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We just found out that we will be moving in September from Turkey to Travis AF Base, which is in Fairfield Solano County. My husband is in the Air Force and that should be our last move until he retires in 6 years. We were planning to buy a house to where ever we move too, but just looking at the rates makes me sad. He will have a housing allowance of approx $1600/month and that will not get us much. Also I am getting mixed information on the best place to live around there, as I heard that Fairfield has some dangerous parts! Any insight on that area? What about Dixon is that feasible to live and commute to the base?
I hope to find a good job and hopefully then we can buy a house. I have a Master in International Business and used to work in big companies all around the world until I married my husband. Schools are also important to us as my step daughter will start 8th grade this year so we need to find a decent Highschool.
I would appreciate any insight on the area as we would arrive from overseas and then have to start figuring things out!
Fairfield does have ALOT of bad areas. I would avoid buying there if possible. Vacaville might be a little better, I don't know. I know the Travis School District is supposed to be the better school district in that area. Why don't you look at Davis? It would be a little bit of a commute, but not too bad. It is a nice little college town and the schools there are very good. Good luck to you and your family.
Fairfield does have ALOT of bad areas. I would avoid buying there if possible. Vacaville might be a little better, I don't know. I know the Travis School District is supposed to be the better school district in that area. Why don't you look at Davis? It would be a little bit of a commute, but not too bad. It is a nice little college town and the schools there are very good. Good luck to you and your family.
Actually we spent all weekend looking at nice areas to live and discovered Davis. I am getting mixed messages about the length of a drive from Davis to Travis. I know there is also Amtrak going from Davis to Suisun City is that feasible? Also I have worked in education so UCI Davis might have a job for me. The schools around Davis seem very good and the neighborhood sounds good as well. I am German so the town just sounds a bit european and that would be great as well. Any idea if there would be back roads from Davis to Travis?
Thanks
Check out the area around Cordelia. This is at the intersection of I-80 and I-680. I drive by this area from time to time and there is a lot of new housing being built. There is also a shopping center by the freeway. The traffic on those 2 freeways however can sometimes be awful. The traffic on I-80 going east can be slow in the afternoon.
Hi, the drive from Davis to Travis really would fine. My friend drives from Vacaville to Davis every single day and she says that her commute is absolutely no problem and that traffic moves just as well in the opposite direction. Suisun might be okay....but I strongly encourage you to look around very carefully before you buy in Fairfield or Suisun. UC Davis would be a great place to work. I know it is difficult to try and make these types of decisions without seeing a place. Good luck and don't hesitate to ask questions.
Sue
Hi Silke8261. As you are discovering, a $1600/month allowance isn't enough to buy in this area. It's enough to rent a modest 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in Fairfield, Suisun or Vacaville. You'd almost certainly need two incomes to to buy here with that allowance. If I were you, I'd come out and rent for a while to figure out what's the best plan for you. You can find a house to rent month-to-month in Suisun (very near the base) for $1600/month with a $1600 security deposit. The areas to look for a rental in Suisun are Montebello Vista or Quail Glen, or "Old Town" Suisun (near the Amtrak station), which has a very nice marina and is affordable if you are lucky enough to find a rental there.
I know people have attitude about Fairfield. If you ask most people from Vacaville, they'll tell you that Fairfield is "ghetto" and not a good place to live. I read the Vacaville newspaper every day though and crime is starting to look every bit as bad there now. I've lived in Fairfield my whole life, raised two kids here and am looking at retirement. I could move if I wanted but I have a nice home and feel safe. I'm also happy to live in a diverse city and one that is ideally located midway between San Francisco and Sacramento. I've never been robbed, car-jacked, attacked, shot at, or stabbed. My house has never been broken into, and my car has never been stolen or broken into. I am safety conscious and alert, just as I would be anywhere in the United States, and have taught my kids to do the same.
There are plenty of places in Fairfield that are nice to live. The Laurel Creek and Paradise Valley subdivisions in east Fairfield are minutes from the base and are good choices. I like the west side of Fairfield best. You can't buy a home on one income with that housing allowance but it would be a great place to consider once you have a job and get a feel for the area. You'd be close to the base and would have great school options. Homes near Waterman Blvd. and Oliver Road in Fairfield are very nice, and Waterman Blvd. will actually take you straight to the base's main gate (the street's name changes to Air Base Parkway when you go over the freeway); it's very quick and easy. The west part of Fairfield is close enough to all 3 area high schools: Armijo High School, Rodriguez High, and Fairfield High. An 8th grader could go to Sullivan Middle School, B. Gale Wilson Middle, or Suisun Valley, depending on availablity. Sullivan has an honors program (GATE), and has an active band program. B. Gale and Suisun Valley are good schools that are smaller and more sheltered since they serve kids from Kindergarten through 8th. The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District (www.fsusd.k12.ca.us) has open enrollment, meaning you can send your kid to any district school on a space-available basis. The high school I prefer in Fairfield is Armijo High School. They have an outstanding reputation for academics and have an International Baccalaureate (I.B.) diploma program (check out www.ibo.org). You can look up the stats for all of the schools on the school district Web site. The other great thing about Fairfield is you are close to Solano Community College, which offers classes for your whole family. High school kids can attend Solano College for free and earn high school credit AND college credit at the same time. It's the best deal around. Check out www.solano.edu
Another thing to know about Fairfield and TAFB area: it gets windy here, mostly during summer. The Cordelia area another poster mentioned can get VERY windy. You may develop allergies when you move here. I don't have the problem since I grew up here. The wind and marine layer often helps to cool things down in the summer so it's not such a bad thing.
As for Davis - It is a nice town, for sure; I love going there to shop and eat. I don't see it as a good starting-out option though. I would think it would be too expensive while your husband is still in the military. It's not that it's a bad drive to TAFB; it would probably only take 20-25 minutes. And there are back roads, if you prefer them, that lead to Vanden Road and then to the south gate of the base, though you'd probably rarely need to do that. I don't think Amtrak is a good option since the Suisun station isn't walking distance to the base, the route by bicycle isn't great, and public transportation in the Fairfield-Suisun area is not known to be the best.
If you're interested, there are several German cultural groups in the area as well. You can find them in the Sacramento area and also throughout the Bay Area. Check out United German-American Societies of the East Bay for a start.
I hope this helps. Good luck to you and your family and don't be afraid of Fairfield! There are plenty of good people and nice places to live.
Hi Silke8261. As you are discovering, a $1600/month allowance isn't enough to buy in this area. It's enough to rent a modest 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in Fairfield, Suisun or Vacaville. You'd almost certainly need two incomes to to buy here with that allowance. If I were you, I'd come out and rent for a while to figure out what's the best plan for you. You can find a house to rent month-to-month in Suisun (very near the base) for $1600/month with a $1600 security deposit. The areas to look for a rental in Suisun are Montebello Vista or Quail Glen, or "Old Town" Suisun (near the Amtrak station), which has a very nice marina and is affordable if you are lucky enough to find a rental there.
I know people have attitude about Fairfield. If you ask most people from Vacaville, they'll tell you that Fairfield is "ghetto" and not a good place to live. I read the Vacaville newspaper every day though and crime is starting to look every bit as bad there now. I've lived in Fairfield my whole life, raised two kids here and am looking at retirement. I could move if I wanted but I have a nice home and feel safe. I'm also happy to live in a diverse city and one that is ideally located midway between San Francisco and Sacramento. I've never been robbed, car-jacked, attacked, shot at, or stabbed. My house has never been broken into, and my car has never been stolen or broken into. I am safety conscious and alert, just as I would be anywhere in the United States, and have taught my kids to do the same.
There are plenty of places in Fairfield that are nice to live. The Laurel Creek and Paradise Valley subdivisions in east Fairfield are minutes from the base and are good choices. I like the west side of Fairfield best. You can't buy a home on one income with that housing allowance but it would be a great place to consider once you have a job and get a feel for the area. You'd be close to the base and would have great school options. Homes near Waterman Blvd. and Oliver Road in Fairfield are very nice, and Waterman Blvd. will actually take you straight to the base's main gate (the street's name changes to Air Base Parkway when you go over the freeway); it's very quick and easy. The west part of Fairfield is close enough to all 3 area high schools: Armijo High School, Rodriguez High, and Fairfield High. An 8th grader could go to Sullivan Middle School, B. Gale Wilson Middle, or Suisun Valley, depending on availablity. Sullivan has an honors program (GATE), and has an active band program. B. Gale and Suisun Valley are good schools that are smaller and more sheltered since they serve kids from Kindergarten through 8th. The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District (www.fsusd.k12.ca.us) has open enrollment, meaning you can send your kid to any district school on a space-available basis. The high school I prefer in Fairfield is Armijo High School. They have an outstanding reputation for academics and have an International Baccalaureate (I.B.) diploma program (check out www.ibo.org). You can look up the stats for all of the schools on the school district Web site. The other great thing about Fairfield is you are close to Solano Community College, which offers classes for your whole family. High school kids can attend Solano College for free and earn high school credit AND college credit at the same time. It's the best deal around. Check out www.solano.edu
Another thing to know about Fairfield and TAFB area: it gets windy here, mostly during summer. The Cordelia area another poster mentioned can get VERY windy. You may develop allergies when you move here. I don't have the problem since I grew up here. The wind and marine layer often helps to cool things down in the summer so it's not such a bad thing.
As for Davis - It is a nice town, for sure; I love going there to shop and eat. I don't see it as a good starting-out option though. I would think it would be too expensive while your husband is still in the military. It's not that it's a bad drive to TAFB; it would probably only take 20-25 minutes. And there are back roads, if you prefer them, that lead to Vanden Road and then to the south gate of the base, though you'd probably rarely need to do that. I don't think Amtrak is a good option since the Suisun station isn't walking distance to the base, the route by bicycle isn't great, and public transportation in the Fairfield-Suisun area is not known to be the best.
If you're interested, there are several German cultural groups in the area as well. You can find them in the Sacramento area and also throughout the Bay Area. Check out United German-American Societies of the East Bay for a start.
I hope this helps. Good luck to you and your family and don't be afraid of Fairfield! There are plenty of good people and nice places to live.
First of all thank you very much for taking the time to provide me with all these good information. Since I first posted I have researched a lot about the area and the best living as well as educational opportunities. As you mentioned the best idea will be to come and use the first month of living there to explore the area and rent a place. We did decided to go first of all for a rental in either Fairfiled or Vacaville as it is closer to the base and we would not spent too much money on gas. I am hoping also to finding a good job so that we might be able to afford to buy a house in the future and build up some equity until we leave again. I have a Master in International Business and lots of working experience. Sacramento or Davis might have some good job offers. I am really thankful for the information you provided, as from just the statistics I am a bit scared about the area. I grew up and lived the last years in a very secure environment, but I do believe California will be a good place to slowly get into the American way of live. I will make sure I look at the area you mentioned for rentals. The military provides a website were people list there rentals and they have some nice rentals for the amount we are getting for housing. We can afford to also spent more on the rental as his salary is decent.
Thanks and regards
Silke
Hello Silke,
I'm chiming in late on this thread, but thought to post anyway.
I currently live in Dixon, and I too moved to this area via a PCS move. Our last station, in fact, was Aviano AB. Not an easy place to leave.
As it turns out, I'm now a realtor in Davis and know both Yolo and Solano county quite well. I'm also looking to rent out my current home, which is how I stumbled across your post.
If you have any questions that I might be able to answer, please do not hesiate in contacting me. My profile contains a link to my website and contact information.
Best of luck, Carmen
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