Moving and looking into commutes (Concord, Vallejo: apartments, rental, houses)

[lizkirtland]

My husband got a job in Concord and from research on these forums and other sites I'm having a hard time finding cities for us to live lol!. We are looking to rent an apartment 2 bedroom with a decent amount of space for our 18 month old to run around. I'm a stay at home mom so our budget is tight at around $1300. I've been looking at maps but I read that Pittsburg, Antioch are shady places to live and should be avoided at all costs. I've been looking at all the small cities around I could find in the vicinity (walnut creek, dansville, martinez, pleasant hill) I've also read that Concord is "ghetto" but it's hard to know what some people determine to be ghetto especially since we live an hour from LA and know what real ghetto is (and don't want to live there!). Any ideas? Am I missing places? Have I been misinformed on these cities? We don't need super fancy or anything but we want to feel safe with our son.

So anyway I found that Vallejo looked like a nice city but of course theres no bart that way so I was wondering what the commute is like taking the 780e/680e in the morning from Vallejo to Concord. Google shows 22 mins but that means nothing. I've also read theres a toll on the 680 but I'm unsure if its in that section of the 680, is it?

Any ideas would be greatly greatly appreciated!!!!! Thank you!

[mayorhaggar]

Should be able to find a 1br in Walnut Creek or Pleasant Hill for that price, maybe a 2br. I don't know much about Concord but people say it has nice parts and crappy parts but it's not super ghetto.

[lizkirtland]

so after reading a few more posts I am reading vallejo is as bad as pittsburg, ugh... any more idea?

[jade408]

Maybe Benicia or Martinez? You might also be able to find a suitable rental in Pleasant Hill.

[gone down south]

Originally Posted by lizkirtland

so after reading a few more posts I am reading vallejo is as bad as pittsburg, ugh... any more idea?

Don't put TOO much stock into what you read here, C-D is known for extreme chicken-littling at times. There are good and bad parts of all the areas you listed, you'd probably need to devote a weekend to driving around seeing them for yourself before narrowing down your search.

[mayorhaggar]

The main problem with Concord for families is that its public schools aren't that good, but since your kid is young it shouldn't be an issue. As long as you're ok with an apartment I really think you should be able to find a nice 1br or 2br at your budget in or near Walnut Creek/Pleasant Hill/Concord. Somewhere like Lafayette might work too, houses are expensive there but apartment prices I've seen were pretty modest. I don't think you'll need to look as far as Vallejo.

[clongirl]

Concord is NOT a ghetto. It's a fairly big city where most neighborhoods are very nice, safe and middle class. There are several not so great areas/neighborhoods just like in every city (avoid Monument Blvd and Olivera Rd) but if you're husband is working in Concord, there's no reason to avoid it. The Eastern side of the city is perfectly nice.

[Jasmine658]

Living near where your husband's job is has the advantage of seeing your husband more, and not getting those calls about BART delays or stuck in traffic, again. The more crowded the bay area gets, the better to live near jobs, or near transit hubs.

I have some friends, with babies, living in Concord, and are quite happy there.

[lizkirtland]

Thank you guys!!!! I was hoping to read posts like this

I had a feeling that internet hype about things being ghetto was just that, hype. I realize there are good and bad areas and I definetly want to stay away from truly bad areas/cities but overall I was hoping that Concord would be a decent place for us. I've found quite a few apartments online that look really nice. I've stayed away from detroit ave and found some more toward WC and Clayton. Although I do find it interesting that Detroit ave and Clayton st are like 2 miles apart but get such vastly different reviews lol.

We will go spend a weekend up there looking and apartment hunting (hopefully sans child if we can get my aunt to watch him!) I just wanted to be able to narrow it down to really get the most out of our short visit and find the biggest best space for our budget. Thanks again for putting this mamas mind at ease!

Oh and as far as the post about the iffy schools when that comes around we plan on home schooling

Thanks again!

[Jasmine658]

Tucked into the hills near Concord is a little town called Clayton. It is considered very good, a little pricier than Concord with Mt Diablo Schools, and a solid 8 out of 10, not bad according to GreatSchools.com

If you don't have GoogleEarth, install it, as it shows a pretty good overview right there - street views, etc, then read GreatSchools.com. Districts with lots of schools at 2 & 3s are a problem, and cause a problem for district as a whole, and the ones your kids could get assigned when new to a district. Corcord has many good schools, some are rated mediocre. Study the API reports, and keep in mind the "mediocre" scores are sometimes only because there are kids with English as a 2nd language still learning local language & culture. Decide also what percentage of "economically disadvantaged" you are comfortable with. We were assigned in SF a school with 89% economically disadvantaged, and decided this was just too extreme, so declined the school placement. Talk to the school district also, find out if placement by lottery or by street address - very important stuff to know.