Where to live for a "reasonable" (30-40 min) commute to Lathrop? (Los Angeles: apartment, for rent)

[heatherette]

My fiance and I have lived in Los Angeles for four years and love it. Recently he was offered a job that would require him to be primarily based in Lathrop. Unfortunately, I have a contract that keeps me in LA until next summer so we will be maintaining two households for a while. We are planning on taking a trip north to scout out some possible places to live after the holidays but would like to get an idea of where to start.

He's very excited about the job, but we're a little apprehensive about the possible living situations in the area. We're both in our mid-30s with no plans to have kids for at least the next few years, and we really enjoy the amenities that city living offers. Ideally, we'd like someplace that's fairly walkable, with shops and restaurants, in an older area with some character and history. If it's possible, we'd prefer to rent a small house, but if not, I would love some suggestions on reputable apartment buildings. The large-scale complexes are not really to our taste, but it's difficult to discern from the Internet what other options we might have.

(For reference, we spent about ten years in Chicago proper, six of them in Hyde Park on the south side, and loved it. We've also lived in Knoxville, which was a much better experience once we moved downtown. We've spent the last four years in Los Angeles.)

His idea of a "reasonable" commute is about 30-40 minutes each way. Given that parameter, and assuming that we don't need to worry about schools and are accustomed to the relative safety/crime levels of large cities, which communities should we be looking at? Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide!

[jade408]

Does not exist. Lathrop is in the middle of the central valley, which is rural and suburban. You might find a block or two that makes you happy in Lodi, but honestly there aren't a lot of walkable neighborhoods in a 50 mile radius of Lathrop. You should also cross post this in the CA forum or even the Sacramento to get better feedback.

Lathrop isn't a part of the Bay Area at all, it is around 70 miles from SF and the same from San Jose and Sacramento.

The largest nearby city to Lathrop is Stockton. There are good and bad areas there. If you want to be an urban pioneer, there are probably some cute older neighborhoods there. But there are plenty of no go zones there too.

[heatherette]

Thanks for the feedback. I thought that it didn't look promising, but someone suggested that if I were to get a job in San Francisco it might be possible to commute if we split the difference and lived in between. I've done 1.5 hours each way before and don't want to do it again, so it's good to know.

Would you say that the GoogleMaps travel time estimates are accurate for your region? It's a joke how much they underestimate for LA, so I think going forward as we look at places it would helpful to know if that's a reliable estimate to consider.

Thanks!

[Jonatton Yeah?]

Originally Posted by heatherette

Thanks for the feedback. I thought that it didn't look promising, but someone suggested that if I were to get a job in San Francisco it might be possible to commute if we split the difference and lived in between. I've done 1.5 hours each way before and don't want to do it again, so it's good to know.

Would you say that the GoogleMaps travel time estimates are accurate for your region? It's a joke how much they underestimate for LA, so I think going forward as we look at places it would helpful to know if that's a reliable estimate to consider.

Thanks!

One option would be to take BART to the Dublin/Pleasanton Station and drive. Drive back and leave your car in the parking lot when you go home. The traffic in Livermore can be horrific though. Like, really, really bad. You're looking at a 45 minute drive plus however long your BART ride is. From my house in Downtown Oakland, it would be about 40 minutes. That's quite a long commute but I'd do that before I lived in Lathrop or Manteca. Plus, the BART ride is pretty relaxing if you have a book or an iPad.

[Bulldogdad]

OP the closest to what you are looking for is the Tuxedo Park Area next to University of the Pacific in Stockton.

Very walkable lots of homes from the 1920's-1950's. Stockton's Miracle Mile | Shop, Dine & Enjoy

You can find a similar neighborhood in Modesto.

Lodi has a walkable old town but not Big urban city feel. It's a smaller bedroom community.

Manteca doesnt really have what your looking for either.

Outside of that you'll have to go to Downtown Sacramento. Which is a 1 hour drive from Lathrop.

If you get a job in San Francisco he can make the commute to Lathrop in 45min-1hr from Livermore/Pleasanton area plus he'll be in a reverse commute.

Google estimates are good if you add about 20% during peak traffic times.

[beb0p]

Once you are east of Livermore (or east of Brentwood further north), you are no longer in the Bay Area. A key point to remember is that morning rush hour traffic will be flowing from I-5 south to 205 west and then to 580 west into the Bay Area (reverse for evening rush). Traffic is heavy but not too bad on I-5 but it gets very bad once you hit 205 and beyond. Take however long google map tells you and times 2 in rush hour ( 2.5X to 3X more when it's raining) when you hit the Bay Area. On the other hand, reverse traffic is usually pretty smooth. So the point is, if you want a sane commute in the SF Bay, don't live too far from work if you are with traffic.

I think living in Pleasanton/Livermore and commuting to Lathrop and the East Bay (Fremont, etc) is fine, but from Livermore to SF is a pretty bad commute imo.

My suggestion is to just live in Lathrop/Stockton/Tracy/Manteca. You can always just come to the SF Bay on the weekends. Plus, housing is a lot more affordable out there.

[heatherette]

Thanks so much for all the tips! This is really helpful, especially with regards to the traffic directions and such. We've spent the last couple of days trying to get our heads around how we're going to do this. I think for now we'll try to find something in Stockton or Modesto in an older neighborhood and figure out later what to do when my contract is up. Right now, I work as a freelance consultant in a pretty narrow field, and there is almost zero demand for this kind of work outside of at least semi-major metropolitan areas. My best chance of finding a stable, long-term project in the area would be in San Francisco or possibly Oakland, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it (no pun intended.) Thanks again!

[aslowdodge]

What kind of budget for rent. That will make a huge difference in your options too.

[DMenscha]

Pleasanton.

Nice little downtown. BART commute to SF. Reverse commute to Lathrop.

[mayorhaggar]

That's almost like asking if there's a decent place in Eastern Iowa where you can commute to Chicago.

People do commute from Modesto to SF but it's like a 2.5 hour commute each way.