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Hello,
I will be relocating to the greater Bay Area in the next 3-ish months for a new job in the Fairfield area. I have been doing some research and combing through the forums here on where to potentially call home in the region.
I have narrowed down on the following potential areas: Oakley, Discovery Bay, Brentwood, and Fairfield - Cordelia area. Walnut Creek sounds nice, but out of my budget from a quick Redfin search.
Commute is not a great concern, as I will be on a hybrid schedule and only commuting 2-3 times a week at the most.
About me: Early-30s, single women, south Asian, no kids, and want to move away from a concrete jungle while being close to amenities and/or having options. For reference, I will be moving from Orange County, hence the desire to move away from concrete. I'm an early bird and prefer the outdoors, so an active nightlife/scene is not a need of mine. Note, although I'm south Asian, it's not a priority to be near other south Asians; I'm rather used to living in non-South Asian communities and areas.
What I'm looking for:
- Safety
- Single family house (Ideally. Tired of sharing walls with unpleasant neighbors)
- Like to stay under $750k
- Near outdoor activities like hiking, biking, kayaking, etc.
- Decent to good school district, primarily for future resale purposes.
Any recommendations and views are appreciated. I will be visiting the region in another two weeks and look forward to actually exploring some of towns and neighborhoods listed above and beyond.
Hello, OP. I'm wondering how you came to choose the locations on your list. Perhaps you were looking for areas that were more affordable? I see Brentwood has a few houses within your price range--barely. And just a few. Oakley may be more affordable, but it's adjacent to Antioch, which is not recommended for people concerned with safety.
I took a look at Fairfield. It seems to have more housing options for you. I think, that even though you say you'd only be commuting 2-3 times/week, it's best to not set yourself up for a difficult commute. I don't know how the traffic situation is in that area after the shift to work-from-home due to Covid, but prior to that, it was pretty intimidating, even during non-commute hours. Why not put Fairfield at the top of your list? Nearby Vacaville is much more affordable. You might consider that, as well.
I looked elsewhere in Solano County, which is the north side of the Sacramento River (your list locations are all on the south side): Benicia, American Canyon. There are few listings at this time, but I found a couple in American Canyon or north Vallejo in your range. Those are nice areas, but still IMO a bit too much of a commute to Fairfield.
This is all the guidance I can offer. I can't speak to schools in Fairfield or Vacaville, or specify safe neighborhoods. My guess is, that Fairfield would be a better bet in general: a better investment. I think we have a couple of members here, who are familiar with that part of the Bay Area, though. Hopefully they'll see your thread.
An important question to ask would be, to what extent, if at all, do home buyers in Fairfield and Vacaville bid over and above the listed price. This is a very common practice in parts of the Bay Area closer to major urban centers, but competition for homes may not be as stiff out where your job is. But obviously, you need to know the situation, given your budget.
I hope others here will have more insights for you.
Hello, OP. I'm wondering how you came to choose the locations on your list. Perhaps you were looking for areas that were more affordable?
I took a look at Fairfield. It seems to have more housing options for you. I think, that even though you say you'd only be commuting 2-3 times/week, it's best to not set yourself up for a difficult commute. I don't know how the traffic situation is in that area after the shift to work-from-home due to Covid, but prior to that, it was pretty intimidating, even during non-commute hours. Why not put Fairfield at the top of your list? Nearby Vacaville is much more affordable. You might consider that, as well.
I looked elsewhere in Solano County, which is the north side of the Sacramento River (your list locations are all on the south side): Benicia, American Canyon. There are few listings at this time, but I found a couple in American Canyon or north Vallejo in your range. Those are nice areas, but still IMO a bit too much of a commute to Fairfield.
This is all the guidance I can offer. I can't speak to schools in Fairfield or Vacaville, or specify safe neighborhoods. My guess is, that Fairfield would be a better bet in general: a better investment. I think we have a couple of members here, who are familiar with that part of the Bay Area, though. Hopefully they'll see your thread.
An important question to ask would be, to what extent, if at all, do home buyers in Fairfield and Vacaville bid over and above the listed price. This is a very common practice in parts of the Bay Area closer to major urban centers, but competition for homes may not be as stiff out where your job is. But obviously, you need to know the situation, given your budget.
I hope others here will have more insights for you.
@Ruth4Truth, thanks for the inputs. I narrowed on those areas primarily after a basic real estate search, and yes affordability was a factor. Second factor was speaking to some people at work. As far as traffic, I was under the impression I would be traveling against traffic while heading north, which wouldn't be an issue. Guess not...definitely don't want to deal with a LA like jam.
I will say that although my initial search was in Fairfield and near Vacaville Junction, some of my colleagues warned me against crime rates in Fairfield that made me reconsider. In hindsight, the people warning me are not located in the region nor have lived there in the past, so I probably had a knee-jerk reaction to crossing out those areas.
Benicia seems nice, I'm just not so sure/knowledgeable about the flood risks highlighted on various real estate websites. Again, maybe another knee-jerk reaction, as I have not lived near bodies of water like bays and rivers and am not familiar enough with flooding patterns and risks.
I'm not sure, but you may be priced out of Benicia, too. That would be sad; it's a nice little town. The only flooding you'd need to worry about would be in the future, related to sea-level rise. Benicia is not flood-prone in current conditions. I don't know how long you plan to keep your property, as to whether sea-level rise projections would be relevant. The "downtown" part of Benicia is at sea level. Most neighborhoods are at higher elevation, and there are neighborhoods iin the hills, that are well beyond any flood risk.
In terms of affordability, there's an area between Vallejo and Benicia that has more affordable housing. You may have to wait until springtime for the RE market to open up a bit.
I see what your colleagues said about yours being a "reverse" commute, and therefore more practical. I suppose it's something to consider.
What I found frustrating in looking at RE listings for you, was that there are too many homes on the market that are too large for one person: 4 bedrooms. This is why it was hard to find something in your price range. All these overly large family-sized homes. Even some of the 3-br. homes are too big. (Cleaning a big place like that every week, and tending to maintenance is setting yourself up for more work and expense than you'd want to deal with.). There must be more variety in the housing in these areas, but the smaller homes just aren't on the market currently. But the trend in new developments out in what used to be rural areas has been to build luxury-type homes. This is not helpful to ordinary people, and singles who want something practical and affordable.
There's a new development going in in Brentwood, that looks like it's focussed on smaller, well-priced homes, but they haven't been built yet! They offer a choice of models, then they build the home for you. I'm sure you wouldn't want to get involved in something like that.
I don't know what your timeline is for this move, and if you can wait to see if the market starts opening up in March/April. You could also look up crime statistics in Fairfield and compare them to other areas.
Fairfield and Vacaville, so you know, aren't going to offer much in hiking/biking/kayaking etc. The good news, though, is you have the Oakland Hills and Diablo Range 45 minutes south for all that, and the Sierra foothills and the Sacramento River 75 minutes away.
Keep in mind coming from Brentwood and anywhere south of the bay equals a $6 one way bridge toll.
With all that, driving in the Bay Area isn't too fun commute wise. You are right the traffic goes towards SF and Oakland. So Vallejo to Fairfield is against, while Vacaville to Fairfield would be with it.
I would check out Fairfield first to live near work, and try to look for parks/preserves (there is Rush Ranch and Rockville) and see if that will satisfy the outdoor need. Fairfield/Vacaville, though in general are more urban sprawl/concrete jungle/big box store suburbs.
Hello,
I have narrowed down on the following potential areas: Oakley, Discovery Bay, Brentwood, and Fairfield - Cordelia area. Walnut Creek sounds nice, but out of my budget from a quick Redfin search.
Oakley, Discovery Bay and Brentwood are all too far from Fairfield. You would be better off in Sacramento. It would be 43 miles vs 57 miles.
I will say that although my initial search was in Fairfield and near Vacaville Junction, some of my colleagues warned me against crime rates in Fairfield that made me reconsider. In hindsight, the people warning me are not located in the region nor have lived there in the past, so I probably had a knee-jerk reaction to crossing out those areas.
The northwestern part of Fairfield is nice. This is the area near Manuel Campos Parkway and the area west of the I80 freeway. The Green Valley area is also nice but boring and isolated.
The newer houses in Vacaville junction look nice on the real estate sites. However when one actually looks at them in person they seem way too close together and depressing. It does not help that they are across from a large state prison on Peabody Rd.
Browns Valley is one of the nicer neighborhoods in Vacaville and is worth looking at. Vacaville is nicer than Fairfield but it is also hotter in the summer. I would pick the nice parts of Fairfield over Vacaville because of the summer temperatures. When Vacaville is 99 Fairfield might be 94.
Both Fairfield and Vacaville have small downtowns. I like them because they are quiet, peaceful, not pretentious and easy to park in. Almost no one else likes them on this board.
want to move away from a concrete jungle while being close to amenities and/or having options. For reference, I will be moving from Orange County, hence the desire to move away from concrete. I'm an early bird and prefer the outdoors, so an active nightlife/scene is not a need of mine.
Fairfield and Vacaville might be called mini-concrete jungles. Many places in Orange County are nicer. The traffic is not bad within these cities but the traffic on the I80 going to Sacramento is sometimes horrible - weekends included. Some of that weekend traffic is headed for Vacaville's big outlet mall.
If you want something different you could check out the small town of Winters which is 24 miles from Fairfield. Winters is close to Davis for amenities and activities.
The summer weather is quite hot in all of the above inland locations. If you hate hot weather or want to socialize in Berkeley you might want to consider parts of Contra Costa County like Richmond or Pinole.
This place will have fantastic weather but you will have a bridge toll going to Fairfield for work. Its almost like a condo with the very small yard and the hoa fee.
Well, as long as we're counting miles, American Canyon, north of Vallejo and by the Bay (cooler temps) is only about 16 miles from Fairfield. It looks farther than that on the map, but I guess that's deceptive. The Benicia area is about the same distance.
Winters, OTOH, is significantly more affordable, if you don't mind the heat. Here's a listing in Winters. The lots seem to be larger, if that matters to you. (It's nice to have some distance from the neighbors.) And Davis is a nice university community, with plenty of shopping and other amenities. https://www.realtor.com/realestatean...4_M11536-43452
Be aware that keeping lawns green in the summer would be expensive.
Pinole is on the Bay, and about 22 miles from Fairfield, but the RE is more expensive. (And there's the bridge toll capoeira mentioned.) You could find a property in good condition that fit your price range, but there might be competition, because most properties are above your price cap. Again--I don't know to what extent properties in that areas get bid up over the listed price. I would think there would be less pressure of that sort, the farther out from the more popular areas (Berkeley/Oakland) one gets, but these days, one doesn't know what to expect. Ask your agent when you're ready to look.
Last edited by Ruth4Truth; 02-15-2022 at 10:37 AM..
Thinking more on this, I would really "live where you work" and probably choose Fairfield. There actually are some parks and you can kayak on the Suisun Marina/Slough. And it is close enough to the redwoods in Marin, and mountains. I'd think there is enough parks in Fairfield for the week and you can "weekend warrior" the beach, redwoods etc.
Fairfield is also a little cooler than Vacaville/Winters. Keep in mind, though, Fairfield is famous for its high winds. This keeps it cooler.
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