San Ramon? (San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland: low crime, big house, neighborhoods)

[2KidsforMe]

Well, my family and I took a trip out to the East Bay from MA to have a look see. We are considering a relo and have family in Concord and Walnut Creek. Concord is out, and Walnut Creek is nice but really pricey. We looked in Clayton, but it seems a ways out there. How is San Ramon? The schools seem really good, and we liked the town. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

Consider ...Danville, Blackhawk, and Pleasanton. All are safe, clean, family-friendly, and well-educated.

Pleasanton is a futher commute to the city, but it has a bart station. It has one of the highest median incomes in the country(for 60,000 people). It is well-planned, and has good schools. It is possible to commute to either San Jose or San Francisco from Pleasanton.

I would avoid Berkeley, Oakland, Concord, and Richmond.

My friend grew up in Moraga and loved it. Very safe and lots of open space. Check into that, Orinda, and Layfayette.

[2KidsforMe]

Is there a reason we should avoid San Ramon? Would love to know, as we know next to nothing about the area. We can't spend more than 850k or so for a house. That would probably rule out Danville, Layfayette and Black Hawk. My husband will work from home, so commuting isn't much of a concern, at least for now anyway.

[aslowdodge]

San ramon is basically one giant housing tract it seems. If you don't need a big house your budget is fine. But the other towns mentioned Danville, Blackhawk, and Pleasanton virtually border san ramon so it's one big area. It is all very safe and the schools are pretty good.
Pleasanton is an excellent area where the 850K will get you a decent house. I prefer it over san ramon because of the downtown area. san ramon has no downtown, just strip shopping areas here and there. Pleasanton also has a large mall w major stores and resteraunts
BTW my friend is a realtor w 25 years experience who lives in san ramon and knows all the areas well. If you want to pm me I'll get you his info.

[newportbeachsmostwanted]

I am from Southern California and can say that Pleasanton is very highly regarded down here. It has a great sense of community. It could very well be one of the best places to live in California-if not the world!

I am not a realtor nor do I know one, but .... I call a space on your couch if you do infact buy a house in Pleasanton!

[2KidsforMe]

Yes, we really liked Pleasanton. Loved the downtown and the general feel of the town and so many parks my kids would be in heaven. Problem is, our family lives in Concord and WC, so San Ramon is a bit closer to them. If we do make it out there, we'll have to have a big BBQ for everyone that has been so helpfull on the forum!

[chadetroit]

Pleasanton to WC is not that bad of a drive. 25 minutes tops. Everyone drives long distances in the bay area to get where they want unless you live in the city, it is just a way of life. I live in Pleasanton and it is very nice. Pretty much White Suburbia with a cute downtown and close to the wineries in Livermore. Very safe. Only downfall in my mind is it is a little too Yuppie, many rich middle aged wifes shopping the shops with their facials and plastic parts. That is just part of the scene though. Like the post said above we have one of the highest median incomes for a city this size and it sometimes shows. I would definitely vote P-town over San Ramon. I was there this weekend looking around at the new develpements, it is a little overwhelming when you see the Windmere developement over 5000 homes going in that community. Both are nice though and you really can't go wrong with either.

[rosalindr]

Originally Posted by 2KidsforMe

Is there a reason we should avoid San Ramon? Would love to know, as we know next to nothing about the area. We can't spend more than 850k or so for a house. That would probably rule out Danville, Layfayette and Black Hawk. My husband will work from home, so commuting isn't much of a concern, at least for now anyway.

No, there is no reason to avoid San Ramon. The school district here is better than in Pleasanton. The layout of the city is better. Driving is easier here as long as you stay off Crow Canyon Road at rush hour. Those quaint Main Streets in Pleasanton and Danville are a nightmare to drive on. San Ramon has major north-south and east-west spine streets that make driving easy, and the 680 goes from north to south with convenient exits.

We don't have the shopping they have in Pleasanton or Dublin, but you can easily drive down to Stoneridge Mall in Pleasanton or Hascienda Crossings in Dublin, do your shopping, and come back for the nicer ambiance of San Ramon. There are more community activities, parks and sports, and a very family friendly environment in San Ramon. San Ramon was just named one of the 100 best places for kids in the nation.

You can buy a very nice 3-4 bedroom house in several good neighborhoods in San Ramon, walking distance to schools, for $850K.

To find out what's going on, check out my online newspaper, the San Ramon Observer, http://www.sanramonobserver.org. I just updated it last night.

Roz

[aslowdodge]

I'm not sure why the above poster thinks the main streets of Danville or Pleasanton are a nighmare to drive on. I am on there all the time and have no problems. Sure it will be a bit more traffic on a nice warm weekend night, but nothing bad at all. I also wouldn't say San Ramon has a better ambiance than the other towns listed. It's all a matter of opinion. it is true that you can easily drive to shopping from san ramon every bit as easily as pleasanton , dublin, or Danville since everything is pretty much with a 10 mile radius of each other. However if ambiance was so good, why does the talk of building a centralized downtown like the other cities have keep coming up so often.
The other cities have just as many community activities if not more than San Ramon.
As far as getting into Danville for $850K, I was just house hunting the other day and prices are soft. I think $850 will get you into a nice home in danville. The bottom line is despite the little things in favor of one city over the other, if you choose pleasanton or any city north up to walnut creek, I don't think you will go wrong except for a few parts of Dublin. All are family oriented, low crime, good schools, and a nice place to grow up.

[snuggarelli]

I live in Dublin, and we are the cheaper town amongst the 680 corridor. However, we are getting expensive with the development of $1m homes in East Dublin. There is some dispute between East and West Dublin. West Dublin is the older parts of town and not as ritzy looking.

If I had no trouble affording a house around here (we both work with 1 kid, and had to really downsize just to buy a small house), I probably would look at Danville, San Ramon, and Pleasanton. Danville and San Ramon look more forested as far as I've seen, but I admit I haven't been all over those areas yet. Danville has a really, really ritzy mall called Blackhawk Plaza which is adjacent to Blackhawk. People from Blackhawk seem proud of the fact that they are from it, and my guess is that it's very, very expensive.

My DH is from the South though and thinks this area is a bit pretentious. I'm from San Jose, so I don't find it as bad as Sonoma or Napa. On the other hand, my daughter goes to a very highly regarded public school and she hates it. Kids are cruel, discriminate against her because she's not full-blooded asian, and so she has no friends - been two years too. And that's in Dublin, albeit the East side where the million dollar homes are.

I think Pleasanton might be a little more down-to-earth, depending on the areas. The areas off Hopyard are older homes and more affordable. Also, don't be surprised if you get honked at if you don't step on the gas really fast when the lights turn green. I used to joke that "Pleasanton isn't that pleasant" because of this weird hostility on the roads that I noticed when I first moved into the area.

Hope this helps?