DANVILLE vs. ALAMO vs. WALNUT CREEK vs. LAMORINDA (Lafayette, Moraga: transplants, for sale)

[amsmith825]

Hi all! My husband and I are young professionals (27 and 32 years old) who are currently living in the Peninsula but are looking to move to the East Bay for the warmer weather (I'm from L.A. and miss the hot summers big time!) and for bigger, nicer housing. We love being active- hiking, marathons, etc and also love having lots to do- new restaurants, art and wine festivals, plenty of activities. We don't have any children now but plan to have kids within 2 years. We really want a place where community is big- you know your neighbors, kids play outside together, etc. etc. We'd also like to live somewhere where there are young families as my husband and I are both Bay Area transplants and would like to build close friendships in the area (as our family doesn't live here).

We went over to the new housing development by Shapelle homes (next to Blackhawk Plaza) yesterday in Danville and felt like we were in heaven when walking through the models. Does anyone have any ideas as to what pockets of the Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek or LaMorinda area are best for the kind of lifestyle we'd like to lead?

Any help would be greatly appreciated as we want to make the right choice! Also, would it be strange to live in any of these areas now prior to having children?

Thanks again!

[sav858]

Any of these communities would work although Walnut Creek has the most to do and offers the most amenities, restaurants, and activities out of all of them. If you're looking for large-scale new housing developments like in Blackhawk you'll probably have to stick to Danville and Alamo and WC and Lamorinda has been built out for a while and don't really have any large scale new subdivisions like that.

[Ceece]

Any of those places would be great BUT remember, the romantacized version of moving..finding bff's and close friends and everyone getting along..is a fantasy. So much depends on you and your personalities vs those of the folks you meet and in upscale places like this peoples lives often revolve around their work and career. Even if you moved onto the perfect street with people your age and kids the same age as yours and everyone getting along...people move all the time and dynamics change every few years.

It's not weird to move anywhere without kids, and it's not weird to live anywhere with kids. Walnut Creek is where I would start if I were you.

[socalinnorcal]

Weather-wise, the East Bay can't be beat. Any of the places you mentioned have beautiful weather with WC/Danville/Alamo being slightly warmer than Lamorinda (Moraga is probably the coolest of the group).

You mentioned you will be having children. Regarding schools, the Lamorinda schools are top-notch and have those other areas beat. Danville and Alamo have good schools too as does WC, but Lamorinda wins in that department.

Outdoor activities abound throughout the East Bay. Lamorinda has the Lafayette Reservoir with biking/walking trails meandering through the three communities. Danville/Alamo has the Iron Horse Trail (same idea). WC is at the base of Mt. Diablo. So, as you can see, they are about equal as far as access to outdoor activities. Plus, they all border each other so you can easily get to all of these activities no matter where you're living.

As for new homes, count Lamorinda and WC out. Much more established communities with homes averaging 30, 40, 50+ years old. THAT SAID, there's character in these communities that can't be paralleled by a new home neighborhood. If what you want is a new/newish home, you need to look in Danville. Alamo is pretty built-out and if there are new homes for sale they'd be pretty pricey. I too love new homes, but have found the character and natural beauty of Lamorinda to be more desirable than new construction.

Walnut Creek is the biggest of the group-- more restaurants, great shopping, access to nightlife and things to do. Danville is a close second.... great downtown and a lovely community feel. Lamorinda is more "sleepy" though Lafayette has many wonderful restaurants and all three towns in Lamorinda have weekly farmers markets and many community events.

The harder thing to gauge is the neighborhood feel you're looking for. You never know who you are moving next door to, who you will click with, who you'll have things in common with, etc. I think you need to look at the other criteria and make a decision based on that and hope for the best with regards to neighbors. I love where I live and have NO friends on my street. NONE. All of my friends are within town and across town and it's just fine. I too would love that "neighborhood block party" feel but we found a house we loved and with it came neighbors who don't have much in common with us. Oh well. We're not only surviving, but loving life here.

Good luck!

[tstieber]

If Blackhawk and surrounds feels perfect for you, then that's probably where you should start. WC is a relatively short drive (15 minutes or so) for weekend dinners and stuff, and you have plenty of local infrastructure for shopping, dining, and movies too. Danville's downtown is also great and just down the road. And you're close to regional and state parks for outdoor activities. Enjoy!

[beb0p]

Originally Posted by amsmith825

We love being active- hiking, marathons, etc and also love having lots to do- new restaurants, art and wine festivals, plenty of activities.

Most of it will take place in Walnut Creek. So it really depends how far you wanna live away from said activities.

Otherwise, they're all great suburbs.

[Dave Coe]

Originally Posted by tstieber

If Blackhawk and surrounds feels perfect for you, then that's probably where you should start. WC is a relatively short drive (15 minutes or so) for weekend dinners and stuff, and you have plenty of local infrastructure for shopping, dining, and movies too. Danville's downtown is also great and just down the road. And you're close to regional and state parks for outdoor activities. Enjoy!

Black hawk is kind of fake.

[ttocs99]

Originally Posted by tstieber

If Blackhawk and surrounds feels perfect for you, then that's probably where you should start. WC is a relatively short drive (15 minutes or so) for weekend dinners and stuff, and you have plenty of local infrastructure for shopping, dining, and movies too. Danville's downtown is also great and just down the road. And you're close to regional and state parks for outdoor activities. Enjoy!

This is pretty good advice. I can only speak for Walnut Creek, lived there for 7 years with my ex-wife, but we were renters. That being said, we too full advantage of the Walnut Creek lifestyle, attending all types of festivals (Walnut festival, Wine and Art festivals), as well as sampled all types restaurants (chain AND family owned) and all types of shopping. Just loved living in Walnut Creek, and plan to move back some day, can't say enough good things about it. We lived near the downtown area, so the convenience factor was awesome, really didn't have to look outside Walnut Creek for any of our needs. They pretty much have everything. It's also a pretty large city that is pretty spread out, so lots of things to do.

BUT, if Blackhawk seemed perfect for you, and it is a great town, as are the other cities you mentioned, you could always take advantage of the surrounding areas, including Walnut Creek being so close. I have a feeling you won't be unhappy in Blackhawk.

[Atheneum]

Originally Posted by socalinnorcal

The harder thing to gauge is the neighborhood feel you're looking for. You never know who you are moving next door to, who you will click with, who you'll have things in common with, etc. I think you need to look at the other criteria and make a decision based on that and hope for the best with regards to neighbors. I love where I live and have NO friends on my street. NONE. All of my friends are within town and across town and it's just fine. I too would love that "neighborhood block party" feel but we found a house we loved and with it came neighbors who don't have much in common with us. Oh well. We're not only surviving, but loving life here.

Good luck!

We have, somewhat to our surprise, ended up in exactly one of these neighborhoods where kids play together, you're welcomed by your neigbiurs when you move in, and end up spending time with people up and down the street (we're in Orinda). However - that said - most of this has been facilitated by having a kid at the local elementary school, as does everyone else we've befriended in the neighborhood. So while there is certainly no issue moving in prior to having children, you may well find you only really get to know your neighbors well when you start meeting them through school and other kids activities.

I agree with the sentiments above about it not really mattering where in the areas under discussion one lives in terms of outdoor access, it's all within easy reach from pretty much anywhere from the tri-valley to Lamorinda. What sealed Lamorinda for us (it was between Orinda and Lafayette really, with Moraga's extra commute counting it out) was the combination of good schools, good weather, and proximity to both all the outdoorsy east bay stuff but also the city itself.

[Midwestforme]

Danville sounds like the perfect place for you! It really is special and a wonderful place to live, especially when you have children. It's beautiful, super safe, peaceful and the schools are all 10's on greatschools.com. I also think that the people are a very nice and inviting group (in general of course). Plus there are many nice parks, trails, etc. have you and your husband been to Blackhawk Plaza at night and eaten at one of the restaurants in the water ( Blue ginkgo, prickly pear, Blackhawk grill)? If not, you have to do that! The Summer concerts there are fun too. It's like being on the best vacation...

Plus downtown Danville is awesome- so many great restaurants and cute shops. Suburban Heaven...