Maryland/DC vs Bay Area for Family (San Jose, Oakland: transplants, low crime)

[CMgyms]

Hello everyone and an early thank you for any advice. To start I have the opportunity to move to the Bay Area from Maryland just north of Washington DC with my wife and two small kids. We just got back from visiting Dannville, Pleasonton, Alamo, Livermore, Los Gatos, and El Dorado Hills. We liked all of the areas and really don't know much about them as far as schools and the people. I do not have to move, but I have always wanted to live in CA. You all really do live in paradise. My number one priority is to raise my children in the best place possible and have them grow up around normal people. I hope there are some East Coast transplants that can give me the positives and negatives and a real comparison of what it is like coming from the East Coast to the Bay Area. Any regrets etc.? For the local people I would love to know what area you recommend and why. Price for a home is not an object, but I do want my kids to be around normal people if that makes sense. I also can work from home, so commute is not a big deal. This is one of the biggest decisions of my life for my family and myself, so I appreciate any and all advice.
Thanks,
Chris

[mayorhaggar]

There are a lot of suburbs here with good schools, and a lot of them with crappy schools. What did you think of the places you visited? What do you mean "normal people?" Any suburb around here with good schools is full of normal suburban people and has very low crime.

The places you named should be fine, I'd also add in Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda. I think it will come down to what kind of weather you want and whether you need to drive into the office--you say you "can" work from home, but will there be days when you have to go in? The Bay Area is a massive area, if your office is in Marin then you don't want to be living in the San Jose area because that would be a brutal drive even if you only have to do it every once in a while.

[CMgyms]

Normal, I want to be around other families with similar interests. Involved in kids education, sports, etc... I do want to end up in an elderly neighborhood with no kids when I have small kids. I don't want to end up in an overly artsy neighborhood when my kids are into school sports etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I want my family to be around other families with things in common. We like down to earth people. This is the best way I can explain it.

[CMgyms]

Sounds like I need to check out Orinda and Lafayette. My realtor did not even mention those as an option for some reason.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by CMgyms

Normal, I want to be around other families with similar interests. Involved in kids education, sports, etc... I do want to end up in an elderly neighborhood with no kids when I have small kids. I don't want to end up in an overly artsy neighborhood when my kids are into school sports etc. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but I want my family to be around other families with things in common. We like down to earth people. This is the best way I can explain it.

Definitely East of the Caldecott Tunnel.

West of the tunnel would be better for my taste(and that's why I live there), but you specifically said NO to 'overly artsy' and that pretty much defines most of the desirable areas West of the tunnel, along with other words like 'trendy', 'posh', 'progressive' etc.

Marin imo is extremely similar to to the East Bay Hills(West of the Tunnel) as far as 'artsy', 'trendy', 'posh', 'progressive' etc, except Marin is even richer, has even bigger homes, is even more expensive and has breathtaking water access to the Bay.

As far as your criteria, you really cant go wrong anywhere in the 925 area code south of Concord. That whole mass towns just screams upscale 'normal'--if that makes sense?

Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon and Pleasanton all have everything your looking for.

Livermore is slightly less than the others imo, because its schools dont perform as well as the other towns.

Dublin is not bad either, but compared to the places above, its the least wealthy(still above average though)--however still normal.

Now that I think about it, if Dublin is the worst that area has then that area is doing excellent.

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Definitely East of the Caldecott Tunnel.

West of the tunnel would be better for my taste(and that's why I live there), but you specifically said NO to 'overly artsy' and that pretty much defines most of the desirable areas West of the tunnel, along with other words like 'trendy', 'posh', 'progressive' etc.

Marin imo is extremely similar to to the East Bay Hills(West of the Tunnel) as far as 'artsy', 'trendy', 'posh', 'progressive' etc, except Marin is even richer, has even bigger homes, is even more expensive and has breathtaking water access to the Bay.

As far as your criteria, you really cant go wrong anywhere in the 925 area code south of Concord. That whole mass towns just screams upscale 'normal'--if that makes sense?

Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon and Pleasanton all have everything your looking for.

Livermore is slightly less than the others imo, because its schools dont perform as well as the other towns.

Dublin is not bad either, but compared to the places above, its the least wealthy(still above average though)--however still normal.

Now that I think about it, if Dublin is the worst that area has then that area is doing excellent.

^+1 Definitely look at: Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon and Pleasanton (although Pleasanton may be a little further out). Orinda, Lafayette and Moraga are very nice. Danville is fairly upscale with great schools as well.

[mayorhaggar]

Again keep in mind what kind of weather you want--hot summers or cool summers or in between? Areas east of the hills like Walnut Creek and Pleasanton are very hot in summer, like in the 90's every day and sometimes in the 100's. Lafayette/Orinda are milder but still warm, usually in the 80's. If you want cooler but upscale and with good schools maybe look at Piedmont which is cooler because it's on the west side of the hills near the bay.

[CMgyms]

Thanks everyone for the advice on the areas. Are there any major differences in the areas listed above? Orinda and Lafayette look beautiful! Are any of you East Coast transplants that can relate to a comparison? Any regrets, pros, cons, etc...
Thanks,
Chris

[04kL4nD]

I spent a lot of time growing up in the NOVA/DC area

If you like it there, places like Pleasanton, Danville, Diablo, Alamo are sort of similar. Lots of suburban, wealthy folks there.

Personally, I pretty much hate the DC area, which is probably why I like SF/Berkeley/Oakland so much.

[Think About It!]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

As far as your criteria, you really cant go wrong anywhere in the 925 area code south of Concord. That whole mass towns just screams upscale 'normal'--if that makes sense?

Orinda, Lafayette, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Alamo, Danville, San Ramon and Pleasanton all have everything your looking for.

Livermore is slightly less than the others imo, because its schools dont perform as well as the other towns.

Dublin is not bad either, but compared to the places above, its the least wealthy(still above average though)--however still normal.

Now that I think about it, if Dublin is the worst that area has then that area is doing excellent.

Great post! However, the south side of Livermore has really good schools.

The 680 corridor is going to be a lot hotter in the summer and colder in the winter than say the 101 peninsula area. The East Bay is closer to the Sierra Nevadas and the Peninsula is obviously closer to the Ocean. If that matters as well.