Help? Relocation to Antioch area (San Jose, San Francisco: housing, rental, income)

[ElphinKnight]

Hello all. I have some experience with San Jose and was hoping to move there, but now that I am in a position to move out of Michigan (Spring 2008) the cost of living/homes there is completely unreasonable. So I am seeking other areas in NorCal that are more reasonable. I am getting married this summer, but have no children at this time. I have a Bachelor's and Master's degrees in business fields, and my wife-to-be will soon finish her professional degree in dietetics. We're looking to be self-employed which will require a moderate population in a growing area, but both of us also earn income from Internet-based businesses. The county Antioch is in appears to have about 1 million people, and that's more-than enough.

What advice can you give us about cost of living in Antioch/surrounding area? Is it economically healthy(-ish) and growing? How is the small business scene? Does it have some access to nature (including the bays)?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

[norcalteach]

Between my husband and I we taught for four years in Antioch, the crime rate is on the rise, homes are affordable and the nature is not beautiful by any means.

[WhiteWoman]

Come on to Antioch, if you have a job and are not on section8, it's killing our beautiful city-crime is up, property values are down!
We need more employed people in our town

[Lori1961]

I do not think homes are at all affordable any more in Antioch, unless you want to live in the bad part of town. The commute from/to Antioch to any other part of the Bay Area is horrible! I lived there for 10 years and the commute sucked! Really there is only one way in and out - on a main highway anyway. Think really hard about it before you move that far out.

[Harry Brock]

Don't move here. If you want to live somewhere in Contra Costa County, choose Walnut Creek or Pleasant Hill. If you have to commute out of eastern Contra Costa County to a job in Oakland, San Francisco or the south bay, you will have to leave no later than 5AM to beat the traffic on Highway 4. Violent crime is on the increase in Antioch. Large chains (Macys, Sears and JCPenney) have stores here (JC Penney is coming back after leaving the area), but the stores those chains put here are not adequate (kind of like, "Okay shut up Antioch, we put our 'outlet' store there, so quit crying'), and don't compare with the stores that are in Concord. Traffic is horrible, it takes 15-20 minutes to get from the downtown area to the newer part of Antioch where all the shopping is. It is very hot here in the Summer, akin to Bakersfield. Brentwood and Oakley aren't much better. The main problem is there is only one freeway serving a very fast growing area, and that freeway met its limit 10years ago, and although Antioch residents have been paying the extra sales tax for BART (OVER 40 YEARS) --- it will never come here as promised. So that said, DON'T move to Antioch. The Section 8 problem in Antioch seems worse than other communities, put it this way, you can buy a $1,000,000 home, and have a Section 8 rental next door, with broken down cars, a dead lawn, and morons for neighbors who don't care .....

[Hummingbird6]

We're relocating to Brentwood and was wondering what the average commute time into San Fran is? I know it's horrible...but "horrible" is relative depending on what city you're relocating from. Is it 1 hour? 3 hours?

PLEASE no suggestions about moving closer in, like Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville, etc. We can't afford a home in any of those cities. So Brentwood it is. Just trying to figure out commute time. AND how it's done - drive to Antioch and then take BART in? Or do people just drive straight in/over the bridge?

Thanks so much.

[ImRandy]

Originally Posted by Hummingbird6

We're relocating to Brentwood and was wondering what the average commute time into San Fran is? I know it's horrible...but "horrible" is relative depending on what city you're relocating from. Is it 1 hour? 3 hours?

I would plan on 2 hours.

[tennis368fan]

You have more choices than just Brentwood, that's for sure. Consider Mountain House, which is just as affordable, especially during developer "fire sales": Mountain House Forums: Homes/townhomes for sale .The elementary and middle schools compare to some of the best schools in Brentwood. See this post on Mountain House's community forum and website in a comparison between the two cities: Mountain House Forums: Mountain House vs. Brentwood .

Mountain House is master-planned and has a luxury commuter bus service that takes you from the heart of the community to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART Station, from where you can take BART to San Francisco. Plus, I saw on the forum that new metering lights are lightning the traffic on the Altamont Pass and I-580, in addition to a widening project. If you live in Brentwood, it is going to be tricky to drive on Highway 4, and there is no commuter bus that I know of that takes residents to Pittsburg/Bay Point BART Station in 45 minutes.

Mountain House is also near the affluent Tri-Valley and its technological industry base, conveniently accessible by I-580.

To find out more about Mountain House, you can visit its community website at Mountain House Villages.

[sonarrat]

Antioch does not have a healthy economy. The housing costs have outpaced inflation and wages have not kept up, so many residents have to endure horrible commutes which further drain their finances.

[fishstix3]

Stay out of Antioch if you want nature -- it is not pretty, although you can get a deal on a house right now as they are foreclosing left and right out there. It is a huge hassle to commute OUT of there as there is only basically Hwy. 4 if you need to head toward the city. The crime rate is bad and there is lots of Section 8 housing. Try less expensive parts of Concord, even, or Brentwood -- at least you can get a bit more space, perhaps, out there. There are lots of new developments in Antioch and a nice new high school, though, and I guess I'd pick it over Pittsburg, now that I think about it.