What do you think of Brentwood? (Concord, Antioch: renting, crime, townhome)

[Koalalew]

My husband works in Concord and currently we are renting in Union City. We are looking to buy a house nearer to where he works. It seems like Brentwood would be the best place for us, but we don't know the history of the area all that well. We have a baby and are in for the long haul as far as looking for a place to raise a family. What would his commute be like? We want to keep it under $400k. Any insight you can offer to lead us in the right direction?

[ccm123]

Brentwood is one of the nicer areas out in that area. I would prefer it over Antioch or Pittsburg, or Oakley. I have never commuted, but I have heard that highway 4 can get pretty heavy during commute hours.

Plenty of new/newer homes listed for under 400K.

[ketch89]

I spent my high school years in Brentwood, and I'm now in my twenties.

First the good:

Brentwood is indeed the most desirable of the highway 4 exurbs (Pittsburg/Antioch/Oakley/BW). Homes are all brand new, and there are some great bicycle trails and lanes, so kids get around okay on two wheels (though distances can be far). Most all of your neighbors will be first time homeowners and darn proud of it. There's a nice regional park called Round Valley just a 10 minute drive from the south end of town, with views of Mount Diablo and wild deer running around.

Now the bad:

The reason Brentwood is the most desirable of the four cities out that way is because its location near Vasco road makes it attractive to people who work in Livermore, Pleasanton, or Dublin. Highway 4 from Railroad east is a parking lot, every day, guaranteed - because there are no jobs in [Pitt/Ant/BW/Oak]. When the eBART extension to Hillcrest in Antioch is completed in a couple of years that will be an option. You probably know this, but summers are very, very hot compared to the utter perfection of the weather by the bay. There is a lot of youth crime and teen pregnancy in the area, because there is just absolutely nothing for teenagers to do. People are overly concerned with keeping their lawns trimmed and their cars clean (consumerism), when they should be concerned with raising their kids right. The problem is the parents can't raise those kids right, because they spend 3 hours back and forth to work every day on the freeway, then come home tired, angry, and on edge from sitting in traffic.

My thoughts:

Buy a house in Concord (there's plenty under 400k) or a townhome/duplex in Walnut Creek/Pleasant hill. Your children will thank you immensely for raising them in a place with a little bit more life than sterile Brentwood, and also for having an extra hour each evening to spend with them!

[04kL4nD]

Definitely nicer than Antioch or Pittsburgh, but it's still considered to be at the very fringes of the Bay Area. If you don't care that you're at least an hour from SF or the extremely hot summers, I'd say it's not a terrible bang for your buck.

[llowllevellowll]

Call me crazy but I kinda like Brentwood.

The one big knock on Brentwood is the drive time, but since your husband is commuting to Concord, and let's say, not all the way to SF, it's not as big of a deal. I honestly can't stand going from Route-4 to 242 to I-680 to 24. So laborious! But if he can just go from let's say Route-4 and fly down the Port Chicago Highway or 242 to downtown Concord, that cuts out a lot of hassle!

You can get get quite a house for $400 there. Plethora of shopping. You'll never need to drive outside of Brentwood for any of your everyday shopping needs. It's the apotheosis of suburbia, if that's what you're into. Tries to be upscale. Schools are good, from what I understood from a few of my clients (a few were teachers, principals, and parents of students in the district). This doesn't mean a ton to me, but they appeared to prefer living near and having their children attend Heritage High School and Adam's Middle School.

[Koalalew]

Thanks for your input everyone. My husband talked to someone from his work that lives there and he says the commute is about 30 min, which is not bad. I haven't ever been to Brentwood and neither has he so I guess the next step is just to take a drive around and see how we like it. I hate hot summers so we will be looking for something with a/c. I do like how there are trails and lots of parks. I understand about there not being much for teens to do so hopefully by that age they have developed an interest in horseback riding or something compatible with the area. Though I grew up in a small town in the middle of nowhere NM and would have loved this place.

[Koalalew]

Just wanted to add, isn't it scary, picking the place where your children will grow up, a place that will stay with them in their memories for the rest of their lives? I almost think, how could we have so much responsibility... It's frightening. Just some thoughts of a new parent. Carry on...

[sav858]

The commute would be at least 45-60 min I'd imagine. eBART might help but that would depend on where in Concord your husband works and of course that won't be done for several more years.

[18Montclair]

Brentwood has its pluses but in that price range, I prefer Hercules because of what I consider far more preferable weather and commute. Socio-economically they arent too dissimilar. Just my 2 cents.

[ccm123]

Great point, Hercules has similar demographics and cooler weather.

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Brentwood has its pluses but in that price range, I prefer Hercules because of what I consider far more preferable weather and commute. Socio-economically they arent too dissimilar. Just my 2 cents.