Vallejo vs Vacaville vs Benicia vs others? (Santa Ana, Anaheim: rental, condos)

[enigmadsm]

Well, in 2 months I am headed with my wife and 7 month old son to Travis AFB from Sheppard AFB in Texas
I am orginally from Phoenix, AZ (spent most of my life there) and have also spent a small amount of time in Orange County CA( which i have no doubt is completely different than up north.).

anyways, its tough looking for places to rent online, and get a feel for areas/towns. As well as how gruesome the daily commute may be

I'm guessing that Vacaville is the cheapest of the 3? and Benicia is the Farthest from base, i've also heard some rumors that vallejo is ghetto? never heard that til recently however... Which one has in your opinions the laid back/urban feel? I'm used to being in newer parts of town, My wife and I are 22 years old. So definetly looking for some entertainment and people near our age. Being closer to the bay would be nice, which is why we were thinking benicia or vallejo. But again, not ruling out vacaville. Especially if it is safer/nicer, or just an overall better rental area price wise.


My wife likes cute townhouses/cottages/condos...wood, brick. whatever. We're looking for 2-3 bedrooms and at least a 1 car garage if possible.
It would be awesome if anyone knew what community is shown in the picture at the top of the link i posted...also if it is an on or off base community
http://travisafbhousing.com/index.php

Thanks in advance for your help...oh and if you have any other recommendations for places to look feel free to chime in!!!

[Puddy4LyF]

Vallejo and Fairfield are both definitely ghetto in some parts. I wouldn't live in either unless I were living in a richy area of both and since I am sure I can't afford, I wouldn't even contemplate it. I live in Vacaville and it's great for what I need - most importantly, it's extremely safe and all of my amenities are in one place. It's also pretty cheap. There are alot of cute houses there that I could definitely settle in. I don't have much experience with Benicia or Martinez yet I know you have to travel across a toll bridge to get from Benicia/Martinez to where you're going so that's $4 everyday - something you might want to avoid if you could.

[enigmadsm]

thanks for the help...it seems i hear more good things about vacaville everyday

[prairie guy]

Benicia is definitely the "cutest" but generally the most expensive. Vallejo actually has some gentrification-ish townhomes near the waterfront, but many neighborhoods are iffy. Both are too far to commute to Travis for my taste, however--I-80 traffic is bad, so I would not recommend either. Your choices in my view are Fairfield, Vacaville, and the base itself. The commute from within Fairfield is the closest, but some areas are definitely rough. But the housing bubble hit the area hard, so maybe you can snag a bargain home in one of the nicer parts of town. Vacaville has fewer "bad" neighborhoods, but not much "cute" or even overly "nice" about it either imho. Your best move may be base housing, at least at first until you figure out what you'd like. Actually, Solano County is somewhat like a mini-Orange County, in that much of Solano is run-of-the-mill housing tracts--think of a Fullerton or slightly upscale Anaheim, with stretches of not-quite-as-bad as Santa Ana, and spots of tony Newport Beach....except no beach and occasional rain November through March. Forget about running into SF for jollies very often...you'll tire of the traffic real soon. But you'll find a pleasant enough life there, just dont' expect too much different a life than in southern California.

[krudmonk]

I wouldn't go with Vacaville. It's fringe rural culture and gets really hot.

[Nature Girl]

We have been looking at the different areas as well (moving in the spring), and we are seriously considering Benicia! Great place to raise a family, great schools, low crime, and very pretty! Not sure if the commute would be too hard though. Hubby will be working in Fairfield, but working nights, so it will not be hard for him. You do not have to cross the bridge though??

[PeixeGato]

What is Benicia like in terms of restaurants and independent shops? On the map, it looks a bit isolated and cut off by the highways. Is Benicia a "one grocery store and one gas station town"?

[baybook]

I'm wondering why people dismiss Vallejo as a complete ghetto. Vallejo has some beautiful homes and neighborhoods. There are also some huge $$ reductions there now. I would look in Vallejo and Vacaville. I can't say too much for Fairfield as I have only stopped at the mall. ;-)

[enigmadsm]

Originally Posted by prairie guy

Benicia is definitely the "cutest" but generally the most expensive. Vallejo actually has some gentrification-ish townhomes near the waterfront, but many neighborhoods are iffy. Both are too far to commute to Travis for my taste, however--I-80 traffic is bad, so I would not recommend either. Your choices in my view are Fairfield, Vacaville, and the base itself. The commute from within Fairfield is the closest, but some areas are definitely rough. But the housing bubble hit the area hard, so maybe you can snag a bargain home in one of the nicer parts of town. Vacaville has fewer "bad" neighborhoods, but not much "cute" or even overly "nice" about it either imho. Your best move may be base housing, at least at first until you figure out what you'd like. Actually, Solano County is somewhat like a mini-Orange County, in that much of Solano is run-of-the-mill housing tracts--think of a Fullerton or slightly upscale Anaheim, with stretches of not-quite-as-bad as Santa Ana, and spots of tony Newport Beach....except no beach and occasional rain November through March. Forget about running into SF for jollies very often...you'll tire of the traffic real soon. But you'll find a pleasant enough life there, just dont' expect too much different a life than in southern California.

about how far is solano county? and what towns specificall? or is that the actual name of the town?

thanks

[ConeyIsBabe]

I visited Vallejo last December...... and prior to my trip I had also read about its reputation. In fact, I even posted a Thread here asking if my motel was in a safe neighborhood

Well, although there might be some run-down areas (I never actually saw any) I was quite impressed with the cleanliness of Vallejo and the many, many nice homes ! If you happen to be in downtown Vallejo........ check out Gracie's BBQ restaurant for excellent comfort food. We liked it so much - we ate there three days in a row