Orinda neighborhoods (Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville: renting, home, best schools)

[midwest110]

Hello, I have recently relocated to California from the midwest. Currently we are renting in Walnut Creek. After much deliberation have decided to narrow my search for a home down to orinda as it has the best schools. My question is what are the best, good, OK, and bad neighborhoods in orinda. I suppose even a shack in orinda is worth quite a bit but I do not want to pay through the nose and end up in the wrong neighborhood. Any help from locals /knowledgeable people will be much appreciated .

[clongirl]

There are no bad neighborhoods in Orinda. Your choice in neighborhoods depend on if you want to live up in the hills off of windy roads with a lot of privacy but not really walkable...or in a more flat landscape in more of a suburban/neighborhood type setting where kids might be able to play in the street.

[Archan]

I agree, there are no really bad neighborhoods in Orinda and the home prices reflect that! If you find the pricing a little steep you may also want to look at the Danville/San Ramon area. I think the schools are pretty good down there.

[ridiculust]

There are no bad neighborhoods in Orinda. Also keep in mind that the schools in Moraga and Lafayette are equally as good. This area is nicknamed "Lamorinda" and is full of top-rated schools, all of which are virtually identical to each other as far as test scores, student population, parent involvement, and programs offered (very slight differences exist). So, when looking for a home in Orinda, should you come across a residence in Moraga or Lafayette you also like that might be more in your price range, don't simply turn your back on it because it's not Orinda. School rankings have minor fluctuations every few years, so if Orinda is on top now, Moraga could creep back on top in 5 years. Same with Lafayette. The schools' API scores in that area are all very similar. One thing to also keep in mind is the high school your children go to is really of more importance than the elem. schools (because of the college prep aspect). Acalanes (Lafayette), Campolindo (Moraga), and Miramonte (Orinda) are all fantastic. Campolindo is actually ranked slightly higher than Miramonte, but again, if you do your research you will realize that those slight differences in scores really mean very little. You can't go wrong anywhere in that area.... Orinda is great, but the other two towns are also. Good Luck!