San Ramon or Pleasanton - Which is Better? (Highland, Danville: to rent, how much)

[benknight]

We just moved to the East Bay area from the east coast and are looking to rent for 6-12 months while we hunt for a house to buy. We have two elementary/kindergarten school age kids. We have narrowed down our choices to San Ramon and Pleasanton but are struggling on which place to live in. The main (and maybe only) difference we noticed is that San Ramon has a newer feel to it. The schools in both location seem to be equally good, the parks/activities are great, etc. We realize that Pleasanton has a nice downtown + stoneridge mall while San Ramon has nice strip malls (again the new versus old feel). Apart from these, can people living here provide us the pros & cons of living in these two cities?

Thanks a ton!

[gigiofca]

I grew up in Danville and have seen the dynamic growth of these communities in the past 25 years. I have always seen SR as a sort of transient city. The initial population boom was due to Chevron, Toyota and a couple of other huge corporations setting up shop. These days San Ramon still has families that are new to the area and others that just don't stay long. Again -- you have workers from these large organizations who are transferred to other states. Toyota's finance division moved to Arizona in 2001, creating another shift in the population. San Ramon never exactly had a soul, imo, and these days you have a lot of people that live in the area to carry out a particular lifestyle. They tend to clump up, if you will, and hoity toit about what property they have, are thinking about buying, the great rissotto that 'Chuck made last week at the party did you go?' and the right wines to drink. It *appears* to be a diverse area with whites and Asians, incl Indians, but there aren't many Hispanics or African Americans. My family still lives in the area and I attended sporting events this year for both of my nephews. The parents saw me every other week and only one or two would make eye contact, much less say hello. My sister had the same issue even as the parent.

In contrast, Pleasanton has maintained a small town America feel, particularly on the Main Street in downtown. Stoneridge Mall is great -- both easily accessible from either cities. And that's your new element of Pleasanton. There are new developments throughout in addition to the established homes. For your historical element you have Main Street. You can feel the soul of the city. I did community theatre in Pleasanton and was thrilled with my experiences there. I was just there last Fri for work and people actually speak when you pass them on the street. I saw a group of women sitting outside at Peet's coffee and their kids were playing. I talked to a few of them as they were 5, 6 -- those fun/open/curious ages. The kids were friendly and approachable. These are signs that they feel safe in the area and are being raised to be aware of other people aaand be able to carry on a conversation. Not the case with any of the kids I've tried to talk to in San Ramon at my nephews' school or games.

I guess if you are concerned about appearances and status, SR is a great fit and you'll have fun. If you're for the opportunity to be a part of a true community -- Pleasanton is the ticket.

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by benknight

We just moved to the East Bay area from the east coast and are looking to rent for 6-12 months while we hunt for a house to buy. We have two elementary/kindergarten school age kids. We have narrowed down our choices to San Ramon and Pleasanton but are struggling on which place to live in. The main (and maybe only) difference we noticed is that San Ramon has a newer feel to it. The schools in both location seem to be equally good, the parks/activities are great, etc. We realize that Pleasanton has a nice downtown + stoneridge mall while San Ramon has nice strip malls (again the new versus old feel). Apart from these, can people living here provide us the pros & cons of living in these two cities?

Thanks a ton!

My best friend lives in Blackhawk behind the gates and I still hate Danville/San Ramon. I used to like it untill a few things happened.

1. I found an ant in my child's hamburger (wrapped up in the paper surrounding the burger) at the Burger King on El Camino Ramon. We opened it and SURPRISE a LIVE ant crawling around. All they did was offer me another one. As if we'll eat there again. GROSS.
2. Some dumb **** of an old lady started screaming at me for a good 20 minutes while I loaded groceries into MY Toyota Highlander because the door barely touched her piece of **** 2000 (at best) Subaru fugly wagon. She was off her rocker and it all went down in Danville/San Ramon. I live in P-town and have never had something absurd like that happen to me before. I would choose Pleasanton hands down. The women here in San Ramon have had the bleach from their hair dye leak into their brains and makes them irrational.
The word I use to describe San Ramoni's is Entitled. They all think they are entitled and it sucks for those of us who live in the real world.

[tennis368fan]

At this point, I think you should just focus on where you can find your desired home at the desired price. BART may not pass by San Ramon, but it is not a long drive from it either. If you were to drive from southern Pleasanton up to San Ramon, it would be just about the same, unless you decide on northern San Ramon. Plus, BART is adding on a West Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station at Stoneridge, thus eliminating the need to switch on to the I-580 in order for arrival at the existing BART station.

Of course, I don't know much about the people of the area and their behavior (or if they are at all that much different compared to those of other cities) but I think that requires personal judgment and experience.

[aslowdodge]

I would give the nod to Pleasanton because it does have more of an identity. San ramon is just one housing tract after another. the city realizes that and has been trying to create a "downtown" from scratch for years.
While trying not to stereotype people in San ramon " entitlement" does not sound too far off with some of them. I was working out in a San Ramon gym. 3 guys were using a weight machine for a long while so I waited for them to fnnish. 3 girls came over and started talking with them. Then some of them started making phone calls on their cells. It was like a social gathering.
Finally one of the guys suggest they move one and let me use the machine. Another guys says aloud to all of them right in front of me " F*** him, he can wait!" So yes some people feel like they are a lot more important than others and are pretty rude about it.
About a month later that same idiot comes up to me and asks me how much longer I was going to use a machine. I looked straight at him and told him 25 sets more so he probably should find another machine. Since he didn't have his 2 buddies with him he wasn't so brave and walked away. Normally I'll let anyone work in with me, but not this guy.