Relocating to Hercules from Minneapolis (San Francisco, Oakland: real estate market, rental, condo)

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by jade408

Your quality of life will be worse unless you need to spend every waking moment outside. Unless you have a household income of $350k, then you'll approximate the quslity of life of $90-100k in Minneapolis.

I completely agree with this income estimate for maintaining the quality of life!

[smashystyle]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

Hi all,

I am looking for some info, opinions, and feedback about the town of Hercules from people who live there. My family currently lives in a suburb of Minneapolis, but are on the cusp of a move to the bay area. We have been out there once for a few days to survey the greater San Francisco area, and after working with a realtor to look at some of the "more affordable" (yeah right!) areas we think we have settled on searching for a house in Hercules. We like the fact that it is more of a quiet town and seemed at least on the surface to be pretty family friendly and safe.

I am hoping to get from the community a better sense of the area, the things that you can really only discover about a place by living there for a while. I know some people who have moved to suburbs of Minneapolis without fully understanding what they were signing up for, and really regretted their choice of town later because they mostly arbitrarily picked one based on seeing it once for 20 minutes.

Reasons I *think* I like Hercules:

-Relatively affordable
-Seems safe
-Seems quiet
-Seems family friendly
-Public schools have a decent / not terrible rating (we can't afford private schools)
-Mild climate - temps in the summer are not in the 90s or 100+ all summer long (according to climate data I've seen online)


Things that worry me about Hercules:

-Daily rush hour commute / can I find a job close to home that won't have a horrible commute (how is the commute to somewhere like Walnut Creek?)
-Public schools are only mediocre, especially at middle school and high school level
-Close (too close?) to areas/towns that people have warned me are unsafe
-I have heard that I should be wary about the refinery in the area... why? How does that affect me?


I would love to hear from some people who actually live in Hercules about what it is really like there? Do you love it, think it's ok, or hate it?

Thanks!!

Hercules is reasonably nice and your read on it is pretty accurate. The weather is very good. I've never noticed bad air from the refineries, probably because of prevailing winds, nor is there much crime spillover from the worse parts of Richmond which are rather far away.

My biggest concern about moving to Hercules would be the commute. It sounds like you don't know where you would be working. There is an express bus from Hercules to SF that's pretty nice. You can also drive or take the bus to El Cerrito Del Norte BART. Walnut Creek would mostly be a counter-commute so it wouldn't be too bad. But I would not want to be driving from Hercules to SF or even Oakland on a daily basis. Most people I know who live in Hercules and work in SF take public transit. A commute to Silicon Valley is unworkable.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by capoeira

Hercules Middle School is a 3/10. That is more on the lousy side. Mediocre is would be a 5.

Hercules Middle in Hercules , CA - ranking, school information, ratings, test scores, test results

According to the site you linked to, 43% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and kids from lower economic backgrounds usually score significantly lower on standardized tests, which is a huge factor in that site's "rating" system.

When I see demographics like that, I think to myself that the "rating" doesn't necessarily mean the school is bad; it could just mean that it has a more challenging student population to educate than a school in, say, Palo Alto or another area where most of the kids come from upper income families with college educated parents.

The OP would have to do more research on the school, it's teachers, and it's programs to make that determination, obviously; just like you I don't have any personal knowledge of the school.

But that's the trouble with sites that purport to "rate" schools: the "rating" often only tells part of the story. Parents need to dig deeper to decide whether a particular school might be a good match for their kids.

[2sleepy]

You could move to a nice area of Vallejo (yes there are nice areas of Vallejo) and take the Ferry to SF, the only real problem with that is that Vallejo Public schools are pretty awful. Or, if Walnut Creek is too expensive, you might look at Martinez, North Concord Bart is quite close to Martinez and that would take you to SF, Martinez has good schools

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

According to the site you linked to, 43% of the students qualify for free or reduced lunch, and kids from lower economic backgrounds usually score significantly lower on standardized tests, which is a huge factor in that site's "rating" system.

The demographics definitely play a big part but a 3 rating is quite low and bad news for any parent concerned about quality education. Not a place to move to from out of state.

There are many higher scoring schools with a much larger percentage of subsidized lunch students . An example of these are some pretty good schools in San Francisco.

Lincoln High 59% free/subsidized lunch and api rank of 6


Abraham Lincoln High in San Francisco , CA - ranking, school information, ratings, test scores, test results

Wallenberg High 63% free/subsidized lunch and api of 7

Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High in San Francisco , CA - ranking, school information, ratings, test scores, test results

Balboa High 67% free/subsidized lunch and api of 5.

The Kipp Academy charter school has 79% free/subsidized lunch and an api of 8.

http://school-ratings.com/school_det...780101352.html

And how about Roosevelt Middle 65% free/subsidized lunch and api rank of 9!

Roosevelt Middle in San Francisco , CA - ranking, school information, ratings, test scores, test results

Also Bella Vista elementary in East Oakland has 98% free/subsidized lunches and an api of 6. That is probably a really good school with dedicated teachers.

http://school-ratings.com/school_det...596001655.html

These API ranks were provided by the California Department of Education.

https://edsource.org/wp-content/publ...eb_03Final.pdf

[MPLS_native]

Originally Posted by jade408

Unless you have a household income of $350k, then you'll approximate the quslity of life of $90-100k in Minneapolis.

What is this figure based on? I am to assume that every household in the Bay area is pulling in a minimum of $350k a year to be happy? That doesn't sound right to me. What about normal people with normal jobs? Not everyone works in the high technology field. How do other people get by?

[Oakformonday]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

What is this figure based on? I am to assume that every household in the Bay area is pulling in a minimum of $350k a year to be happy? That doesn't sound right to me. What about normal people with normal jobs? Not everyone works in the high technology field. How do other people get by?

This poster is very knowledgeable but I am not sure why she is claiming you need to gross almost 30k a month to be happy here. That seem quite hyperbolic. You certainly need to make more to afford the housing costs here but it would definitely be less than 350k annually! It all depends on what you want.

I can't speak for some of these posters but there are people here that do not want more people moving to the Bay Area so they will discourage you. Not saying these posters are like this but it sounds like maybe they are. Who knows??? Anyway, you know your budget, you have spoken to realtors and it sounds like there are homes you can afford in Hercules. I do not know anything about that town so will not comment. Don't listen to all 'advice' you receive online. Good luck and hope it works out!!!

[jade408]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

What is this figure based on? I am to assume that every household in the Bay area is pulling in a minimum of $350k a year to be happy? That doesn't sound right to me. What about normal people with normal jobs? Not everyone works in the high technology field. How do other people get by?

I am exaggerating only slightly.

The people here making less and affording typical middle class blessings inherited a home or locked in cheap housing costs during a bust.

If you want to live in a family sizedhouse, in a good school district with a commute under 45 minutes. Plus savings for retirement and family trips. That is basically the going rate these days.

The median housing cost in the entire region is about $750k right now. And have friend with kids and 300k in household income who can't get anything larger than a 2-bedtoom condo to close to work.

You sacrifice a lot, if you have a family, here in the Bay Area. Housing costs are crazy right now, even in the exburbs. The price of Hercules would get you in a very nice nighborhood with excellent schools and amenities anywhere else.

*income taxes are quite high here too.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

What is this figure based on? I am to assume that every household in the Bay area is pulling in a minimum of $350k a year to be happy? by?

She did not say $350k a year is required to be happy. Happiness is a choice and is not dependent on where one lives. She said $350k here buys the same quality of life as $90-100k in Minneapolis. The main difference is in housing. Here is an example. Eden Prairie and Lafayette are both comparable suburbs with great school districts. Here are a couple of $325k homes in Eden Prairie that are affordable for a person making $100k per year based on the 3x income rule.

https://www.trulia.com/property/1047...airie-MN-55346

https://www.trulia.com/property/5031...airie-MN-55344

A similar house in Lafayette is 1.16 million. This home is affordable to a person making $350k per year using approximately the 3x income estimate.

https://www.trulia.com/property/3113...yette-CA-94549

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

What about normal people with normal jobs? Not everyone works in the high technology field. How do other people get by?

Take your pick. Only #'s 3 and 7 are desirable choices.

1)They live in much smaller houses/condos/apartments compared to other places
2)They commute really far from places like Livermore,Tracy,Vacaville or Gilroy
3)They inherited a house or bought when prices were much lower
4)They rent out a room
5)They work a 2nd job on the weekends
6)They rent instead of buy
7)They get lucky or smart and make a big hit in the stock market
8)They settle for bad school districts
9)They spend a very large percentage of their income on housing

[Oakformonday]

OP, I advise to not listen to the people telling you that you should not move here unless you gross 30k/month. We have a segment of the population that are housing activists. They do not want new people moving here. One of these posters rents so she does not know what it is like to own. You know your budget and know that you should keep your housing costs to 30% of your gross. At 350k a year salary - you could afford up to 9k/month. Run the numbers for yourself and make a decision based on facts. Good luck.