Walkable Communities in the East Bay (San Francisco, Oakland: home, transfer, neighborhoods)

[Gibszee]

Hey Ya'll

My husband has the opportunity to spend a year or so working in Pleasanton for his current employer. Our current home is in intown Atlanta (vs the suburbs) in a very walkable neighborhood with character and history. We have only 1 car - but 4 bikes! We have no kids, 2 dogs and are outdoorsy and athletic and in our late 40s.

While I'm thrilled at this opportunity, we'd love some guidance on choosing a place to live. I could see us settling into something close to DT Walnut Creek. DT Pleasanton is fine too, but seems a little remote. Blackhawk is my idea of hell, sorry.

While we've spent lots of time in and around Pleasanton, we're not familar with the surrounding communities. Sunol, San Ramon, Danville - could these be options? Any others nearby? We'd like to avoid a long commute. And-- we're more than willing to sacrifice space for location.

Many thanks!

Gibs and Zee.

[jade408]

If you want to be on the 680 corridor, downtown Walnut Creek is your best bet. Orinda and Lafayette could work, but they are further away off of 24. These are all examples of "suburban walkable." So think of it as you have a "few" blocks of walkable stuff, but the rest looks like the Atlanta suburbs and the street patterns are car first. Many people will drive to get to a place they can walk around. There isn't much transit, particularly for day to day activities.

Downtown Livermore is somewhat walkable, but the housing is a little limited.

If you want something more urban (with character), then you should look in Oakland and Berkeley. These are roughly a 30 minute drive to Pleasanton in an off-peak direction. Elmwood, Rockridge, Lakeshore, GrandLake, North Berkeley, Glenview, Piedmont Ave and Temescal are all good choices across Berkeley and Oakland (these areas all feel quite similar in character and amenities).

[ccm123]

I second DT Walnut Creek. Not sure what you mean by DT Plesanton being remote, but it has a nice walkable downtown area.

[davdaven]

Downtown Walnut Creek might work for you, but the commute along I-680 during rush hour is by car or express bus only and can be a real drag. Will your husband be working near a BART station? If so, you could opt to live in Oakland and then have the flexibility to drive (30 minutes, reverse commute) or take the train. Oakland is far more urban and walkable than the suburbs. Once you get outside of the downtown part of Walnut Creek, for example, the car is still king.

Oakland is large and has a wide range of neighborhoods. Which one you pick is largely dependent upon your budget, and what you think his drive/BART split will be. I have a friend who drives daily from Piedmont Avenue to Pleasanton, and he prefers it to BART because the train ride from Rockridge can be time consuming. If you can hop on BART at Lake Merritt station instead, though, he would be closer to the office and he would not have to bother transferring between trains. There are several nice neighborhoods in that area, including immediately around the lake itself and near Jack London Square.

[04kL4nD]

I'll second Jack London Square as it is transit friendly, walkable, safe, and very pet friendly. Many places in the Bay Area are anti-pet, but JLS is dog lover central.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

There is nothing in that area like Atlanta (been there, used to live in Nashville and visited Atlanta).

Because of the way the traffic is (from hell) your best bet is to live close to work -as in Pleasanton - and go do your urban activities after hours and on weekends.

You won't find the same situation in the Bay Area that you had in Atlanta, without a commute that will wear on you, if you want to live somewhere more urban - with a job in Pleasanton.

The good news is that Pleasanton is safe, you should be able to bike around pretty areas, and you won't be far away from Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco for more urban excitement.

Even Walnut Creek is pretty rural/suburban. There's a very small downtown core, and that's it. The rest is suburban sprawl.

[ttocs99]

Originally Posted by NoMoreSnowForMe

There is nothing in that area like Atlanta (been there, used to live in Nashville and visited Atlanta).

Because of the way the traffic is (from hell) your best bet is to live close to work -as in Pleasanton - and go do your urban activities after hours and on weekends.

You won't find the same situation in the Bay Area that you had in Atlanta, without a commute that will wear on you, if you want to live somewhere more urban - with a job in Pleasanton.

The good news is that Pleasanton is safe, you should be able to bike around pretty areas, and you won't be far away from Berkeley, Oakland, San Francisco for more urban excitement.

Even Walnut Creek is pretty rural/suburban. There's a very small downtown core, and that's it. The rest is suburban sprawl.

I wouldn't say WC's downtown core is small, there is A LOT packed into their downtown area, but I would agree that Walnut Creek in general is pretty spread out. I was very lucky that I lived 3 blocks from the downtown core. I think WC covers 3 zip codes and several square miles.

[jade408]

A commute to Pleasanton from Oakland or Berkeley is actually pretty predictable and consistent. Off-peak in both directions, and takes the same amount of time just about any day of the week. Walnut Creek is close without traffic (around 10-15 minutes) but 2-3 times as long or more during rush hour.

There are bike trails in Dublin and Pleasanton, but it isn't very bikeable yet (I.e. If you want to do errands). They are working on it, but it isn't great yet.

If you don't mind a fairly traffic free 30 minute drive, Elmwood in Berkeley or the neighborhoods mentioned in Oakland are the way to go. There is a small patch of congestion for about 1-2 miles around the 680 interchange on 580 in Dublin. The rest should be fast moving.

[Gibszee]

Thanks to all of you! I didn't think of Berkeley/Oakland as a reverse commute to Pleasanton, good to know. We'll also take a closer look at WC.

The concept of a reverse commute is somewhat foriegn to us. No matter which direction you're headed in ATL, you're gonna be in traffic!

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Gibszee

Thanks to all of you! I didn't think of Berkeley/Oakland as a reverse commute to Pleasanton, good to know. We'll also take a closer look at WC.

The concept of a reverse commute is somewhat foriegn to us. No matter which direction you're headed in ATL, you're gonna be in traffic!

There aren't too many reverse commutes in the Bay. That is one of the few.