orinda area or mill valley area? (San Francisco, Oakland: to rent, crime, houses)

[berryvermeer]

If you have to choose between the 2 areas above, where would you go and why?

[sav858]

Orinda. Slightly better weather imo, along a BART line for easy access to SF and the rest of the east bay, closer to larger cities with more amenities like Walnut Creek, Oakland, and Berkeley. Traffic along Highway 24 seems better than 101.

[18Montclair]

I agree with sav858.

Mill Valley is really nice and quite posh but Orinda to me is preferable for raising kids and being within easy access of SF, Oakland and WC.

[hsw]

Depends upon office location....presume SF....would choose MillValley over Orinda...(but PaloAlto area offers much higher QOL vs Marin...and arguably easier commute into SF)....

Easy traffic flow from SF to MV...GGB is much smoother-flowing than BayBridge; 101 only backs up N of Tiburon exit; don't have to navigate the crime-infested fwys nr Oakland and the 880 corridor to travel from Orinda-SF....air quality in Marin much better than inland EastBay Valleys....

Both Marin and Orinda are poor locations for frequent business travelers who need easy access to SFO...and both have weak local hospitals/physicians if facing a time-sensitive event like heart attack...

Any major quake makes Marin/EastBay strategically poor locations, given impact upon bridges/tunnels and traffic flows; PaloAlto-SiliconValley corridor will likely receive highest priority for rapid repairs, given much greater economic relevance than rest of SF region....

[clongirl]

I'm not trying to pick a fight but some people like the above poster seem to be cheerleaders for Palo Alto and for some odd reason really have a hostility for anything related to the East Bay or anywhere else in the Bay Area for that matter. Perhaps you are the mayor, hsw? The question had nothing to do with Palo Alto. I think that both Orinda and Marin are gorgeous and hats off to you if you're able to consider either. I'd choose Orinda for the proximity to Walnut Creek for shopping and weather. I'd choose Marin if I didn't have any kids!

Orinda has a BART station (it's about a 20 minute ride). I'm pretty sure that the traffic can be pretty hideous into the City from either bridge. Weather is warmer/sunnier/less foggy in Orinda but if you want to be closer to a beach, then Marin would be a better choice.

I think Marin would be better if you are single or married w/o children (loads of fabulous restaurants). Orinda would be better if you've got children and want really good schools.

[artemis78]

Agreed. Trolls notwithstanding, rush hour traffic on all of the major Bay Area corridors is unpleasant at best and gruesome at worst. Both Mill Valley and Orinda have bottleneck spots (101 in MV--yes, it does backup regularly even south of Tiburon, as anyone who commutes regularly and groans when it's bright red on 511.org knows--and the Caldecott Tunnel for Orinda). Another bore is planned for the Caldecott, but honestly I don't see that helping too much given that widening roads has historically tended to increase overall traffic volume.

If you're commuting to downtown SF or Oakland, BART from Orinda is a very good option. For Walnut Creek, Orinda's great. If you need to get to other areas of SF, Mill Valley may be closer. Obviously if you're headed north of Marin Mill Valley is much better. There are buses to SF from MV, but they still get stuck in the 101 traffic. There's also a ferry, though it's not terribly accessible from MV.

Here's an interesting look at county-to-county commute patterns, courtesy of MTC:
MTC -- Maps and Data -- County-to-County Commute Patterns

While this is based on data that's aging (Census 2000, before the dot-com bust), it's interesting to see the commute patterns and trends over time nonetheless. Oakland/Berkeley are the Alameda County employment centers; San Rafael is the Marin center; Santa Clara and San Mateo counties are where many Silicon Valley jobs are. Very curious to see Census 2010 changes.

Beyond commutes, both MV and Orinda have great schools and are family-oriented communities (Orinda perhaps a bit more so, since MV is also a popular retirement destination, though I don't think Lamorinda is as much). Neither is very diverse. Both have good access to outdoor recreation/wilderness/etc. MV is probably still more expensive. They have different vibes---Orinda grew up as an Oakland (and later, SF) suburb after the Caldecott tunnel went in and wasn't incorporated till the 80s, whereas Mill Valley was established in the 19th century as a lumber town before becoming more of an SF suburb in recent times. Check them out and see which personality fits you more, if commute isn't a factor to consider.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by hsw

Depends upon office location....presume SF....would choose MillValley over Orinda...(but PaloAlto area offers much higher QOL vs Marin...and arguably easier commute into SF)....

Easy traffic flow from SF to MV...GGB is much smoother-flowing than BayBridge; 101 only backs up N of Tiburon exit; don't have to navigate the crime-infested fwys nr Oakland and the 880 corridor to travel from Orinda-SF....air quality in Marin much better than inland EastBay Valleys....

Both Marin and Orinda are poor locations for frequent business travelers who need easy access to SFO...and both have weak local hospitals/physicians if facing a time-sensitive event like heart attack...

Any major quake makes Marin/EastBay strategically poor locations, given impact upon bridges/tunnels and traffic flows; PaloAlto-SiliconValley corridor will likely receive highest priority for rapid repairs, given much greater economic relevance than rest of SF region....

This is hillarious.

Orinda has a BART station that puts it closer to San Francisco and SFO much more conveniently than Mill Valley or Palo Alto.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by hsw

don't have to navigate the crime-infested fwys nr Oakland and the 880 corridor to travel from Orinda-SF

crime infested freeways?!? I didn't realize there were muggings, crack dealers, and what not occurring on the freeways around Oakland. Seriously though, how the hell is a freeway "crime infested"?

Any major quake makes Marin/EastBay strategically poor locations, given impact upon bridges/tunnels and traffic flows

Oh yeah and having the San Andreas fault the backside of your county is much safer earthquake wise. You do realize your beloved 280 freeway that you talk so much about runs pretty much right on top and parallel to one of the most dangerous faults in the nation right?


btw, the OP wanted to know which two locations one would prefer and not what they think is better than either two.

[artemis78]

Of course there *was* that freeway shooting somewhere last spring....oh, but wait, that was on 280 in San Francisco! D'oh!

(Okay, in all seriousness there were tragic shootings on both I-80 in Pinole and I-280 in San Francisco last year, but they're the exception, not the norm. The 280 shooting was determined to be road rage, while I think the 80 shooting was found to be a targeted non-random incident.)

[kristin1]

Bumping for more suggestions...

OP, where did you decide to live?

We are likely moving to SF from the East Coast in January. Will be looking to rent for the first two years to make sure the job is stable, but would like to purchase a home after that.

Marin County is appealing just because it seems that you'd have more breathing room there. My husband would work near the wharf, so I think that is a reasonable commute. However, I've read alot of nice things about Orinda/Lafayette area as well, and it seems a little more reasonable. I like that my husband would have the option of using the train system from there.

We have 2 small kids and one on the way, so we'd really like a family friendly area. A decent size yard would be nice. I would like a reasonable amount of space between houses - some I've seen online look like they are almost touching!

Also, anyone know what the cut-off dates for kindergarten entrance are?