Moving from Sacramento...Can we afford anything better than a cardboard box under the freeway? (San Jose: low crime)

[MoBA]

Hi,

My husband recently started working at the Levin-Richmond Terminal. He's commuting at least 90 minutes each way from Sacramento. Clearly, that's not going to be acceptable forever, so we're going need to move back to the Bay Area within the next year or so.

Ideally, I'd like him to be able to have a 30-45 minute commute barring unforeseen circumstances. The hard part is that I have a lot of requirements on where I can live.

1. Safety, safety, safety! We had burglars at our house in January, and it was no fun at all. I know you can never be 100% safe, but I'd like to minimize the crime potential. If I want an "urban vibe", I'll go visit San Francisco on the weekends.
2. Easy, safe walk to transportation. I don't drive, but I'm willing to spend an hour or so getting to work (most likely San Francisco or San Jose) as long as I don't have to walk through the ghetto to get to the bus.
3. Cheap-ish...we can afford $500K and we'd like a single family home.

Any suggestions/thoughts? I grew up in the South Bay (Campbell, to be exact) & I don't know much about other parts of the Bay Area. At first glance, I think I like Walnut Creek or Pleasanton, but I appreciate any help y'all can offer?

Thanks!

Mo

[18Montclair]

Albany or El Cerrito come into my mind first because its a breeze of a commute for your husband(10 minutes or so) and you could catch BART to job centers in SF, Oakland etc. Bus service is more than decent too.They are very pleasant towns with low crime, great sense of community and very nice neighborhoods.

If you WERE driving, then Id suggest the Point Richmond neighborhood of Richmond, right next to your husband's workplace-it has to be one of the most charming and scenic neighborhoods in the whole Bay Area...as I said in another thread, its as if a piece of Marin were uprooted and plopped down in Richmond.

Also, near your husband's job is the Marina Area of Richmond and up the Richmond Parkway there are nice newer homes in the Hilltop Mall area.

Also, Hercules is another town that would have been great if you were driving.

Anyway, good luck!