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Old 07-30-2012, 03:15 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, CA
2,518 posts, read 3,996,867 times
Reputation: 624

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Quote:
Originally Posted by CyanideThistles View Post
So I might be in that area to be close with my family, and from what I know, Lafayette is very close to Walnut Creek and is a lot like it too, it being an upscale small tight-knit community. If you could give me more information about that town, that would be great.

Thank you for the information!
Lafayette is small, and upscale and pretty cool (I'm old and retired so take that into consideration). If you're into rolling hills, less congestion, and getting away from the urban jungle, I can't think of any better place I'd rather be (I considered Benicia a long time ago, but my wife and I were scared away from the refineries). There are awesome walking/running trails if you're into outdoor exercise. I know all of my neighbors, and during 4th of July, and Memorial Day we tend to have big parties and invite all the neighbors to someone's house. The schools are excellent, some of the best in the state. It is pricey here, I'd say for a decent SFR, you should be willing to spend a cool million.

But if you like the city, it's really close by. We're 10-20 minutes from most places in Oakland, less than 30 minutes from the city. Lafayette doesn't have a lot of shopping options, so you will go out of the city to do a lot of that. The biggest stores around here are Whole Foods or Safeway on Mount Diablo blvd.

I'd say compared to Walnut Creek, the "Creek" has a lot more things to do, a better night life (by far), but I'd say slightly less upper class. So it all depends on what you're looking for in a community. I'd say you can't go wrong with either to be honest.
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:15 PM
 
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Walnut Creek is a typical white/suburban area that's safe. The nightlife isn't too bad, as the downtown attracts some young people.

Concord, while a good city, is a bit different. It's more ethnically diverse and probably cheaper to live in. It has more crime and the downtown isn't a prominent.

It all depends on what you're looking for in a city; both are good options.
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:27 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, CA
2,518 posts, read 3,996,867 times
Reputation: 624
Concord and Walnut Creek/Lafayette are a weird cross-comparison to make IMO. Concord is solidly lower-middle class. It's probably one of the cheapest cities to buy a home in the Bay outside of Solano County. It has more crime, poor schools, and is just generally rougher than either Walnut Creek or Lafayette.

That being said, I don't think Concord is like Richmond, or Oakland when it comes to crime, but you should take into consideration that there is a reason Concord is so cheap.
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Old 07-30-2012, 03:34 PM
 
Location: Northern California
159 posts, read 489,002 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DocGoldstein View Post
Concord and Walnut Creek/Lafayette are a weird cross-comparison to make IMO. Concord is solidly lower-middle class. It's probably one of the cheapest cities to buy a home in the Bay outside of Solano County. It has more crime, poor schools, and is just generally rougher than either Walnut Creek or Lafayette.

That being said, I don't think Concord is like Richmond, or Oakland when it comes to crime, but you should take into consideration that there is a reason Concord is so cheap.
Concord to me sounds a lot like my city (Santa Rosa). I don't know if you've ever been to Sonoma County, but it sounds like the general northeastern Bay Area has a lot in common with where I am at. Lots of nice suburban places that are "not diverse" are not too far away from crappy low income neighborhoods.

Thanks for the feedback everyone!
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Old 07-31-2012, 01:23 AM
 
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,292 posts, read 8,452,514 times
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If you can handle not having great schools and being a little rougher, why not live in concord and save and then go to WC for eves out. It's not very far at all.
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Old 07-31-2012, 01:24 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,967 posts, read 32,441,921 times
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I grew up in the area and have been living back here for the past two years so I'll give you my take. I don't think the area is that different than the Santa Rosa area except it's not as isolated and more built out. Santa Rosa is probably more like Concord than WC as it's bigger and share similarities. Both SR and Concord have a nice, little Downtown and a large indoor mall near it. SR's is probably a little nicer.

Concord is solidly middle-class to lower middle class and therefor cheaper to live in. It has higher crime than WC but it's still pretty safe. Don't really hear too much about violent crime ever, more likes theft, car break-in's ect. Some of the people are kind of trashy, probably will see a few tweakers and homeless here and there off Willow Pass Rd. I kind of recall seeing stuff similar around Santa Rosa.

The area is around 10% Asian and Filipinos seem to be the largest Asian group. There are two large Asian grocery stores i know of in Concord. Ranch 99 on Willow Pass and Seafood City on Diamond Blvd. Seafood City also has a food court with several Asian fast food places like Jobilee and a few others.

WC is more middle to upper middle class overall. It's probably a bit more economically diverse than some thing as there lots of condos and apartments in the city. The neighborhoods with single family homes are soldily upper middle class though. Not anyworse than Santa Rosa in that regard.

The area has been built out for a while so it's not as bland as areas that are more newly developed but it's typical suburbia otherwise. Scenery isn't thing special as far as the Bay Area goes, it's nice. The area sits at the base of Mt Diablo so there is plenty of open space and hiking in the hills. It's drier than SR and not as green, SR is surrouned by thicker and lusher forests.

Despite BART you will want a car, the bus system is not that great.

For the suburbs it has plenty to do imo. There are festivals and street fairs. Downtown WC is pretty vibrant with lots of shops and restaurants. Most of the restaraunts in WC aren't chains either, retail is more chain heavy but not dining. But some of them can be a little pricey imo. There is variety though, there are Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Cuban, Thai, Mexican, Vietnamese, Korean, etc..places to eat in Downtown WC and the surrounding area.

It has the most concentrated nightlife area in the East Bay and possibly the entire Bay Area outside of SF. It's the suburbs so it's not going to be all "edgy, hip, and urban" like Oakland/Berekley or wherever but plenty of people like it that way. I know some, one's who have never lived here, said there area is mostly families but that's not entirely true. There are plenty of single people or younger unmarried/childless couples around. I know it's hard concept for some people on the other side of the Caldecott to grasp, but some young people don't want to live in places like Berekely and Oakland nor does the rest of the Bay Area outside of SF revolve around those places. It has a good mix overall imo, if it was all families I woulnd't live here.

Coming from Santa Rosa it won't be that drastically different imo.
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Old 08-01-2012, 05:30 PM
 
60 posts, read 151,642 times
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I work in Concord, so my opinion of it is limited, but in general I find it to be a basic middle class city that's generally clean, pretty diverse and overall pleasant, if not boring. I was raised in the south bay, and currently live in SF, so I'm used to diversity, and while of course it's not the same, Concord is plenty diverse. Lots of asian restaurants, and a Ranch 99 near my office, even a few decent pho joints. Oh, lots of office parks and car dealerships. If you've ever spent time in the South Bay, it's not too different from a city like Sunnyvale I would say, except that it's obviously not as expensive, and much less of an Indian presence. LIke others have said, a lot of big box stores, which I actually like for convenience sake - and many are generally new and nice.

Pleasant Hill seems pretty similar. It's hard for me to differentiate between the two. BARTing to SF is real easy and doesn't take that long.
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Old 09-26-2012, 04:19 PM
 
3 posts, read 6,386 times
Reputation: 10
Default Concord area good location to live and work?

Hi,

I am from southbay and was wondering what the situation is like in Concord. Specifically the downtown area of galindo and willow pass road. I have an opportunity to take over a medical business from a person retiring there. Is there any growth in the city. Any big companies coming to town. I did see a few large business buildings around there.

I've read to stay away from monument blvd and it doesn't seem to far from downtown.

How is the safety in the area? Should i be worried when i leave work at night? Should i work in concord but commute from a different city? I've been to pleasanton and walnut creek, and concord is the next city over, so i figure it should not be so different.

Thanks for all the help
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Old 09-26-2012, 04:44 PM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,967 posts, read 32,441,921 times
Reputation: 13609
Concord is pretty much a middle to lower-middle class city. Nothing that bad but nothing to write home about either. I don't really see the city growing a lot as it's mostly built out. Unless they decide to redevelop the old weapons station then it probably won't see much growth.

That area of Downtown Concord is fine, you're pretty much in the heart of downtown right there. Monument Blvd is fine too. It's basically Little Mexico and somewhat dumpy but not dangerous; I go there every so often b/c there are a lot of businesses there. Costco is located on Monument now and is very busy.

Concord really doesn't seem to have that much violent crime. Probably some theft and property crime I'd imagine is the worst of it. I would not be worried about leaving work at night in that area at all really. I've been in that area at night plenty of times.

It's not as wealthy or nice as WC and there are some nice neighborhoods in the city as it's a pretty large (100K+) city. You could live in Concord, Pleasant Hill, or Walnut Creek and still have a short commute to the office.
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Old 10-01-2012, 12:04 PM
 
1 posts, read 2,456 times
Reputation: 10
My husband and I are moving to the area for health reasons. He is a hair stylist & I am disabled. Since you know the area well, can you answer a couple questions for me? Such as: he and I are in our 40's and he needs to live in an area where women and men go to have their hair done. I will live anywhere I can afford in Cali but just want to make sure my husband will build up a new clientel at a decent salon. What is a great hospital in the east bay or petaluma area? We NEVER want to own a home there so can we survive if we only want an apartment & our vehicle? Can I get jobs walking a dog? What area is good for that? I have cystic fibrosis and I need to stay away from people & germs. I hope you can help me with info. Thanks
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