From MA to...Napa/Vallejo (wood floors, houses, neighborhoods)

[mmeisner]

Thanks for the further responses. So far I've been in touch with a few owners and brokers who have properties in Napa, Benicia and American Canyon.

What's your opinion on living near the Benicia line, but in Vallejo? Most of the Benicia homes are waterfront, and given that it's a smaller community there's a tighter range of homes that fit our budget of around $1500. However, in Vtown, there's plenty of homes for that price range.

And I agree that NoHo doesn't have the best food, but a good eatmosphere . nonetheless. The best restaurant, Del Ray, closed and left a big void in terms of fine dining there.

In other news, most of the rental properties I contacted are pet friendly - which is important since we have a pit bull (ooo scary ). I wrote a letter last night and sent it to several owners/brokers and got a terrific response to my request. I think I will post it up on a thread here somewhere, because I've found that unless you demonstrate some responsibility up front, nobody wants to rent to a tenant with a "dangerous" breed.

[daepro]

After leaving New England the only sort of cuisine I think the west coast lacks believe it or not is Italian. It think that the Mexican kind of makes up for it. However I do miss those eggplant parmigan grinders from the Red Rose in Springfield. There is nothing even close to that here.
Bring me some please if you ever get here

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by daepro

After leaving New England the only sort of cuisine I think the west coast lacks believe it or not is Italian. It think that the Mexican kind of makes up for it. However I do miss those eggplant parmigan grinders from the Red Rose in Springfield. There is nothing even close to that here.
Bring me some please if you ever get here

My partner is Italian, cooks Italian. There is no Italian remotely like it here. I keep saying we should open up a restaurant..

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by daepro

After leaving New England the only sort of cuisine I think the west coast lacks believe it or not is Italian. It think that the Mexican kind of makes up for it. However I do miss those eggplant parmigan grinders from the Red Rose in Springfield. There is nothing even close to that here.
Bring me some please if you ever get here

OK, not to hijack the thread, but seriously people..Italian food? As a former CT/NYC/NJ person myself, with loads of "goose" family back in Mass and RI,
(which is practically Italian you MUST swing into Petaluma sometime...there's more excellent Italian food than your nonna could wave a wooden spoon at!

New Yorker Pizza for instance, where the Cucci family does it right! A real Sicilian immigrant family. Rosalia rocks!

[daepro]

Thanks Petaluma may be a destination stop for some eggplant parmigana for me. Meanwhile I have found the best way to eat good Italian food around here in the east bay is to make it myself.

[r0t]

Look for a rental in the Glen Cove section of Vallejo, you want be disappointed. Also, there are newer homes in the Blue Rock Springs area (it's a park, zillow 94591 and zoom in). That area is pretty safe also.

To the person talking about the "crack dealers/prostitutes". I personally haven't seen any because I don't hang out in places where they would be. Like people say Richmond is bad, but there are soo many NICE houses in the hills that are separated from the so-called bad areas. Same with Oakland.

Good luck with your search. Let us know what you decide!

[jwd707]

Born and raised in Vallejo, and I currently live near Costco (Doncaster/Foothill). The area is very quiet and safe, but we did have our share of break-ins a few months ago. It's easy, the more expensive the area, the safer it will be.

[Cassino]

I was born and raised in Benicia. It is a quiet place to live with a small town vibe. You might try looking at renting further away from the water, such as up in South Hampton.

The border between Benicia and Vallejo is OK, but depends upon where exactly.

There are some good neighborhoods in Vallejo, but there are a few bad ones too (near the Solano County Fairgrounds and off Sonoma BLVD are two that come to mind). There is prostitution, drugs, robberies, etc but that's a fact of life with most big cities.

Vallejo's budget and city management would be a concern to me as they have drastically slashed police and fire services. I have a friend on Vallejo PD and he said they are barely able to respond to in-progress felony calls as it is. Vallejo PD did a great job of driving crime out of the area but with these recent cutbacks, I suspect it will start coming back.

Good luck to you and if you have more questions feel free to ask!

[MPerez707]

move anywhere except vallejo. do not believe what anybody says. Vallejo is a waste of anybodies money. there is crime, corruption, laziness, and justice is difficult to find. Vallejo is a ghetto in disguise. dont let the decent houses fool you. I have had 5 too many friends die from violence in vallejo. its bad news!!

[planbee]

Hi. We enjoyed living in downtown Martinez, which is just over the bridge from adorable Benicia. We could walk to the farmers' market, library, waterfront park/playground, hiking/biking/running trails, shops, etc. There are refineries in Martinez, though, which is a turnoff for some. We moved back to the east coast (to NH!) and now rent out our Martinez home. If you're interested, please "pm" me. Whatever you decide, good luck! It's a beautiful area.