Lamorinda/Walnut Creek? (Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland: real estate, 2009, foreclosure)

[anniekey]

Hi, all -

My husband and I are relocating to the Bay Area with our children (3 and 6), where he'll be working in downtown SF. I think we've narrowed down the housing search to the Lamorinda/Walnut Creek area, but (a) I'm not sure if I'm right about that (am I missing something?), and (b) I don't know the differences among the various communities. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Here are some of the things that are important to us:

--Reasonable commute!... We'd really, really like to keep the commute to 45 minutes or less, door to door. It's for this reason that I think towns like Danville would not work for us. And the farther we live from a BART station, the greater a problem, I think.

--Public schools... We're big believers in giving our children the best education possible, and the high cost of housing necessitates living in a great public school district.

--Weather... It's my understanding that the East Bay is sunnier and warmer than SF or the north bay. Is this right? We're coming from Chicago, but I grew up in Houston, and I just don't think I can take any more long months of gray skies and cold days... If I have a choice, that is. Not to mention the fact that I look like a Chia-Pet in high humidity. (Oh, yes. I scare babies.)

--Distance from an airport... Both my husband and I would travel fairly regularly for our jobs, up (him) and down (me) the Pacific Coast.

--Local downtowns/restaurants/shopping/parks/things to do...

--A yard... We've been lucky to spend the last 8 years on 3/4 of an acre; my husband's a landscaper; and we play all the time in the yard with our kids. A house with a small deck and a steep drop-off behind it is probably not going to work for us (esp. with little kids), no matter how lovely the house.

As for price, realistically we won't be able to spend much more than $1M on a house. I just about have a heart attack every time I look at Bay Area homes on the internet. Who pays these prices? How is everyone not in foreclosure?? Who are these people??? How anyone but CEOs and the independently wealthy can pay 7 figures for a house and not worry about it or feel squeezed/desperate is truly beyond me. But I am realistic, so even if I do think this country has gotten itself into a jam with folks overextending themselves, I know what I'm stuck with. What kind of asking price can I look at if we need to close under $1.1M?

Mostly, I'd love to know the differences between these 4 areas - Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, and Walnut Creek. I truly appreciate any help. Thank you so much!

Annie

[TwinMom06]

Hi Annie

I posted a question about Lamorinda a little while back as we are also moving up to the Bay Area. The title is "Advice on Lamorinda vs. Danville/Alamo" and some of the postings might help you.

I agree that the cost of housing is high in the area, but compared to where we lived in Los Angeles, you can definitely get more for your money in the Bay Area. At the price that we are selling our 2 BR condo in Los Angeles, we will be able to purchase a nice 4BR single family home in Lamorinda or Alamo.

Most of the homes listed for under $1M in Lamorinda appear to be very modest (<2000 sq ft and 3 BR) but the schools are very good, so you don't need to worry about private school tuition. The Acalanes school district was the top school district in the state this year. However, check with the school district when you want to buy your home. Parts of Lafayette are not in the Lafayette school district and your kids will be assigned to Mt Diablo Unified or Maritinez schools which are a big step down from the Lamorinda area schools. Some realtors have not correctly listed the school district in their listings. The telltale sign is a home listing for a relatively new 4 BR house on a big lot listed under $1M. Price is too good to be true, because you will need to send your kids to private school... Also, parts of Walnut Creek are not in the Walnut Creek school district; they are in Mt. Diablo and San Ramon School District. Although there are some good schools in Mt. Diablo school district (such as Sequoia and some in the Northgate subdivision), you need to check out each one as there is great variance between neighborhoods. San Ramon Valley has great schools also (ranked 7th in the state).

The closest airport is Oakland, and it is relatively easy to travel through that airport.


Good luck.

[anniekey]

Thanks for pointing me to your earlier post. How funny was the reply about the caked-on foundation ladies? Actually, that post had a lot of good information in it.

I don't envy you leaving Marina del Rey, but that's great to be buying in CA having sold in CA. (Selling in Chicago doesn't reap enough benefit when it comes to offsetting a CA purchase price.) We're looking at homes listing between $1M and $1.2M, and it's breathtaking how little that gets you. We're hoping to rent for a few months while we look for the right place to buy. But enough about that.

Did you decide where you're going to live? Do you have any sense yet of what kind of commute your husband is going to have?

Also, one other question comes to mind when reading the postings in your thread. It seems you have elementary-school-aged kids and both of you work. Same for us - although my work is flexible and I'm usually done by early/mid- afternoon. Do you have any sense of the child care market in the East Bay? Will you have a nanny? If so, wondering about market pay, ethnicities (we have always had Spanish-speaking nannies who have spoken only Spanish to the kids), difficulty of finding help, etc....

Thanks!!!

[TwinMom06]

Originally Posted by anniekey

Did you decide where you're going to live? Do you have any sense yet of what kind of commute your husband is going to have?

Also, one other question comes to mind when reading the postings in your thread. It seems you have elementary-school-aged kids and both of you work. Same for us - although my work is flexible and I'm usually done by early/mid- afternoon. Do you have any sense of the child care market in the East Bay? Will you have a nanny? If so, wondering about market pay, ethnicities (we have always had Spanish-speaking nannies who have spoken only Spanish to the kids), difficulty of finding help, etc....

Thanks!!!

We are looking at places in Orinda, Lafayette and Walnut Creek that are close to the BART stations. It is hard to find the kind of house we want in those locations. There will be one that is the right size, but then there is no yard or you own an acre on a hillside, or even worse, there is a swimming pool in the yard (my nightmare!) or one that has a nice yard, but is a small or outdated house. I really don't want to go through the trouble of remodeling with 2 little kids running around.

I have toddlers, so they will be starting preschool next fall. We will be hiring a nanny, and the going rate starts at $15/hr for 1 child and $18/hr for 2 kids, take-home pay. Nannies with more experience tend to ask for more. I am trying to look for a nanny under $25/hr. We are trying to look for a Chinese speaking nanny, since I am teaching my kids to speak Chinese. We also looked into au pair programs, but wanted a more experienced childcare provider. Once the kids start preschool, I will probably change the nanny schedule to 3pm-9pm and have her pick the kids up from school. Craiglist appears to be a good source of nannies, but you need to check references and run a background check if you hire one.

[TwinMom06]

Originally Posted by anniekey

Also, one other question comes to mind when reading the postings in your thread. It seems you have elementary-school-aged kids and both of you work. Same for us - although my work is flexible and I'm usually done by early/mid- afternoon. Do you have any sense of the child care market in the East Bay? Will you have a nanny? If so, wondering about market pay, ethnicities (we have always had Spanish-speaking nannies who have spoken only Spanish to the kids), difficulty of finding help, etc....

Thanks!!!

Annie,
I joined a mom's club in the area called Lamorinda Moms Club. The parents have been very helpful with advice on neighborhoods, schools, and childcare. You may want to check it out.

[Ready555]

Hi!

I noticed that the last posting was in October 2007. What did you decide?
I'm in a similar situation, but I'm throwing Piedmont in the mix (see my posting on Moving from Chicago - Piedmont, Lafayette or neither). Seems our situations are very similar...

Thanks

[marisita]

Hi Annie,
Just found this post, and it was from last Summer...not sure if you've already moved here, or if you are now renting here, or if you ended up buying here. Many things could have happened! Anyhow, I am happy to give you the lowdown on some of the items listed as questions in your post. As local Realtors (my husband and I work together) here in Walnut Creek, and as a local himself (my husband, Ed grew up in Lafayette) we know a lot about the area, schools, etc. We have 2 kids as well, and have looked into the schools here extensively. Ed grew up in Lafayette school district which is outrageously great. We live in Walnut Creek now where our local schools are also excellent. I know quite a few friends who have Spanish speaking nannies- in fact, our daughter goes to a Spanish-speaking only pre-school at the moment. I'd love to email with you to give you any good info you would like and to also discuss with you what areas are really great around here. We would also love to talk to your husband, possibly- we need a heck of a lot of landscaping work done to our home, which is, for all intensive purposes: a blank slate!!! Anyhow, email me if you have time, and I would love to chat with you: marisacox@sbcglobal.net . ~Marisa Cox

[AcousticGarden]

As a resident of Pleasanton I'd like to throw my city out there as another viable alternative to Walnut Creek. I've got nothing against Walnut Creek mind you. My best friends live there.

I believe Pleasanton fulfills all of the same things [the original poster listed] that Walnut Creek does. It has an equal or better commute to San Francisco. It's got BART in town. It's a little less cosmopolitan, and a little more family friendly atmosphere. I would tend to think there's more housing, and therefore more variety to choose from.







Drive-through Dairy:

[18Montclair]

Orinda is your best bet imo.
Why?
Its warm but not too hot. Its quiet, woodsy, extremely safe, first BART stop in Contra Costa County so the commute will be a breeze. People there are very involved in the schools, which are in the highest tier of public schools in the state.

I just looked at realtor.com and found many homes in desirable areas that are in the 750K-999K range and I would consider that a must buy cause it normally wouldnt be the case but due to the national slowdown in real estate activity, places normally out of reach like Orinda, suddenly have openings. I think its worth it.

[AcousticGarden]

Orinda's a pretty area.