Anyone moved from Bay Area to Granite Bay? (San Jose, Sacramento: buying a home, neighborhoods)

[joycwriter]

Would love to hear from anyone who moved from the Bay Area to Granite Bay in the past few years. We're considering a move from Marin. Are you happy with your move? Any regrets? Also, any input on great neighborhoods (family of four with 2 school-age children) would be great. Thanks.

[bchite]

Hi!
We are moving to Granite Bay or maybe El Dorado Hills from Chicago and are looking for a very family friendly neighborhood- we have kids 9,8, and 3-- did you find the right neighborhood for you? Any suggestions where we should look?

Thanks so much for your help!
Brigid

[joycwriter]

Brigid,
We have not made a move yet! Sinking housing prices stopped us in our tracks; however, we're looking again, since GB is much more of a bargain now than last year. Did you move to GB? I'd love to share info with you.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by joycwriter

Brigid,
We have not made a move yet! Sinking housing prices stopped us in our tracks; however, we're looking again, since GB is much more of a bargain now than last year. Did you move to GB? I'd love to share info with you.

Please do share... we are looking for all of the info we can find. We are originally from the Bay Area, having spent the last 4 years in the Denver area, and are looking at Granite Bay. I've done tons of research, and we feel like it's great on paper. But we're looking for info all the time, as we are at least a year away from moving.

My wife is a little concerned with the feedback she gets about it being very pretentious. We are in what would be considered a "higher end" area in Denver, similar to Granite Bay, but we don't encounter many snooty people around here. Most people around here are very friendly. I'm hoping it will be similar out there. What we're mostly worried about is how it will affect our daughter when she's old enough for school. I keep reassuring my wife that it is "probably" not that bad. But it would be nice to get more feedback on that front.

[tande1n5]

I grew up half in the Bay Area (Lafayette), and half in Granite Bay, and have close ties to both areas still, so maybe I can help.

Granite Bay is a very nice, safe place that gets mixed reviews from some that think it's nothing but snooty, and others that think that it's a few snooty folks in the middle of mostly nice, good people. I happen to be in the latter camp, and I fully acknowledge some obnoxious people, but they're a minority, and if work took me to Sacramento and I had kids, I'd be looking there as well. Most folks just move there for a quiet, safe place with good schools.

The money is a bit more aspirational (read: show-offy) than the enclaves in the Bay Area, being as Sacramento isn't a large historical pocket of old money as the Bay Area is.

Any comparison to the Bay Area is rough as it's apples and oranges, but perhaps you could look at it as a bit of LaMOrinda/Danville/Pleasanton, so if you feel at home around any of those places, you'll be very happy. People are quite social, so it is friendly, but close-knit maybe to appear slightly cliquish. Once you've gotten settled, I doubt you'll have any problems making friends, especially thru your kids' schools, as most parents are heavily involved in matters of education and like to get to know their fellow parents, especially parents of friends of their kids.

You mentioned Denver, so I'd draw a comparison to Cherry Hills/Greenwood Village from the vibe I've gotten when in Denver (I've spent some time in Denver, although as a disclaimer, I've never lived there). The OP's from Marin, which gets criticized similarly. Think of how you perceive those areas, weather you think it's true or bunk, and it's a good gauge.

Lots of Escalades and such - some think that's snooty, others think it's a nice SUV. There's a somewhat cringe-worthy joke in Granite Bay that says that the kid's lot at the high school has nicer cars than the teacher's lot. Some kids do get a new 3 series for their 16th birthday, even more don't.

If you have questions/want more specifics, I'd be happy to answer.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by tande1n5

I grew up half in the Bay Area (Lafayette), and half in Granite Bay, and have close ties to both areas still, so maybe I can help.

Granite Bay is a very nice, safe place that gets mixed reviews from some that think it's nothing but snooty, and others that think that it's a few snooty folks in the middle of mostly nice, good people. I happen to be in the latter camp, and I fully acknowledge some obnoxious people, but they're a minority, and if work took me to Sacramento and I had kids, I'd be looking there as well. Most folks just move there for a quiet, safe place with good schools.

The money is a bit more aspirational (read: show-offy) than the enclaves in the Bay Area, being as Sacramento isn't a large historical pocket of old money as the Bay Area is.

Any comparison to the Bay Area is rough as it's apples and oranges, but perhaps you could look at it as a bit of LaMOrinda/Danville/Pleasanton, so if you feel at home around any of those places, you'll be very happy. People are quite social, so it is friendly, but close-knit maybe to appear slightly cliquish. Once you've gotten settled, I doubt you'll have any problems making friends, especially thru your kids' schools, as most parents are heavily involved in matters of education and like to get to know their fellow parents, especially parents of friends of their kids.

You mentioned Denver, so I'd draw a comparison to Cherry Hills/Greenwood Village from the vibe I've gotten when in Denver (I've spent some time in Denver, although as a disclaimer, I've never lived there). The OP's from Marin, which gets criticized similarly. Think of how you perceive those areas, weather you think it's true or bunk, and it's a good gauge.

Lots of Escalades and such - some think that's snooty, others think it's a nice SUV. There's a somewhat cringe-worthy joke in Granite Bay that says that the kid's lot at the high school has nicer cars than the teacher's lot. Some kids do get a new 3 series for their 16th birthday, even more don't.

If you have questions/want more specifics, I'd be happy to answer.

Great insight. Thanks for posting. It's funny you mention Greenwood Village here in Denver, as that's almost the exact comparison I was thinking of... both are older, established areas that have a similar vibe with schools being the huge draw.

[joycwriter]

Yes, thanks for the reply. Marin does have its repuation, but we have so many towns in Marin and each one has it's own personality / reputation. I've lived in two towns in Marin and one was quite pretentious and the other (where we live now) is not - even if people have money in our town (which many do), they're just much lower-key about it.

I have visited GB several times and really like the area (especially those n'hoods by the lake - more rural) but my main concern is the snooty aspect and especially how it may affect my kids. We've done a good job so far of shielding them from that where we are, but if it's the dominant mentality, then it will be much harder.

I think I just need to hang out there a few more times to get a better vibe about it. Thanks for all the input!

[SOMUTCH]

I am originally from Fremont and have now been in GB for about 13 years. I'll never go back. I wouldn't even go back for a bunch of money!

There are folks that work hard at keeping up with the Jones' but to be honest, this economy has really helped filter out the fakers. GB is a wonderful community and it's about all grown out as land has finally been built out. When we moved here, we didn't even know what GB was. It was kinda funny to see someone with a 300k home that thought they were in high cotton. When compared to the Bay, a shack was double that value. Anyway, if you are not considering GB because of the attitude you hear of, I would strongly disagree. This is a fantastic community, great schools, ultra safe, fun people and tons of stuff to do.

Living here would be an easy decision for me if I had to choose again.

Best of luck to you.

[Twisch]

I moved from San Jose to GB over 15 years ago. Greatest move. Great community, excellent schools and great family feel. If you are looking to move to here from the bay area ..do it!! We are actually selling our house in the Treelake area of GB. Walking distance to elementary schools and Granite Bay high school. Our daughter has gone off to college and its time to downsize. Our home needs a little love but its priced right and would be a joy to see a nice family move in here and make it their own! Watching your kids grow up here is so awesome. A new family just moved in next door from the bay too with their two kids. If you're considering buying a home before the new year check out redfin or zillow listing. 9610 swan lake drive GB. Hope you all decide to make the move its great area!

[Jill2016]

We moved to GB when our kids were little, back in the 90s. We were in a position to move pretty much anywhere we wanted to in the west, and chose Granite Bay. Definitely one of our better decisions. It is a wonderful place to raise a family. Put your kids in the great public schools, volunteer to help in the schools, get your kids into soccer, or baseball or whatever, and enjoy all the great things that an affordable (compared to the Bay area) suburban lifestyle offers.

We live in one of the upper end neighborhoods and do see a little bit of cliquishness (is that a word?). mostly with those that belong to the golf club. But I don't feel it's a snobby thing - it's just that they do a lot more together socially. If you get involved with the schools or sports or maybe your church, you will feel like you belong and won't notice or care about other things that may happen around you.

Now our kids have finished college and we are looking to downsize. Again we can move to wherever we want, and believe me we've researched and considered many places over the last few years, and have decided to stay in Granite Bay or Folsom. This area has SO much to offer you just can't go wrong.