Moving to Vacaville from San Francisco... Help? (Sacramento, Oakland: house, job market)

[AiMee.]

Hi Everyone,

My fiance and I will be moving up to Vacaville sometime this month. The house that we will be living in is near the new Kaiser around Vaca Valley Parkway (I think that's what it's called...) and it's about a 2 minute drive to the Vacaville Premium Outlets.

Currently, we live in South San Francisco and work in the city of San Francisco. I pretty much grew up in the city (high school, college, and work) and my fiance moved here a little over 3 years ago from Columbus, Ohio. I'm Filipina and he's African-American and we're in our mid-20's.

Getting to the point...

1. Until I find a job in Vacaville, I will be commuting to my current place of employment in San Francisco... How easy is it to find an office-type job in the Fairfield/Vacaville area? Also, what's the easiest/fastest way to commute to San Francisco?

2. Are there any cultural events or activities that we can attend or participate in? If you're a resident of Vacaville or the immediate surrounding areas, do you feel discriminated against in any way because of your race, age, weight, gender, etc.?

3. What is there to do out in this area for fun? I know that this is a pretty vague question, but there's so much to do in our area to keep us busy and entertained that we never really ventured past Berkeley. What in Vacaville keeps you busy and entertained? Are there any public classes we can take? Sports leagues? Museums or galleries?

4. What's the nearest party city? I'm just thinking of clubbing and bar-hopping... which also leads me to ask- if we party it up and get drunk at a bar... is taking a taxi our only option? Or can we take a bus that runs at night? I drive, but of course, I won't drive when I'm planning on partying late and drinking - and SF MUNI & BART (well.. sometimes BART...) have been my best friends in terms of getting me home OK for nights like these... LOL.


If you prefer answering this question in private, please feel free to PM me. I apologize for the lengthy questions, but I just want to be prepared for what's coming!

[kathy2002]

Can I ask why you choose Vacaville instead of San Francisco? Job Market in San Francisco is very good, but Vacaville not...

[gizmo980]

Originally Posted by AiMee.

Hi Everyone,

My fiance and I will be moving up to Vacaville sometime this month. The house that we will be living in is near the new Kaiser around Vaca Valley Parkway (I think that's what it's called...) and it's about a 2 minute drive to the Vacaville Premium Outlets.

Currently, we live in South San Francisco and work in the city of San Francisco. I pretty much grew up in the city (high school, college, and work) and my fiance moved here a little over 3 years ago from Columbus, Ohio. I'm Filipina and he's African-American and we're in our mid-20's.

Getting to the point...

1. Until I find a job in Vacaville, I will be commuting to my current place of employment in San Francisco... How easy is it to find an office-type job in the Fairfield/Vacaville area? Also, what's the easiest/fastest way to commute to San Francisco?

I can't answer all of your questions, but will take a stab at the ones I know! Finding a job in Vacaville might not be easy, but you shouldn't have a problem finding something in Fairfield... I don't know exactly how the job market is there, but it definitely has more opportunities than Vacaville. You could also commute to Sacramento or Davis, but that would take almost as long as SF.

As for the commute, the best (and only?) way is I-80 West to the Bay Bridge... I do that in reverse every day to Napa, and it's an annoying but easy drive. My commute is against traffic and during off-hours, though, so I can't say how it normally is. Will you be working standard (9-5ish) hours? If so, be prepared to sit in a LOT of traffic between Berkeley and SF. They don't call it "the maze" for nothing, LOL.

4. What's the nearest party city? I'm just thinking of clubbing and bar-hopping... which also leads me to ask- if we party it up and get drunk at a bar... is taking a taxi our only option? Or can we take a bus that runs at night? I drive, but of course, I won't drive when I'm planning on partying late and drinking - and SF MUNI & BART (well.. sometimes BART...) have been my best friends in terms of getting me home OK for nights like these... LOL.

Davis is a college town, so I'm guessing you could find some good parties there. Fairfield also has a "scene," I suppose, but I'm not sure exactly what it's like - lots of military folks live there, and I bet they party it up sometimes. If you get the hankering for some wine tasting, Napa is also a short drive away, but it's pretty slow-paced otherwise. And for a night in the city, you can always drive (or take a bus) to Vallejo, and catch the ferry to SF from there... or continue to Richmond for the closest BART station. I don't know about public transit up there, but I found these:

Home | Vacaville City Coach (http://www.cityofvacaville.com/departments/citycoach/ - broken link)
Vallejo California Municipal Transit Services (this one goes between Vacaville and Vallejo)
Transportation (http://www.ci.fairfield.ca.us/transportation.htm - broken link)
Transit.511.org

Good luck!

[corkfender]

Aimee - we go to the city and the eastbay a lot and use either the Capitol Corridor train from Suisun City and get off at Jack London/Oakland for hanging there (can also go North to Sac on this route) or the Vallejo Ferry to the city or the bus to Bart from Transit center in Fairfield. Benicia is fun for wandering around in the day - not sure of the nightlife. Summer weekends I think Vacaville has something going on by the creek and Suisun has something in the park as well. Davis and Winters are fun too. There are lots of classes and sports teams and hiking places. Kayaks can be rented at the Suisun harbor. Happy hunting. Jobs should be easy - Try Nelson Staffing website - they have quite a few posting that should give you a feel for things.

[Courtney Dickson]

I agree, I think that Nelson Staffing and their job board [url=http://www.nelsonjobs.com]NelsonJobs ~ Northern California's Premier Job Board ~ Home[/url] would be a good start for finding a job in the area. They have a local branch office in Fairfield. Here is their local number Tel: 707-863-8100.