Vallejo vs Vacaville vs Benicia vs others?

[flypnay704]

I've had a lot of friends stationed @ Travis AFB. I've spent a lot of time on the base as well - and I'd probably say if you're looking for something close and neighborhood-y, you'll probably want to stay in Vacaville, Suisun, Cordelia or the nicer parts of Fairfield. The drive from Vallejo or Benicia despite the 680/780 freeways are sometimes atrocious. It clogs up near the college and slows down so much, you'll wish you lived closer to the base. Vacaville has its' good and bad neighborhoods, but i've had a lot of friends buy property there, and enjoy their nice homes in the 'suburbs'. As for fine dining & things to do...let's face it, it's definitely further out from the Bay Area - so you're not going to have much to do. Vacaville and Fairfield definitely have more to do as the mall is closer. There is no mall in Vallejo & you'll probably have to actually PURCHASE a house in a VERY NEW part of Vallejo to not run into any kind of trouble.

Vacaville and Fairfield have more mainstream places, restaurants and things like that. Vallejo has one decent strip mall off Columbus Parkway that include places like Target, Home Depot, Applebees, Old Navy, Costco & a few other key places. It gets mighty hot in the summer in Vacaville & Fairfield as you don't have any close body of water to give you relief from the hot still air. It can get up to 110 degrees (you've lived in Phoenix...so it's probably normal for you) and stay in the high 80's and night, and the winters can also get very cold. If you live in Vacaville & Fairfield, you don't have to take the freeways into Travis, you can take backroads as there are so many ways to get to Travis.

Benicia is definitely my pick if location doesn't matter. Good schools, low crime, many playgrounds - my neighbors leave their garage open all day with no problems. Good weather, and close enough to SF (about a 40 minute drive with no traffic). I love Benicia, it definitely has a small town feel. They've only got about 2 major grocery stores - Safeway in downtown Benicia, Raley's off Southampton. Not to mention the Starbucks that are near those places as well.

Vacaville and Fairfield are probably your best bets in terms of location & things to do in the vicinity of Travis. Just do your research before you start renting - stay off North Texas Street in Fairfield.