Vallejo vs Vacaville vs Benicia vs others? (Fairfield: renting, low crime)

[PeixeGato]

My concern with Vallejo would be the schools. yes, there are some amazingly beautiful old Victorians and some nice neighborhoods, but if you have young kids, the quality of the schools is a big issue.

[prairie guy]

enigmadms..."Solano" is not a town, but just the name of the county. "Travis AFB" is actually just a military installation....I think it officially resides just oustide the city limits of Fairfield, ie the base is adjacent to the city limits. It's confusing around there, I hope what follows will help....The housing areas nearest the base might be in the city limits of Fairfield; or might be in the "unincorporated" area of Solano County, or might lie within the city limits of Vacaville, it all kind of converges there, nowadays there is little open space that separates one political entity from another. Likewise for school systems: within 1-3 miles of the base, housing may lie in the Fairfield-Suisun school district, the Vacaville school district, or the Travis Unified School District. The last is considered the best and encompasses the base housing proper as well as areas outside the gates. As your son is only 7 months old, you won't have to worry about it yet. If you are still in the area come school age, then you will likely want to be certain you settle in the Travis school district (use an updated and detailed school boundary map!!) I may have been a little too harsh on Vallejo--it is closest to SF, etc., and has made great strides, and the "ghetto" areas are still only a portion of the town. But I still believe it is too far to commute to Travis each day, as I-80 is ALWAYS bottlenecked at the I-80 and I-680 interchange. Also, you have to fight traffic from I-80 for several miles up Air Base Parkway, or if you take Hwy 12, battle through Suisun City area stoplights. For that reason too, I think Benicia is too inconvenient a commute. It is however, a very attractive town, and no, not at all a "one supermarket" burg. Decent to good neighborhoods can be found in Fairfield and Vacaville, though as I've hinted, I think Vacaville is pretty much just a blah suburb, nothing too bad but nothing too commendable about it. And it really is much hotter than Fairfield! If you don't have time to really investigate housing options, then I do recommend just settling in at the base for the time being, if that is an option. Also, you don't give your budget...housing in Solano County is now "cheap" but inexpensive in California may be a fortune compared to where you've been living. All the best.

[enigmadsm]

prairie guy...what type of daily commute would i be looking at it benicia??? Back home in Phoenix, AZ. Traffic is a nightmare and i'm somewhat used to it. on mapquest it says its only a 24 more drive...if that takes say 35 minutes. i suppose that is managable...but if it takes an hour or 50 minutes i doubt i can deal with that...solely because that is cutting out of family time in the evening. the morning is no biggie as i can just get up a little earlier. Also what are the peak traffic hours?

It just seems like what i've been gathering is that vacaville has good ratings but its just a blah boring to look at kinda place, that is just more inland and warmer temperature. where as fairfield might as well be just slightly better than vallejo only because of the commute. it just doesn't seem like i have many options on neighboring areas that are reasonable.

my budget is somewhere between 1000-1300 for at least a 2br if possible. doesn't need to be a house, can be an apartment or condo, just in a nice area. I've seen a lot of things on craigslist under rentals that seem feasible i just have no clue where they are in the cities.

I appreciate very much all your help. What i may end up doing is just staying at the base lodging for a week or 2 and do some shopping around and making the drive from various locations during rush hour to see what i have to deal with. not sure what else i can do.
only problem with that is i will more than likely have my belongings in a uhaul, which causes an issue if i can't unload it anywhere

[drarcher]

You made me register. I was looking for something else but came across this and decided to chime in. I live in Benicia and am from Phoenix. Stay away from Vallejo and Fairfield. Vacaville and benicia are the nicest areas. Benicia is more chic, my wife says it is more like downtown Scottsdale. Where Vacaville is more like Anthem (the big attraction is the outlet malls there). While Benicia seems farther away it is actually a shorter drive as it is a reverse commute. When I drive towards Fairfield (TAFB) in the morning I can do 80 all the way there. Traffic going the other way is like coming down I-17 in the morning. Benicia is also 15 minutes to the Bart or Ferry for access into the city. The oter big thing to consider is Vacaville is more a part of the Sacramento area while Benicia is part of the Bay area. I hope that helps.

[prairie guy]

darcher has some good advice....yes, Benicia is certainly nicer and much more convenient to get to the city. Don't know rents there, assuming you'll be able to get something in your budget. And perhaps the commute is more doable than I think as yes, Benicia is a "reverse commute." Trouble is Travis AFB is 2-3 miles off of I-80, so you not only have to get to the east end of Fairfield, but then head south on Air Base Parkway. Perhaps I-80- to Hwy 12 and to the "back gate" of the base is faster, but there are a number of traffic lights on Hwy 12 before you get there. I'm just a believer that one's quality of life is dependant on a short commute! Maybe you can get there in 35 minutes from Benicia, but I'd rather drive further for jollies on the weekends than drive further each weekday. Your budget should be able to get you something good to rent in Fairfield, and perhaps even renting a house. Check out dailyrepublic.com as well, the local paper. Agree with darcher that Vacaville has a Sacramento-orientation, while Fairfield considers itself part of the San Francisco Bay area, and the communities reflect those biases, for whatever you think is better. (As you might guess, I think the latter.) The Travis base services might have suggestions as to where to store the U Haul while looking....or perhaps someone else on the boards? I definitely agree you should scout things out at least a couple of weeks before making a choice, since that option seems available to you. I'm a former resident of Fairfield so I may not be up on all things, but I visit every year. Good luck!

[drarcher]

If you don't have kids you might want to look at Cordelia, Green Valley, or HiddenBrooke. Cordelia and Green Valley are part of Fairfield but physically removed from the city. HiddenBrooke is part of Vallejo, but also removed from the city.

Cordelia Map Map of Cordelia, CA by MapQuest

[enigmadsm]

Drarcher, you said that you commute to TAFB? what is your drivetime like? Also, your post was extremely helpful. it was nice being able to see a comparison with towns/areas that I'm used to. When I was back in AZ I lived off of 64th st. and Greenway Parkway, so not too far from old town. And ventured up to or at least past anthem quite a bit.

Prairie guy, you have also been more than helpful. I will take both of your's advice and hopefully i can give you all a nice update in about 6 weeks...one more thing, have you commuted on the 680 at all? it looks like on the map that it also heads north and merges with the 80 at cordelia. Also Cordelia Rd.? It appears to parallel the 80 all the way to the 12. With that be a decent alternate in case of extreme delays or anything?

[iSlowpoke]

Isn't Vallejo bankrupt right now? Even if you find a "nice" area, city services will be crap. That's something to consider. Also, check the other cities/counties your planning to move to. I know every city is hurting now due to the economy, but some are much worst off than others.

[prairie guy]

OP, it will be great if you update in a few weeks, we're all anxious to know what will happen. I never did the 680 commute, only on 80. I do know that interchange seems to get worse every year, but I could just be an old fogey who remembers the olden days. Yes, Cordelia Road is a two lane highway that parallels 80 and is an alternate. Locals use it, problem is there are lots of locals! Don't know its commute hour status, I doubt you breeze along at 50 mph. Cordelia/Green Valley area would be a nice compromise, close to work yet within shouting distance of the bay area, unlike Vacaville. Not too many Apartments in Cordelia area, it's mostly houses, but likely you can find something rentable there. Good luck!

[drarcher]

I was rereading my post and I should mention when I say it is like Scottsdale, I mean during the day. You will have to go into San Fran or Sac to find night life like Scottsdale.

I have never commuted into TAFB, but I have commuted into Fairfield. It took me 20-25 minutes to get to downtown Fairfield from Benicia.

The 12 use to be a nice alternate route until they did construction on the 680/80 interchange and everyone learned about it. Now it can be just as bad as I80. The slightest sign of trouble on I80 and ton's of people make their way to the 12.

I think if you do go to Vacaville there is a back way into TAFB, but I know it can get super busy. There are plans to widen the road but they are years away. It is a 4 or 6 lane road in Vacaville and again in Fairfield, but there is a 4 or 5 mile stretch that goes through the county, which is only two lanes, and it botlenexks that route.