Relocating to Bay Area...What do you suggest? (San Francisco, Oakland: real estate, house)

[jdtat]

About us:
African American recent college graduate couple with dogs

Budget:
Under 300K

No kids, No commute (Work at home)

We really like suburban areas with at least 1 major super-market. We were kind of overwhelmed with the many different areas when we visited the last time and would like to help to narrow down the areas. We both grew up in areas that were 70/30 in regards to racial mix and we would be comfortable keeping in line with that as long as the communities are comfortable with us. Though we may have kids down the line, schools are not something we are concerned with since we may move by then.

I know this is very general in asking (so please give me any input!) but I am looking to move anywhere in the Bay Area.

If I have left out anything that could help with any suggestions, please let me know and thanks in advance!!

[mayorhaggar]

You just graduated and are going to buy a house? Ok...I wish I could be so lucky.

300k is a bit low for the Bay Area but there are places cheaper than that. Here is a list that a real estate guy wrote up here recently, read the second post here:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/san-f...putations.html

Going from that you might want to look at the Hercules and Pinole areas. You might also want to look at areas north of the Carquinez, like maybe Fairfield. Also generally the further out you get from SF and the coast and Silicon Valley, the cheaper it gets.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by jdtat

Relocating to Bay Area...What do you suggest?

Budget:
300K

With a $300K down payment, you might borrow another $700K, depending on your income & other debts, giving you $1Million to play with.

There are several $1M fixer-uppers and tear-downs in several communities.

[clongirl]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

With a $300K down payment, you might borrow another $700K, depending on your income & other debts, giving you $1Million to play with.

There are several $1M fixer-uppers and tear-downs in several communities.

Lol....that's pretty funny.

BUT seriously OP there are a few towns which are mentioned above that would be great.

The towns of Concord, Pittsburg and Antioch all have Bart trains where you could easily afford a house with public transport into San Francisco. I recently visited some of these communities that are being "remodeled" or refurbished and built up and I was absolutely shocked at how "up and coming" some of these areas seemed to look. I honestly couldn't believe my eyes.

Now I suppose it depends on if you're a gambling man (or woman!) or not, but if/when these formerly blighted areas take a turn, then they'll be really nice. I was in downtown Concord recently (historically a town with a really crappy reputation) and was absolutely STUNNED to see how nice the downtown area looked. I had honestly only ever seen the average and way below average parts and just kinda had it in my head that it's not nice.

There were people in the park playing frisbee w/ their dogs, while loads of folks were walking around, and hanging out in the cafes and restaurants, shopping, etc. I didn't see any thugs or anything of that nature...just a very diverse and happy looking crowd.

So some folks at some point might scoff at some of these towns with "bad reputations" but if I wasn't super wealthy, was someone that wanted diversity, and a community spirit of sorts and could look past the grittier neighborhoods, then some of these towns that I've mentioned are REALLY good options, imo. Same for Pittsburg--the downtown area is getting a complete overhaul or something. The area seemed a bit quiet however, but chatted to a few folks from there and they are saying things are starting to pick up. The few cafes that were open were packed! The area was very walkable etc with the town square right on a harbor.

So sorry this ended up so long, just wanted to recommend some areas that I just visited that changed my perspective!

[josh u]

What do you mean by 70/30 racial mix? If you mean 70% non-black & 30% black, your choices are limited to Oakland and San Leandro and certain neighborhoods of other cities. If you mean 70% white and 30% non-white, then I can't think of any cities where you can get something for 300k.

[jdtat]

Originally Posted by clongirl

Lol....that's pretty funny.

BUT seriously OP there are a few towns which are mentioned above that would be great.

The towns of Concord, Pittsburg and Antioch all have Bart trains where you could easily afford a house with public transport into San Francisco. I recently visited some of these communities that are being "remodeled" or refurbished and built up and I was absolutely shocked at how "up and coming" some of these areas seemed to look. I honestly couldn't believe my eyes.

Now I suppose it depends on if you're a gambling man (or woman!) or not, but if/when these formerly blighted areas take a turn, then they'll be really nice. I was in downtown Concord recently (historically a town with a really crappy reputation) and was absolutely STUNNED to see how nice the downtown area looked. I had honestly only ever seen the average and way below average parts and just kinda had it in my head that it's not nice.

There were people in the park playing frisbee w/ their dogs, while loads of folks were walking around, and hanging out in the cafes and restaurants, shopping, etc. I didn't see any thugs or anything of that nature...just a very diverse and happy looking crowd.

So some folks at some point might scoff at some of these towns with "bad reputations" but if I wasn't super wealthy, was someone that wanted diversity, and a community spirit of sorts and could look past the grittier neighborhoods, then some of these towns that I've mentioned are REALLY good options, imo. Same for Pittsburg--the downtown area is getting a complete overhaul or something. The area seemed a bit quiet however, but chatted to a few folks from there and they are saying things are starting to pick up. The few cafes that were open were packed! The area was very walkable etc with the town square right on a harbor.

So sorry this ended up so long, just wanted to recommend some areas that I just visited that changed my perspective!

Thanks so much! I appreciate you being candid. I have heard about these areas, but didn't know they were being redone so I will check them out.

[jdtat]

Originally Posted by josh u

What do you mean by 70/30 racial mix? If you mean 70% non-black & 30% black, your choices are limited to Oakland and San Leandro and certain neighborhoods of other cities. If you mean 70% white and 30% non-white, then I can't think of any cities where you can get something for 300k.

By thath, I meant 70% white 30% non-white is how we grew up. I'm not trying to find something that's exactly the same, but I wouldn't be comfortable living in an area that's completely opposite.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by jdtat

By thath, I meant 70% white 30% non-white is how we grew up. I'm not trying to find something that's exactly the same, but I wouldn't be comfortable living in an area that's completely opposite.

The only places like that are in the outer suburban reasons. For example even though Oakland is billed as a chocolate city, it is about 30% white, 30% black, 25% asian, and 15% latino. All middle income areas are really mixed, but there can be an ethnic concentration at either end of the income spectrum in some areas (and some well-off areas are minority majority).

A city like Fremont is probably pretty similar, except there are more Asians and less Blacks. The greater bay area has a small percentage of African-Americans. I think it is down to 5%.

In comparison to most of the US, ethnic enclaves aren't very ethnic here. You'll find everyone in virtually every area (Chinatown excluded, that is definitely less mixed). It is significantly different than other places. For example I live in a middle to upper middle income area of Oakland. The stats are a bit different, there are more white people and less latino people in my part of town. I think it is something like 50-55% white, 30% black and the rest is split up between asian and latino, with more asians. If you go down the block about 1/2 a mile, one area is about 45-50% black, 30% white and latinos and asians are about even. If you head in the other direction it is 70-75% white, and the other minorities are pretty mixed in.

Where ever you go in Oakland, you are likely to see everyone out and about in every neighborhood: at the grocery store, the coffeeshop, the restaurant or the bar. It is really refreshing, and different. Going back to a typical white majority neighborhood would feel like such a downgrade for me. I am used to seeing everyone around.

[80skeys]

I don't think any housing is under $300K in the Bay Area. Maybe the East Bay? I know you can't find anything to purchase for that price in the South Bay or Peninsula.

From what I can see, most of the Bay Area is very racially mixed. For example, I live in Sunnyvale and I think there's about 40% Caucasian Americans. The rest of the population are mostly Indian and Asian.