Advice on Lamorinda vs. Alamo/Danville (Los Angeles, San Francisco: cul-de-sac, for sale, lease)

[TwinMom06]

We currently live in the Marina del Rey area of Los Angeles and will be moving to the East Bay in a few months. I will be working in Walnut Creek and my husband in downtown San Francisco. Because I will be responsible for dealing with the kids, we want to live near my work. Although I grew up in the City and lived in Berkeley a while back, I don't know much about this part of the East Bay.

Anyone live in Lamorinda or Alamo/Danville able to give us an idea of what family life is like there? We have 2 kids, so we want to find a place where there are families, top schools, and safe places for children to play. We are an inter-racial couple; I am Asian American and my husband is white, so we want to find a place where people won't give us funny looks or call our children "mutts" (believe it or not, this happens in Los Angeles. Other parents don't say it to our face, but kids will sometimes say it on the playground.... and I know exactly where they learn it... at home.) Although we are high-level, high-earning professionals, we lead a modest lifestyle and do not like to play the game of one-upping the neighbors, and would like to stay away from neighborhoods where EXTREME levels of materialism and elitism prevail. This is one of the reasons we are leaving Los Angeles. I already know we do not want to live in Blackhawk.

[18Montclair]

"mutt"?

that's disgusting. Im not being a NoCal booster but I honestly dont think youd hear anything like that over here....honestly, I was beside myself when I read that this happens in the middle of LA.....I guess you can never tell.

Asians account for 20% of the Bay Area, compared to 10% of LA-OC-Inland Empire. We have multi-generational wealth to a far greater degree among asians then LA does, so this means that Asians with money are not an oddity in our wealthiest, whitest areas.

Crime is very low in all of these places.

The High Schools in Lamorinda are among the best in the entire state. Miramonte, Acalanes and Campolindo probably all rank in the top 20 among the state's best publics-and among non-magnet high schools, they probably all rank in the top 10. My little sister(we are polynesian) spent her sophomore year at Miramonte when my parents moved to Orinda. She told me she never was treated differently and she never felt out of place. If anything, they were very interested in finding out about us.

My dad was a gardener/landscaper and spent most of his career in Lamorinda and Alamo/Danville. I used to work with him when I was a teenager during the summers and I know that are inside out.

I eventually bought them a nice house in Orinda, but they felt disconnected from their friends and family-they preferred being in their walkable, mom-n-pop store hood in Oakland. But that's them. So we sold that house and moved them to a huge house in their old neighborhood. Go figure.

Anyway, All these places are rich so there is going to be displays of wealth, but not really flagrant(LOL) as I think is the case of SoCal, yet we do have some areas that qualify as gaudy.

Danville and Alamo are far more overt about displaying wealth. Blackhawk is tacky imo and it seems to be sitting in the middle of nowhere. Danville has a very cute, quaint downtown that is very inviting actually, and the areas west of 680 are older ranchers with lots of trees and some newer mini-mansions, once you get on the other side of 680, however, Danville morphs into Newport Beach, without the water. Lots of vapid, overly made up women, bratty and catty teenagers, absent fathers cause dad spends 80 hrs a week trying to afford his family's over-the-top lifestyle. I dont like it one bit. All those faux mediterrenean palacettes and wannabe tudor manor homes are nice and all, but one gets the impression that beauty there goes only as far as their caked on foundation.

Alamo is not nearly as gauche as Danville. In fact, its actually more reminiscient of Lamorinda then it is of Danville-San Ramon(Im not really a fan). Lots of larger properties and very wooded. It also has the advantage of being directly south of Walnut Creek so your not far from WCs great shopping, eating and culture(which is more then decent)-Alamo's own commercial/civic area is not very impressive, but I think they want it that way.

Lamorinda imo is the west coast equivalent of Westchester County's leafy moniefied hamlets. Within Lafayette, Orinda and Moraga, there are clearly defined little sections that are almost towns unto themselves.

Orinda and Lafayette BOTH have BART stations so your husband will have a very easy time getting into The City and both are an easy commute to WC.

Lafayette has a somewhat busy downtown area with lots of shops, restaurants, banks etc. Just north of Hy 24 is an area known as Happy Valley. I really like this area beacuse its almost country yet very refined but not overly refined. Its kinda pricey but I think its worth it causde the homes sit on large lots. There's another part of Lafayette called Burton Valley, which is near the border with Moraga and St Mary's College. Those homes are ranch style but they are meticulously maintained and the area is very family oriented.

Moraga and Orinda look a lot like Lafayette so I wont go too far into detail about those 2.

Moraga is farther away from BART, and its got to be the quietest college town in the entire state(LOL) because that place is really quiet after dark.

Orinda is hilly, woodsy, intellectual and family-oriented. Its proximity to San Francisco and Oakland-Berkeley yet the fact that its separated by the East Bay Hills has been a huge draw for Executives for decades now.

Anyway,
my 2 cents.

[fizbin]

What he said all around.

I'd definitely look at Lafayette or Orinda: both very nice towns, both with BART stations (which work for getting to SF or Walnut Creek).

[aslowdodge]

I think your kids will be fine. I am surprised at the number of my clients who are part asian and part white so both areas will be fine. Lamorida is a bit pricier than danville, but very nice. I don't know about the Lamorinda school rankings but I know they are good, but Danville is pretty good too. I think you can't go wrong wit either of them.

[casey1996]

Originally Posted by TwinMom06

We currently live in the Marina del Rey area of Los Angeles and will be moving to the East Bay in a few months. I will be working in Walnut Creek and my husband in downtown San Francisco. Because I will be responsible for dealing with the kids, we want to live near my work. Although I grew up in the City and lived in Berkeley a while back, I don't know much about this part of the East Bay.

Anyone live in Lamorinda or Alamo/Danville able to give us an idea of what family life is like there? We have 2 kids, so we want to find a place where there are families, top schools, and safe places for children to play. We are an inter-racial couple; I am Asian American and my husband is white, so we want to find a place where people won't give us funny looks or call our children "mutts" (believe it or not, this happens in Los Angeles. Other parents don't say it to our face, but kids will sometimes say it on the playground.... and I know exactly where they learn it... at home.) Although we are high-level, high-earning professionals, we lead a modest lifestyle and do not like to play the game of one-upping the neighbors, and would like to stay away from neighborhoods where EXTREME levels of materialism and elitism prevail. This is one of the reasons we are leaving Los Angeles. I already know we do not want to live in Blackhawk.

I live on the west side of Danville. There is nothing remotely 'gauche' about Danville, as some have suggested. Blackhawk is a different story; it's a world of it's own, with it's own zip code, so it doesn't have to be lumped together with Danville. This is a darling, family-oriented town, with good schools. By the way, we have an Asian/Caucasian family on our street, so you would be more than welcome!! I have lived here 13 years, and have never felt the need to keep up with the Joneses, and have never encountered any bigotry. If you would like some more insight from someone who actually lives here, let me know.

Good luck!

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by casey1996

I live on the west side of Danville. There is nothing remotely 'gauche' about Danville, as some have suggested. Blackhawk is a different story; it's a world of it's own, with it's own zip code, so it doesn't have to be lumped together with Danville. This is a darling, family-oriented town, with good schools. By the way, we have an Asian/Caucasian family on our street, so you would be more than welcome!! I have lived here 13 years, and have never felt the need to keep up with the Joneses, and have never encountered any bigotry. If you would like some more insight from someone who actually lives here, let me know.

Good luck!

We live in Arizona now, but we raised our family in Danville, and there is nothing gauche about Danville. It is a very quiet family town with a mix of ethic groups. Danville is a great place to raise a family. We lived there for over 30 years and loved every minute of it.

The quaint downtown area has lots of charm and has become somewhat of a tourist attraction for people around the bay area, but traffic is not bad. You can go and have breakfast or lunch and sit outside or inside in some of the restaurants,depending on the weather

The schools are good, and people are friendly. Our Danville home is on a very quiet cul-de-sac on a small hill. Our kids learned to ride their bikes on the wide flat cul-de-sac. Our home and some of the others are on one acre lots that provide lots of privacy and area for kids to play. It's even zoned for horses. We had horses for quite a few years. The neighbors are all great people. We leased the home for the past three years and now it's on the market for sale and listed with a realtor in Danville.

The home has it's own web site with information. If you google 470 Castanya Ct the web site will come up on the first page.

Bill

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

The home has it's own web site with information. If you google 470 Castanya Ct the web site will come up on the first page. Bill

Is 1.3M the going price for homes in Danville?

[clongirl]

I think there should be a ban on these cleverly disguised ads by realtors. I know the housing market isn't doing well, but it's hard to get an unbiased opinion when someone is just trying to sell you a house...

[fizbin]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Is 1.3M the going price for homes in Danville?

That looks to be a mid-high range price. Larger than average lot and house.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by clongirl

I think there should be a ban on these cleverly disguised ads by realtors. I know the housing market isn't doing well, but it's hard to get an unbiased opinion when someone is just trying to sell you a house...

The information was in response to the question asked. I only posted information from my 30+ years experience in the area. The house is my house and yes it is for sale, but I am not the realtor for that house. I live in Arizona and am not licensed in California. I was not trying to sell the house, but rather, trying to give an example of what is there. Since I know Danville, and my house, and my neighborhood well, that was the best example I could give.


Bill