Where would you live if you made 600K/yr (Livermore: real estate, house)

[crawfordlong1815]

Hi
I am looking for some honest advice. Not here to boast. I have 3 kids, wife and have worked hard to save a substantial sum of money. I make around 600k per year and am looking at buying in the bay area. Looking for great schools, nice people and a large home in a safe town. Was looking at Pleasanton. Thanks.

[jade408]

Pleasanton is pleasant. Generic suburbia with a downtown with a bit of charm.

I like more character/walkability and I would live in Piedmont. Homes are much more expensive than the ones in Pleasanton.

[dmode]

With that kind of income, personally, I would choose either south Marin (Sausalito, Mill Valley) or Pacific Heights in the city with gorgeous bay and bridge views. Of course with Pac Heights you have to send your kids to private school. Pleasanton is nice as well as many Peninsula towns (Pall Alto, Los Gatos, Menlo Park etc.). But the view of the in clear sunny day is unbeatable

[Isebiel]

I'd choose Pacific Heights, too, but it depends on if you like city life or not.

[mayorhaggar]

Hawaii.

[jaypee]

Los Altos

[tstieber]

Depends on what you're looking for. As others mentioned, Piedmont and South Marin are also great. Piedmont offers established, tree-lined streets in one of the best zip codes in the U.S.. Homes are immaculate and historic, with beautiful architecture. It looks a bit like Bel Air in SoCal. However, the nearby infrastructure is rather urban. Also, it has a somewhat cooler bayside climate. South Marin County has a resort-like, waterfront lifestyle -- mediterranean homes overlooking the bay or with their own boat docks. Very relaxing, and beautiful. Pleasanton is OC-style suburbia, but with tons of mall-type infrastructure, a cute downtown, plus the nearby Livermore Wine Country and Lake Del Valle, which is an amazing place to hang out and swim on weekends. Pleasanton does get very hot in the summer most years (lots of 95-100 degree days), but it's extremely sunny most of the year. You can get much more house for the money there. I would look into the Ruby Hill subdivision if you want something really spectacular with some square footage and access to golf, tennis, and swimming.

Also, consider Danville or Blackhawk. Depending on your taste and lifestyle you want, they both offer some great options. Danville's downtown is very charming, with a nice, small town, old west feel and fantastic upscale restaurants. You're also close to Walnut Creek's bustling downtown with major high end shopping and dining. Danville proper has a country feel, with expensive ranch style homes in the hills, while Blackhawk has a gated community, golf club feel with homes built in the past thirty years.

FYI, all of the above areas have public schools well into the 90+ percentiles statewide.

If you have specific questions about any of these areas, please message me privately. I'm a Bay Area native and have spent substantial time in all of them. I do happen to be a real estate broker, but it's not my main profession. I'm just happy to help.

[Jonathan_]

Originally Posted by crawfordlong1815

Hi
I am looking for some honest advice. Not here to boast. I have 3 kids, wife and have worked hard to save a substantial sum of money. I make around 600k per year and am looking at buying in the bay area. Looking for great schools, nice people and a large home in a safe town. Was looking at Pleasanton. Thanks.

Most high earners on the Peninsula live in Hillsborough. If you want to be closer to nature try Mill Valley, Sausalito, or Tiburon. I would avoid most of the East Bay with your level of income. Definitely avoid Pleasanton, nothing wrong with the area, but nothing amazing either.

[midatlantic12]

OP, too bad you're not a single guy. If you were, you could live the playboy lifestyle in LA and have a sweet bachelor pad in the Hollywood Hills overlooking the city.

Oh well, I guess there's no turning back now.

[Tallysmom]

Lafayette. Hands down. Small town feel, upscale everything, close to some world class shopping in Walnut Creek. Warm enough to have barbecues in the summer, but not so hot that it's wretched.

When I'm in Marin, it feels very isolated to me. Friends lived there for a while and they felt that way too. Orinda feels like it's cut in half and awkward. Walnut Creek is too built up and crowded, Moraga feels sort of like Marin. Piedmont is too cold (I'm getting older, and I'm not liking the coolness anymore, which I used to love).