Folsom, Pleasanton, or Morgan Hill? (Brentwood, Discovery Bay: renting, house, buying)

[taliau007]

My husband works from home, and with his job, we can live anywhere in Northern California. We are deciding between Folsom, Pleasanton, and Morgan Hill. We have two young boys, so schools and outdoor activities are very important to us. We love running events, water sports, and biking. We also want a friendly and active community. Please help us make a decision about the best place to live and raise a family in Northern California! Thanks!

[NewToCA]

Depends on what you want to spend, and how you want to live.

Do you plan on buying or renting?

[Bulldogdad]

Big differences in price ranges and local culture in those cities. Can you be more specific?

[taliau007]

We are going to buy and our budget is $600K. We know we will get a lot more for our money in Folsom but we are concerned about being farther from the Bay Area since that is where we are originally from and where most of our family lives. We are basically mostly looking for a friendly community with lots of charitable community organizations, ample activities for kids and adults, and outdoor sports.

[NewToCA]

At your budget price, you'd get about a 1,500-1,800 sq ft 3 bedroom and 2 bath house in Pleasanton. In Folsom, you'd get over 3,000 sq ft with at least 4 bedrooms and 3 baths.

I don't know enough about local Pleasanton activities, but Folsom is loaded with family activites including Folsom Lake.

Things to Do in Folsom, CA with Kids - Children Activities in Folsom for Kids & Family - Uptake.com


A listing of charity organizations in Folsom:

http://www.charityblossom.org/directory/CA/Folsom/


Folsom outdoor family activities:

http://www.visitfolsom.com/


I'm not trying to market you on Folsom here, but I'm fairly familiar with the area and what it has to offer.

Folks more familiar with your other areas of interest may contribute some insights concerning alternatives too.

[Bulldogdad]

Ok knowning that out of the three I would choose Folsom as it is closer to Morgan Hill in terms of quailty of life.

Pleasanton is much more urbanite than the other two and not as countryfied so to speak. Although Morgan hill is much more urban than it was 20 years ago when I had family that lived there.

Understand also in terms of Politics Folsom is much more conservative than the other two. In other words you won't be seeing many Gay Pride parades in Downtown Folsom.

If you were looking to get the best of all worlds I would choose someplace like Brentwood or Discovery Bay. Close to the Bay Area but still far enough away for that suburban family feel I think your looking at.