Looking for Warm, Sunny NorCal recommendations (San Jose, Sacramento: for rent, job market, neighborhoods)

[whereto33]

Hi there,

I posted this in the general California forum, but someone suggested I post here for more specific info.

So, I live in Boston and I'm over being frozen. (It was 20 degrees when I left for work this morning. No thanks.) I grew up in SoCal and I'm not looking for the same experience, but I definitely want warmth. I enjoy the East Coast culture, speed, and intellectualism, but the weather is more than I can handle anymore. So, I'm thinking NorCal.

Can anyone provide some suggestions for towns? I'd like to be in a metro area, near arts and culture and diversity. I also have a dog and cats. I need sunshine (SAD tendencies) and more sunny, warm days than not. I'm in my 30s and single so it would be great to be among other singletons.

So far, a few kind people have suggested Rockridge, Piedmont, Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Walnut Creek, and Sacramento. What are these areas like?

Also, I'm a copywriter... Anyone have an insight on the job market?

Thanks!

[alamo andrea]

Rockridge, Piedmont, Berkeley and Santa Cruz are all cool places, but 15 degrees colder than Walnut Creek in the summer and much foggier all year (less sunshine). Conversely, Sacramento - to me - is a kiln. I love Walnut Creek - it is a fun, small city that is safe and walkable with BART making downtown SF a 30 minute hop away. There are a lot of singles and a thriving night (okay, 'evening') scene.

Walnut Creek would put you in a city to which 60,000 people commute for work daily; it would also be a perfect trajectory to SF and not horribly far (by California standards) from Silicon Valley - making it your best choice for flexible job market opportunities.

[whereto33]

Thanks Alamo Andrea. I'll def put WC on my list of places to visit. I'm headed out to the area in a month to explore.

[mayorhaggar]

SF is the most urban part of the Bay Area. It's also the coldest in summer because it's right on the ocean, so it gets a lot of fog and wind. It's typically around 60-70 in the summer. The Western part of the city often gets little sun in the summer but you do get sun in the Eastern part of SF. In winter it's a bit warmer than the rest of the bay area, like around 45 to 55.

The Oakland/Piedmont/Berkeley area is on the Bay and further away from the ocean so it gets more sun in summer, when it's 65 and foggy in SF it's often 70 and sunny in Rockridge in Oakland. It's a little colder than SF in winter though, like 5 degrees or so. This area is a bit more suburban than SF but still pretty urban and dense, and it's easy to get to downtown SF on BART.

The Walnut Creek area is even further from the ocean and is barricaded by hills between it and the Oakland/Berkeley area, and these hills block the chilly winds from the Pacific, so in summer it's very sunny and hot, like frequently in the 80's and 90's and sometimes the 100's. The Lafayette/Moraga/Orinda area is a bit further west from Walnut Creek and is supposed to be a bit cooler but still warmer than the Oakland area. In winter it gets colder in this area though, 20's and 30's are common and sometimes it snows in the hillier areas. This whole area is quite a bit more suburban than the Oakland or SF areas but still a fairly easy commute distance to SF.

Sacramento is similar to Walnut Creek, hot in summer and cold in winter, maybe a little hotter in summer. It's pretty suburban and far from SF though.

I spent 4 months in Santa Cruz about 6 years ago. It's sunnier and warmer than SF in summer, like in the 80's I think but winter is still pretty mild. It's a smallish urban area so there aren't a lot of jobs. Commuting to SF would be almost impossible but some people drive to San Jose for work.

Overall it kind of depends on where you end up working.

[whereto33]

Thanks Mayor Haggar for the great info as well. It sounds like there are a lot of options. I have no clue where I will be working right now. Still in the exploring stage and willing to just move and take a risk. (I've wanted to leave Boston for years...)

I don't think I want to be further out than Walnut Creek. Being able to access the city is important to me, but I don't need to live in the heart of it. After being in Boston, a 45 to 55 degree winters sounds like paradise!

A random question... I'm trying to figure out how I get to explore all these places on BART and the web site is so confusing! Can't I just buy a card that'll get me everywhere? I see there's no weekly card, but from what I see, it'll cost $19 roundtrip to go from SFO to Walnut Creek on BART. Is that correct? Oy...

[StandingRoomOnly]

If you are looking for the most sun, the south peninsula and south bay are your best bets. SF is going to be much too foggy/overcast from what it sounds like you are looking for.

As for the towns suggested to you already, Walnut Creek is nice, but may be a little too much of a "bedroom community" for you...not to say there aren't singles or some type of nightlife...but I'm getting the feeling it isn't quite what you'll be looking for. No offense to people who live in Sacramento, but I wouldn't bother taking the extra trip up there to look. Very sprawling...flat...brown/beige cookie cutter communities everywhere surrounding that area. If you want to start a family and looking for cheaper housing Sacramento may be a good option. SF would put you in the middle of the "action" and may be the only city in the Bay Area that does this if you are looking for a "fast pace" life. But sunny days are the exception in SF, not the rule.

In the east bay, I'd say Berkeley, Emeryville and Rockridge (neighborhood in Oakland) will be more appealing to you and you'll have easy access to SF by BART or bus. It may take awhile to find someplace that is dog friendly though (for renting) no matter where you live.

In the south bay I'd look at Palo Alto (Stanford area/University downtown area) and Mountain View (downtown)--much sunnier in these towns than SF or the east bay. Santa Cruz is pretty foggy/overcast compared to other places.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by whereto33

Thanks Mayor Haggar for the great info as well. It sounds like there are a lot of options. I have no clue where I will be working right now. Still in the exploring stage and willing to just move and take a risk. (I've wanted to leave Boston for years...)

I don't think I want to be further out than Walnut Creek. Being able to access the city is important to me, but I don't need to live in the heart of it. After being in Boston, a 45 to 55 degree winters sounds like paradise!

A random question... I'm trying to figure out how I get to explore all these places on BART and the web site is so confusing! Can't I just buy a card that'll get me everywhere? I see there's no weekly card, but from what I see, it'll cost $19 roundtrip to go from SFO to Walnut Creek on BART. Is that correct? Oy...

No, we have too many agencies. You can get the Clipper card which is a single payment option for most of the transit agencies, but BART doesn't offer any weekly or monthly pass.

Try Transit.511.org, that website has a trip planner with fares and all ransit connections.

[tstieber]

I grew up in Walnut Creek, and my parents still live there. We still say it has some of the finest weather around. FYI, the average winter temps in Walnut Creek are about 54-55 for the high temp in the coldest part of January, with a low around 37. SF would be about 56/44 or so. In other words, the differences in winter are relatively small b/w WC and SF, but the summer differences are about 20 degrees hotter. So overall, WC is much warmer in the balance of the year. Lows in the (upper) 20s would happen just a couple of times per winter and usually nudge records. For the most part, it's not frosty, and you'll see palm trees out of doors and what not.

I do think you'll love WC and would be glad to answer any additional questions you may have about neighborhoods!

[jade408]

Walnut Creek isn't a great place for singles. It is mostly suburbia with families/kids/dogs. I know there are a couple of "nightspots" in WC, but people who live there tend to be pretty established socially. i.e. they grew up in the area or their friends live there or have kids.

Another note, Oakland is typically sunnier than Berkeley. It is odd, there are plenty of micro-climates even in short distances. I live about 1.5 miles from Rockridge, and it is typically sunnier and a couple degrees warmer in my neighborhood.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

SF is the most urban part of the Bay Area. It's also the coldest in summer because it's right on the ocean, so it gets a lot of fog and wind. It's typically around 60-70 in the summer. The Western part of the city often gets little sun in the summer but you do get sun in the Eastern part of SF. In winter it's a bit warmer than the rest of the bay area, like around 45 to 55.

You are almost correct except the summer temp is about 10 degrees cooler. Also the western part of SF gets very little sun throughout the year and no sun at all for 3-4 months during summer. Bright sunshine is a rare thing in SF and warm weather is non-existent.