What do you think of Concord? (San Francisco, Oakland: real estate market, foreclosures, rentals)

[CL39]

I am interested in hearing from the members any
info/impression you have of Concord
(possibly relocating there soon), in terms of
cost of living/housing, entertainment, traffic,
restaurants/shops, general atmosphere, etc etc.


Thank you.

[oaktownchris]

Concord is a blue collar suburban town. Primarily residential with some offices concentrated in the downtown, HWY 680 area.

Ethnic wise, primarily anglo with a sizeable hispanic population.

The downtown area near the Bart station is undergoing a lot of new construction - condos and wouldnt be a bad place to live if you had no kids and needed easy Bart access.

There is not much in the way of intersting restaurants or shopping. Walnut Creek is a much more interesting place for that, but more expensive to live in.

The residential neighborhoods are primarily basic ranch style 3 and 4 bedroom houses with neighborhoods ranging from lower middle to middle class. Some of the neighborhoods (west side closer to HWY 680) are looking shabby with underperforming schools, but the eastern and south eastern neighborhoods have pretty good schools and are fine family neighborhoods.

COncord is less affluent than nearby Walnut Creek or Pleasanthill but its a step above Pittsburg or Antioch.

COncord housing costs are far cheaper than most of the East Bay and prices are still falling.

If Concord were a store it would be Sears - a basic no frills but liveable place.

[Luke9686]

I agree with the above. I will add that traffic to S.F, or anywhere in the east bay can be a nightmare during rush hour.

[pflau]

Originally Posted by oaktownchris

COncord is less affluent than nearby Walnut Creek or Pleasanthill but its a step above Pittsburg or Antioch.

How would it be a step above Pittsburg? Would kind of town would it make Pittsburg then?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by pflau

How would it be a step above Pittsburg? Would kind of town would it make Pittsburg then?

I sold my Pittsburg home for a $100k less than I sold my Pleasant Hill home of half the size. I couldn't leave anything outside in Pittsburg... even my garden hose would disappear... I sold in 2003.

[fishstix3]

Pittsburg has also suffered greatly the real estate market decline -- some neighborhoods with numerous foreclosures within 1-2 blocks of one another. It is a city that is characterized by lots of larger homes that are rentals -- investment properties. I'd live in Concord before I'd live in Pittsburg as Pittsburg has more crime and feels less safe. Concord characterized as the Sears of towns is about right. Pittsburg would be a Wal-Mart.

[Nella925]

I wouldnt say concord is like sears...there's a lot of changes going on in concord.
the only parts that people are talking about as being bad is mainly by hwy 242, and monument/detroit blvd.

there's a lot of nice parts of concord, mendocito, crystal ranch, most of the zip 94521, etc
there's a lot of shops, they just arent all in one spot like walnut creek( because concord is way bigger than walnut creek), you have the sunvalley mall, waterworld, chronicle pavillion, and numerous amounts of great parks, and a developing downtown.
I went to school in concord and dont see a big issue with that...if you're concerned just send your kids to de la salle or carondelet (which are private schools in concord)....the only reason people really downplay concord is because of the minor areas with minor crime and the presence of minorities.

[fishstix3]

I'm not downplaying Concord; Concord is a fine town, but really, the schools aren't that great for the most part, they are just o.k., and some not. All of the shopping areas you talk about in COncord are fine, but admittedly -- SunValley Mall is old and dated.It really has not been updated since the plane crashed through its roof in the later 80's. I live 2 miles away, so I am not looking down on Concord. Waterworld is fun, but it looks down into the backlot of Home Depot for heaven's sake. Chronicle Pavilion is lovely, but you aren't going to be out there every day. Concord is fine, but nothing fancy, just as Sears is FINE. No big frills. Some nice little surprises here and there, and yes, then there's Monument. Some cute houses, some very nice houses, some rundown pits. Would I send my kid to the public schools in Concord? No, probably not, but some would and that's a choice we all make. If you do your homework, generally, Concord is a fine place to be.

[Jay Murda]

Originally Posted by CL39

I am interested in hearing from the members any
info/impression you have of Concord
(possibly relocating there soon), in terms of
cost of living/housing, entertainment, traffic,
restaurants/shops, general atmosphere, etc etc.


Thank you.

cost of living is decent in comparison to the rest of the bay area, entertainment there's NOTHIN to do here except bowling, pool, the mall, movies, kids fest in may, stupid parades, concord sucks! lol traffic is bad if ur commutin from oakland or to pittsburg or to oakland in the morning during traffic hour, restaurants not too many good ones, general atmosphere is okay, avoid the detroit/monument area worst place to live

[sonarrat]

Oakland and Walnut Creek are fairly urban. Concord and Martinez are suburban. Pittsburg, Antioch and Brentwood are exurbs, in the same category as Tracy and Los Banos, and the commute to job centers is absolutely atrocious. I know how debilitating it is to drive from San Francisco to Concord on 24 during the evening rush hour, because I've tried it. I've also driven via the Altamont Pass out to Stockton, on 80 to Vallejo, and on 152 out towards Los Banos during the evening crush. It really put the fire in me to compromise a bit and live close to where I work, and I thank myself every day when my 15-minute commute ends where everyone else's hell begins.