsides to that neighborhood except for the traffic going down Ygnacio Valley Road to the freeway. If you're not commuting far, however, then it's a great option for you. Is Clayron redneck? I'm not sure I'd go quite that far. But it may be rather conservative compared to the rest of the area. There's a certain ranchy, country vibe to it that many people love. It's extraordinarily peaceful and beautiful. But it's cheaper because it's farther away and a bit of a drive to get places. Also, you may want to know to that in the past several years, there has been more than one evacuation due to threatening wildfires. It's a High fire-risk area. That being said, you'll see that many homes have been there for decades and haven't burned down yet, so it may be more of a threat than a reality.

Both of these areas have easy proximity to shopping nearby, 10 or 15 minutes to downtown Walnut Creek, the Concord Pavilion nearby for summer outdoor concerts, and wonderful Trail access for hiking.

Pleasant Hill is also the really nice little city with a wide variety of housing options, and it's also relatively affordable by Bay Area standards. Martinez is pretty spread out from the Waterfront all the way to the Lafayette and pleasant Hill borders. Closer to downtown, there are many interesting, historic homes, but I would say that area is going to increase the commute to Walnut Creek considerably. Closer to Pleasant Hill, the homes are newer and more bourbon in nature, virtually indistinguishable from Pleasant Hill or Lafayette except for the price tag being better! That will also take you closer to Walnut Creek.

As for public schools, I would recommend going beyond the numerical rankings from the various public Real Estate websites but also to look at actual test scores and dig a Little Deeper. I find that the rankings can be quite different on the sites from the conventional wisdom, so the more information, the better your perspective.

Good luck in your search, and please keep us all posted!

Thank you for all this great information! We got the chance to visit Clayton, it seems very charming, and from the looks of it has great schools and is a safe city. The only downfall, is that it is father out as you mentioned.
I do believe it is a city we will consider. I would like to check out Pleasant Hill in the near future, and again drive through Crystyl Ranch. Thank you for the suggestion with us researching schools.

[CaliforniaNative2]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

I couldn’t live there but I like Martinez.
Nice houses over all pretty nice.
Martinez is how ever in the cancer zone.
There is actually a map of that zone.
I know a lot of people that were told to stay indoors due to the refineries spewing toxins.
It’s been a while but I knew several people that have had their cars detailed due to the crap that landed on their cars.
The refineries did pay for that though.

I’m an organic gardener,bee keeper and try to be as green as possible.
I won’t eat any veggies or honey from that area.

We definitely would not be open to living in a cancer zone. At this time, I think we are going to focus on Walnut Creek, Clayton, and possibly Crystyl Ranch and Pleasant Hill.

[CaliforniaNative2]

Originally Posted by drewjube

Clayton is probably safe as lots of LEO live there. I think it's quite nice, but a big drawback is the additional commute time. Crystyl Ranch seems to suffer from an inordinate number of burglaries.

I wonder if there is a way for me to pull stats on crime occurring in Crystyl Ranch, as the zip code covers a large area?

[MechAndy]

sorry if I’d missed it but what is your budget?

[CaliforniaNative2]

Originally Posted by MechAndy

sorry if I’d missed it but what is your budget?

It varies, depending on the city. If Clayton, I think we can get something we like for around $850k.
Most of the homes in Crystyl Ranch are bigger than what we’d need / like, but it looks as though the smaller ones are in the mid $900s, per Zestimate. We realize Walnut Creek is more money, for less house.

[MechAndy]

One of my buddies just sold a really nice place in one of Clayton’s better areas and I was shocked that he only got 850k for it.
I guess that commute has really hit that area hard

[davdaven]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaNative2

What do you like about Pleasant Hill?

Pleasant Hill is centrally located, so you can get to BART, downtown Walnut Creek, etc. with relative ease. The town center is pretty suburban but has all the shopping you would need. The neighborhoods themselves have a pleasant semi-rural vibe to them, which I find more appealing than the bland suburbia found in most of Concord. I'm more partial to older communities, which is why I like Martinez more overall, but there's no denying that Martinez is out of the way in comparison to Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, or Concord. Only Clayton is even more out of the way.

[Strigoi]

Originally Posted by davdaven

I'm more partial to older communities, which is why I like Martinez more overall, but there's no denying that Martinez is out of the way in comparison to Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, or Concord. Only Clayton is even more out of the way.

I've lived on Bailey Rd. in Concord, which is out there and currently live in Martinez (close to the Sheriff's station/juvenile hall). The drive from that area to get to the freeway on Ygnacio or Treat can be a nightmare, especially in the mornings. I don't feel it's fair saying Martinez is out of the way when getting to the freeway can take some time when you're deep in Concord. I can be on highway 4 or 680 within 3-4 minutes. Can't say that for any parts of Concord that OP is looking at. It also wasn't uncommon for me to spend 30+ minutes getting from Walnut Creek to the Bailey Rd. area in Concord in the afternoons when people were getting off work. When living on Bailey there were times I'd go over the hill into Pittsburg and hit 4 instead of dealing with the traffic on Treat/YV.

I will say that I absolutely love living in this area of Martinez. I've lived in Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Concord, Clyde and Martinez. Martinez has been my favorite and where I've called home for the last 6+ years.

[CaliforniaNative2]

Originally Posted by davdaven

Pleasant Hill is centrally located, so you can get to BART, downtown Walnut Creek, etc. with relative ease. The town center is pretty suburban but has all the shopping you would need. The neighborhoods themselves have a pleasant semi-rural vibe to them, which I find more appealing than the bland suburbia found in most of Concord. I'm more partial to older communities, which is why I like Martinez more overall, but there's no denying that Martinez is out of the way in comparison to Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, or Concord. Only Clayton is even more out of the way.

Thank you, I think we need to take another look up Pleasant Hill.