Piedmont vs. Monclair vs. Other suggestion (San Francisco, Oakland: renting, good credit, loans)

[jamesrhino]

Hello,

My first post here and appreciate the wealth of knowledge on the forum.

We are relocating to the East Bay from the East Coast. I will work in SF and my wife will work in Oakland. We have narrowed down to Piedmont and Monclair based on various suggestions, but are open to other suggestions. Our current budget is around $1m.

Priorities are:

- Safety (I travel frequently, so my wife and kids are at home alone a lot)
- School for kids (the older one will be in elementary school in a couple of years)
- Commute to SF (I would like to drive to the city, but minimize the driving distance)
- Prefer a modern / stylish house in terms of interior, but really don't care about the garden/yard.

Would also love to have cultural / ethnic diversity, if possible. Good restaurants would be plus, but not necessary.

We are open to places other than these two. We just don't know much about the East Bay.

Any advice would be appreciated!

[Ultrarunner]

All those that I know moved to Piedmont for one reason... Public Schools.

[ssmaster]

safety and commute to sf are equal.
elementry school should be equal.piedmont highschool is superior so at least 4 years of private school should be planned if you stayed in montclair.
montclair is more diverse.

i haven't been able to figure out the cost benefit analysis :if you have one child and buy a larger home in mountclair for $800,000 and pay out of pocket for 7 years of private school you may be better off than buying a smaller house for $1,200,000 in piedmont without private school expense (not taking into account the interest on the house being tax deductable)
the more children you have piedmont seems to be a better choice.

there is not a lot of inventory for less than $1 million in piedmont.

[jamesrhino]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

safety and commute to sf are equal.
elementry school should be equal.piedmont highschool is superior so at least 4 years of private school should be planned if you stayed in montclair.
montclair is more diverse.

i haven't been able to figure out the cost benefit analysis :if you have one child and buy a larger home in mountclair for $800,000 and pay out of pocket for 7 years of private school you may be better off than buying a smaller house for $1,200,000 in piedmont without private school expense (not taking into account the interest on the house being tax deductable)
the more children you have piedmont seems to be a better choice.

there is not a lot of inventory for less than $1 million in piedmont.

This is extremely insightful.

You mentioned that commute to SF is equal. I've been informed that there is a tunnel that connects between Piedmont and Montclair that gets jammed all the time. Is there a different route that one can take to get to SF from Montclair? How about to Oakland from Montclair - can one avoid this tunnel?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by jamesrhino

This is extremely insightful.

You mentioned that commute to SF is equal. I've been informed that there is a tunnel that connects between Piedmont and Montclair that gets jammed all the time. Is there a different route that one can take to get to SF from Montclair? How about to Oakland from Montclair - can one avoid this tunnel?

There is no tunnel... for practical purposes, one would never know where Piedmont stops and Monclair starts.

Montclair is a district in the City of Oakland... the city of Oakland completely encircles the City of Piedmont... very unusual... but the residents of Piedmont voted to form their own city over a school issue many years ago. Piedmont has some retail and almost zero industry.

Friends describe some sections of Piedmont as reminding them of the East Coast...

There is a tunnel connecting Alameda County to Contra Costa County and it is a bear... especially at commute times... construction has again started on a 4th bore... who knows when it will be done... years, I'm sure.

[BayDude]

Originally Posted by jamesrhino

Hello,

My first post here and appreciate the wealth of knowledge on the forum.

We are relocating to the East Bay from the East Coast. I will work in SF and my wife will work in Oakland. We have narrowed down to Piedmont and Monclair based on various suggestions, but are open to other suggestions. Our current budget is around $1m.

Priorities are:

- Safety (I travel frequently, so my wife and kids are at home alone a lot)
- School for kids (the older one will be in elementary school in a couple of years)
- Commute to SF (I would like to drive to the city, but minimize the driving distance)
- Prefer a modern / stylish house in terms of interior, but really don't care about the garden/yard.

Would also love to have cultural / ethnic diversity, if possible. Good restaurants would be plus, but not necessary.

We are open to places other than these two. We just don't know much about the East Bay.

Any advice would be appreciated!

You mean to say literally have $1 million lying around in the bank?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by BayDude

You mean to say literally have $1 million lying around in the bank?

Having a budget of one million isn't the same as having a million in the bank.

If the home appraises and the buyer has 25% down... loans are always available... add a termite clearance and good credit with a debt ratio no more than 33% with the mortgage... you can write your own ticket...

[tanglenet]

There's only 4 active listings right now for homes up to 1 mil in Piedmont, and you would not want to live in one of them (Oakland Ave). Since schools are not a priority right now, I would suggest renting for 6 months to a year and get to know the area. You may also want to consider Orinda and Lafayette for schools.

[LisainCalifornia]

Originally Posted by tanglenet

You may also want to consider Orinda and Lafayette for schools.

I agree--from your list, I would make sure you check out Orinda, Lafayette, and Moraga.

We moved to Moraga 10 years ago with a similar wishlist. It is very safe here--and family oriented. Kids walk/ride to school, and play outside with friends here.

My friend who lives in Piedmont has a beautiful old house (similar to the one we owned in San Francisco before our move), but her kids never play outside--they only do playdates. This may not be important to you, but it has turned out to be a very big lifestyle difference for my kids.

The schools are actually a bit (although small amount) better over here as well. The houses are very suburban ranch style for the most part, so don't hold the same quaint charm as the ones in Piedmont, though. Think Brady Bunch style. We have a half acre lot with a modest 4 bedroom ranch style home that backs up to a hill on a cul de sac. Lots of children play outside all day, and we have great views of the oakland hills.

My husband commutes to the city, as do many that live here. This area is pricey due to the proximity to Oakland and the city, but is similar to the prices in Piedmont and Monclair, I think.

Just a suggestion.
Lisa

[Shelacious]

All things being what other posters said above (Piedmont, Lamorinda have good public schools, while Montclair/Oakland sort of craps out either in middle school, or just before high school) I think if you want a more urban diverse lifestyle, Montclair is the place. Lamorinda is really a suburb, so if that doesn't float your boat, take that into consideration. My coworker and her hubby dream of living in a larger city, don't really like Lamorinda, but stay there for the schools (and that they got a great deal on their house). It's also not very racially diverse, although it might be more so orientation/religion/politically wise).

Out of all those places, if I had unlimited $, I'd probably pick Piedmont, since it's near Oakland/SF but richer, cleaner, safer, and much better schools. It might be even less diverse than Lamorinda though. Montclair geographically is a bit too out of the way for me, but I live near of highway 13 so we do a decent amount of shopping on Montclair Village and we also enjoy shopping there.