Vallejo sure doesn't seem that bad (San Francisco, Oakland: 2014, apartment, crime)

[allenk893]

I've been looking at home prices and google mapping several homes in the Vallejo area out of random interest. Future city reference for when I want to buy my first home. Looking at the various BEAUTIFUL housing subdivisions and the rolling hills in the background, my God Vallejo is BREATHTAKING!! I don't see how anyone could call that city bad!! I've seen so much beautiful landscaping, blue skies, trees, hills, no congestion, not thousands of parked cars, etc. Nothing like San Francisco! I don't know what the people are like but from the looks of it, it's definitely going to be one of the cities on my list of where I want to buy my first home because it too good to pass up! What is so bad about Vallejo? I understand the city has ghettos (like any other city), and it went bankrupt a while back, and that it was the most dangerous U.S. city at one point, but who cares about all that stuff when your in a safe location and away from the drama? I could say the same for all the people out in the LA area who have homes. I've never seen such a beautiful city in my life. I've never been to California or the West Coast so I'm only going by what street view is showing me. You guys should really see these views! How can you say something negative about views like this? Scroll all around!

Shadow Ridge Place, Vallejo CA

Marshfield Rd, Vallejo

Olivewood Lane

Ascot Parkway

Plaza Drive (Gateway Plaza)

And there's dozens more where that came from! I think I've fallen in love.

[Nineties Flava]

lol... where to begin.

a) the school system is terrible.
b) buying a home in Vallejo is easy. Selling it is not.
c) the city's bankrupt. It only happened 2 years ago so you haven't seen the long term effects of the bankruptcy... trust me when I say that it will directly effect any and all public services as you know them.
d) there's little to no jobs in Vallejo, which means you have to commute all the way to the Oakland/SF area on 80 (which is a b**** during commuting hours). Say hello to one hour + commutes.
e) good luck being able to afford any of those 2 story homes in the hills you pictured... Vallejo is cheap by bay area standards, and a 2 bed 1 bathroom house that's IS in the ghetto that's not a fixer upper could cost you upwards of 150 K.


Vallejo doesn't have a reputation for nothing. This is not to say that there aren't good or even great neighborhoods in Vallejo or that there aren't valid reasons to move there (its cheaper than most bay area cities, its situated in a beautiful location, etc). However, imo there are more equally good reasons NOT to move there. Ultimately its up to you though...

[Woof]

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AN3rN59GlWw

[Mr. Fantastic]

Most of the places you posted are East of I80. Those areas aren't bad. Jobs are really hard to come by in the area since there isn't a naval base anymore, and there aren't any other industries in Vallejo worth mentioning.

West of I80 is a ghetto gang land on the level of Oakland, and Richmond. I'd stay far, far away.

[allenk893]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

lol... where to begin.

a) the school system is terrible.

Couldn't be worse than Compton or South Chicago (where I have lived)

b) buying a home in Vallejo is easy. Selling it is not.

Not true. Half of those homes have been re-sold almost 2 or 3 times in the last 5 years. People simply could not afford them.

c) the city's bankrupt. It only happened 2 years ago so you haven't seen the long term effects of the bankruptcy... trust me when I say that it will directly effect any and all public services as you know them.

It's not like I plan on riding public transportation or using any city amenities. It's more like a retirement place. Just a place to buy my home.

d) there's little to no jobs in Vallejo, which means you have to commute all the way to the Oakland/SF area on 80 (which is a b**** during commuting hours). Say hello to one hour + commutes.

I realized this. But I don't plan on having a job. I don't plan on doing anything in Vallejo but have a house and a place to call home. I'll commute to wherever. I'll most likely have established a career in Southern California by that time so it's going to be a place where my family can stay and I will see them on the weekends.

e) good luck being able to afford any of those 2 story homes in the hills you pictured... Vallejo is cheap by bay area standards, and a 2 bed 1 bathroom house that's IS in the ghetto that's not a fixer upper could cost you upwards of 150 K.

Actually, most of those homes in the picture are in perfectly safe areas and are at their lowest prices since 2006. All the homes in the picture are less than $400,000. Some are $200,000. With only having to put down somewhere close to $100,000 for the initial buy out, you only pay $700-1400 on a 30 year fixed income. How much money are folk paying out their behinds in San Francisco for a studio apartment? $2000-3000?! And for little space too! Not worth it to me! I'd rather have my own house on a hill for that!

Vallejo doesn't have a reputation for nothing. This is not to say that there aren't good or even great neighborhoods in Vallejo or that there aren't valid reasons to move there (its cheaper than most bay area cities, its situated in a beautiful location, etc). However, imo there are more equally good reasons NOT to move there. Ultimately its up to you though...

Thanks for the advice. Sorry if I come off rude or anything. I'm not trying to. I just feel like there are worse places and I don't think many people give Vallejo a chance. I guess only people who plan on working in Vallejo and will actually suffer it's economic woes will say it's not good. To me, it's a just a place to buy a nice home.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by allenk893

Couldn't be worse than Compton or South Chicago (where I have lived)



Not true. Half of those homes have been re-sold almost 2 or 3 times in the last 5 years. People simply could not afford them.



It's not like I plan on riding public transportation or using any city amenities. It's more like a retirement place. Just a place to buy my home.



I realized this. But I don't plan on having a job. I don't plan on doing anything in Vallejo but have a house and a place to call home. I'll commute to wherever. I'll most likely have established a career in Southern California by that time so it's going to be a place where my family can stay and I will see them on the weekends.


Actually, most of those homes in the picture are in perfectly safe areas and are at their lowest prices since 2006. All the homes in the picture are less than $400,000. Some are $200,000. With only having to put down somewhere close to $100,000 for the initial buy out, you only pay $700-1400 on a 30 year fixed income. How much money are folk paying out their behinds in San Francisco for a studio apartment? $2000-3000?! And for little space too! Not worth it to me! I'd rather have my own house on a hill for that!



Thanks for the advice. Sorry if I come off rude or anything. I'm not trying to. I just feel like there are worse places and I don't think many people give Vallejo a chance. I guess only people who plan on working in Vallejo and will actually suffer it's economic woes will say it's not good. To me, it's a just a place to buy a nice home.

The schools are equally bad, and by "public services" I meant the cops. I'm sure you'll have a lot of fun coming home one Saturday to find your front doors open and an unmarked U-Haul van outside of your house and the police not showing up until an hour later. And obviously I wasn't talking about the houses in east vallejo pictured in the streetviews... I'm talking about the rest of vallejo barring one or two decent neighborhoods west of I80.

[bigdumbgod]

Meh. Acres of McMansions.

"Daddy, which one is ours? I can't tell."


One should deeply investigate the rep of the builders of these kind of tracts before buying - it's well known within the industry that the people who actually construct these things (the crews) would rarely put a dime into investing in one themselves. They know how many corners have been cut in their construction quality to maximize the per-unit profit, at the expense primarily of longevity. Stuff starts breaking/failing quickly.

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

Most of the places you posted are East of I80. Those areas aren't bad. Jobs are really hard to come by in the area since there isn't a naval base anymore, and there aren't any other industries in Vallejo worth mentioning.

West of I80 is a ghetto gang land on the level of Oakland, and Richmond. I'd stay far, far away.

Although Mr. Fantastic should really specify what areas of Oakland because not all of Oakland is ghetto gang land, he's absolutely right.

I looked honestly at Vallejo when I was purchasing and though I'd live there voluntarily (and wanted to), it's not a good city. The schools are terrible, the city is generally mismanaged and bankrupt, and in my opinion, for what it is, it's still overpriced even in the nice areas.

I'd much rather go just over the hills to Green Valley (Fairfield) where the schools are better - if only dragged down a bit by the fact that kids from Vallejo and Richmond get bussed there as well.

The downsides of both areas, in parts, is that if you want to live in a nice area, you're kind of stuck living in a newer subdivision/suburban sprawl. To stay in Solano County, take Vacaville for instance and you'll see the real difference between Vallejo and a nice city - you can live in mature neighborhoods with trees and ranch and california bungalows from the early-mid 20th century and be in one of Vacaville's NICEST areas. There are no similar comparable in Vallejo because the nicest areas of Vallejo are new construction.

The true test of time for a city like Vallejo is: How do those seemingly wonderful and nice neighborhoods, i.e. Glencove hold up after 10, 20, 30, years? Based on what we see in the Crest and the area around MW, I don't think it's as peachy as OP likes to think because there doesn't appear that Vallejo is able to turn itself around - at least not quickly.

That's also to say nothing of what the previous poster says about new construction, and I believe he has a point. The reason I shyed away from Vallejo was that I was more or less shying away from the cookie-cutter look/feel and some of the subpar quality that has come along with it.

[EastBayDefector]

Originally Posted by Parti Rhinocéros

the city is generally mismanaged

You could say this for 75% or more of the cities in the East Bay! Hahahahahaha!

[keninaz]

I was born and raised there. The city has changed a lot over my lifetime. I left the area in '87 to move to Suisun but retired when Mare Island announced closure in '93.
Yes they filed BK. The city never could manage money and did not have to with the Navy there until the 90's when the base closed. That really hurt the city. They just collected those government checks for taxes that rolled in. Most of the employees at MINSY lived in Vallejo at the time of it's closure and many businesses depended on MINSY for their existence.
Marine World was another waste of money. The city gave away too much to get them there.
The last I heard is that even the Wal Mart there closed. That's pretty bad when the town cannot support a Wal Mart!
The city managers depended on the Navy for so many years they just didn't know how to manage the city anymore.
The climate is very nice and near perfect however.
We noted by the mid 80's that crime was on the rise and violence in many areas of the city too so we moved up county in '87 and commuted to Mare Island.
I much preferred what small town Vallejo was in the 40's to the early 60's as to what it turned into. But then again many CA cities went south as far as I was concerned.