San Ramon, Brentwood, ...... (San Diego, Oakland, Stockton: 2011, foreclosures, crime)

[maui08]

Aloha

I am seeking info about this area. We are in Hawaii and have never been to No. Cal before. We have a potential job offer in this area and we are wondering what it is like. We have lived in San Diego for years so anyone who can compare the two would greatly help us. Basically are the schools good (blue ribbon?), community safe (we know pockets of the bay area are sketchy), etc. Aloha!

[Lulu101]

I think you're very confused--Brentwood is a neighborhood in LA, where OJ Simpson lived.

Originally Posted by maui08

Aloha

I am seeking info about this area. We are in Hawaii and have never been to No. Cal before. We have a potential job offer in this area and we are wondering what it is like. We have lived in San Diego for years so anyone who can compare the two would greatly help us. Basically are the schools good (blue ribbon?), community safe (we know pockets of the bay area are sketchy), etc. Aloha!

[City Boy]

Ignore the troll from Arkansas who knows nothing about the Bay Area, there is a Brentwood up here that is out by Antioch. It's a little far from everything and has alot of Meth problems. San Ramon would be my choice, it's very nice but very expensive but you're from Hawaii price is probably on par with that of Hawaii.

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by Lulu101

I think you're very confused--Brentwood is a neighborhood in LA, where OJ Simpson lived.

Um, no. Brentwood is a town in the Bay Area.
Why why dear gods why do you continue to post in the California threads.
Do you enjoy misleading people?
Seriously is there nothing to post about in the Hope, AR section?

[tennis368fan]

Well, this is a very large area that consists of Contra Costa county, with many natural barriers that could make it more practical to live in neighboring counties. If your work was in Antioch, we would suggest different cities to live in than if your work was in San Ramon and the Tri-Valley area. Tell us the city where the potential employment is and we can help narrow it down.

[maui08]

The position is in Livermore. Some of the folks who live there suggested we should look to live in San Ramon, Brentwood or Discovery Bay....? Do these areas have crime, gangs, drugs, etc problems?

Aloha!!

[tennis368fan]

Originally Posted by maui08

The position is in Livermore. Some of the folks who live there suggested we should look to live in San Ramon, Brentwood or Discovery Bay....? Do these areas have crime, gangs, drugs, etc problems?

Aloha!!

Being that the workplace will be in the Tri-Valley area of Alameda County, look in Alameda County, Contra Cosa County, and San Joaquin County.

San Ramon is a very safe, family-oriented city. There is a lot of new construction out there, but it is still pricey despite the drop in housing prices.

If you have the money, I would not suggest Brentwood or Discovery Bay when working in Livermore. I have not heard very good things on Vasco Road during rush hour, from posters or the traffic reports on the morning news. Brentwood schools and Discovery Bay schools are a mixed bag, with good and bad schools. Even the good schools have a somewhat volatile API Index fluctuation history. Pioneer Elementary in Brentwood was well above the proficiency mark of API 800 out of 1000 during the reporting year 2006-2007, but is now below proficient for the most recent reporting year of 2007-2008. Heritage High School looks like the only decent high school for that area. I don't know which schools are "Blue Ribbon" schools. Bay Area residents usually go by state rankings and the API Index.

If you are thinking about getting a larger home at a lower price, I would consider Mountain House first for price, then Castro Valley for price and a reverse commute. Castro Valley has good schools from elementary to high school with housing that is less expensive than San Ramon, while Mountain House has housing that is "dirt-cheap" by Bay Area standards, but has great elementary and middle schools that are ranked the highest in San Joaquin County. High school is still an open question as students are bused to Tracy Unified and a new high school is to open later this year, so state rankings will not come out until late next year in 2010 and early 2011.

A commute to Mountain House does involve crossing the Altamont Pass, which is known for traffic during rush hour. However, the addition of metering lights, HOV lanes, and commuter bus lines are helping to ease traffic. The exodus of households back to the Bay Area resulting from the recent waves of foreclosures in Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop, and Manteca probably help to lower traffic levels as well.

If the job offering is at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory or Sandia Labs, you can use Altamont Pass Road to circumvent highway traffic.

Dublin, Pleasanton, Danville, Sunol, and even Fremont are possible choices. Dublin and Pleasanton are right next to Livermore, while commuting from Sunol and Fremont to Livermore would be a reverse commute as well since most commuters commute south from Livermore to the Silicon Valley in the morning and north in the evening. All have good schools, except for the Kennedy High School attendance area in Fremont and its feeder schools.

Why not live right in Livermore? Southern Livermore has wonderful schools and a great family environment. Springtown in Livermore is good, but its schools do not rank as high as those in southern Livermore, but in general, schools in Livermore are fairly good by Bay Area standards, except for two elementary schools and a middle school near the Downtown Livermore area (Marylin Avenue Elementary, Don Gaspar De Portola Elementary, Junction Avenue Middle).

I know for a fact that all of the cities mentioned above are safe, but I would still NEVER leave exterior doors unlocked for cars or homes. Brentwood might have some spillover crime from Antioch, resulting in a high property crime rate, though. I used Bestplaces.net to make this assessment, and also personal experience, to gauge what I consider as "safe". Compare your current location to what Bestplaces.net lists for crime data and use that as a gauge for how much statiscal crime you would be okay with. Many of the cities that Bestplaces.net determines as "above-average" crime are actually fairly safe.

City-data.com also has crime stats via the links on the home page.

School reports by the state:

API (out of 1000, 800 is the proficiency threshold, but high schools in the mid-high 700's are okay as they can usually still rank within in the top 40 percent of all public high schools):

http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/AcntR...7,CONTRA,COSTA
http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/AcntR...ect=01,ALAMEDA
http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/AcntR...39,SAN,JOAQUIN

State rankings (Out of 10. The most important score is the one listed under the "Statewide Rank" column):

http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/AcntR...7,CONTRA_COSTA
http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/AcntR...ect=01,ALAMEDA
http://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/AcntR...39,SAN,JOAQUIN

A Visual of School Performance in Map Format:

http://www.schoolperformancemaps.com/

[maui08]

Originally Posted by tennis368fan

Being that the workplace will be in the Tri-Valley area of Alameda County, look in Alameda County, Contra Cosa County, and San Joaquin County.

San Ramon is a very safe, family-oriented city. There is a lot of new construction out there, but it is still pricey despite the drop in housing prices.

If you have the money, I would not suggest Brentwood or Discovery Bay when working in Livermore. I have not heard very good things on Vasco Road during rush hour, from posters or the traffic reports on the morning news. Brentwood schools and Discovery Bay schools are a mixed bag, with good and bad schools. Even the good schools have a somewhat volatile API Index fluctuation history. Pioneer Elementary in Brentwood was well above the proficiency mark of API 800 out of 1000 during the reporting year 2006-2007, but is now below proficient for the most recent reporting year of 2007-2008. Heritage High School looks like the only decent high school for that area. I don't know which schools are "Blue Ribbon" schools. Bay Area residents usually go by state rankings and the API Index.

If you are thinking about getting a larger home at a lower price, I would consider Mountain House first for price, then Castro Valley for price and a reverse commute. Castro Valley has good schools from elementary to high school with housing that is less expensive than San Ramon, while Mountain House has housing that is "dirt-cheap" by Bay Area standards, but has great elementary and middle schools that are ranked the highest in San Joaquin County. High school is still an open question as students are bused to Tracy Unified and a new high school is to open later this year, so state rankings will not come out until late next year in 2010 and early 2011.

A commute to Mountain House does involve crossing the Altamont Pass, which is known for traffic during rush hour. However, the addition of metering lights, HOV lanes, and commuter bus lines are helping to ease traffic. The exodus of households back to the Bay Area resulting from the recent waves of foreclosures in Tracy, Stockton, Lathrop, and Manteca probably help to lower traffic levels as well.

If the job offering is at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory or Sandia Labs, you can use Altamont Pass Road to circumvent highway traffic.

Dublin, Pleasanton, Danville, Sunol, and even Fremont are possible choices. Dublin and Pleasanton are right next to Livermore, while commuting from Sunol and Fremont to Livermore would be a reverse commute as well since most commuters commute south from Livermore to the Silicon Valley in the morning and north in the evening. All have good schools, except for the Kennedy High School attendance area in Fremont and its feeder schools.

Why not live right in Livermore? Southern Livermore has wonderful schools and a great family environment. Springtown in Livermore is good, but its schools do not rank as high as those in southern Livermore, but in general, schools in Livermore are fairly good by Bay Area standards, except for two elementary schools and a middle school near the Downtown Livermore area (Marylin Avenue Elementary, Don Gaspar De Portola Elementary, Junction Avenue Middle).

I know for a fact that all of the cities mentioned above are safe, but I would still NEVER leave exterior doors unlocked for cars or homes. Brentwood might have some spillover crime from Antioch, resulting in a high property crime rate, though. I used Bestplaces.net to make this assessment, and also personal experience, to gauge what I consider as "safe". Compare your current location to what Bestplaces.net lists for crime data and use that as a gauge for how much statiscal crime you would be okay with. Many of the cities that Bestplaces.net determines as "above-average" crime are actually fairly safe.

City-data.com also has crime stats via the links on the home page.

School reports by the state:

API (out of 1000, 800 is the proficiency threshold, but high schools in the mid-high 700's are okay as they can usually still rank within in the top 40 percent of all public high schools):

County List of Schools
County List of Schools
County List of Schools

State rankings (Out of 10. The most important score is the one listed under the "Statewide Rank" column):

2007 Base API County List of Schools - CONTRA_COSTA County
2007 Base API County List of Schools - ALAMEDA County
2007 Base API County List of Schools - SAN JOAQUIN County

A Visual of School Performance in Map Format:

School Performance Maps

Aloha!! Thank you sooo much for all of that info. You really went above and beyond and we really appreciate that. Curiously....we hear that Oakland and surrounding areas is pretty crime ridden with much gang activity...is this accurate and how far away is Livermore, San Ramon from this area? Much mahalos!!

[Lulu101]

That is very true. Do a search on my posts here.

Originally Posted by maui08

Curiously....we hear that Oakland and surrounding areas is pretty crime ridden with much gang activity...!!

[baybook]

Not accurate at all. There are trolls on this board that would like you to believe that. Believe it or not, the desirable parts of Oakland and Berkeley are the most desirable of the entire east bay. That's why they have held their value and continue to sell at high $$.

Livermore is way out of the way if you want to have the convienance to all freeways, SF, airports, etc that those areas bring.

Originally Posted by maui08

Aloha!! Thank you sooo much for all of that info. You really went above and beyond and we really appreciate that. Curiously....we hear that Oakland and surrounding areas is pretty crime ridden with much gang activity...is this accurate and how far away is Livermore, San Ramon from this area? Much mahalos!!