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newvsoldschool
428 Posts
The summer heat can get pretty bad in Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek but it's nothing compared to Texas. Also, I find the Pleasant Hill and Walnut Creek BART hilariously close to each other, as if there's no point having both of them. Dublin is another nice place to live in, though it may be a bit far from Berkeley. Edit - and three more recommendations if you want a nice, quiet town: San Ramon / Lafayette / Orinda | ||
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Cr4zyH0r5e
Peru1308 Posts
Hayward could be a decent option as well. It's got some nice neighborhoods I believe. Good Luck! | ||
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SiCkO_
United States481 Posts
On April 18 2012 08:07 newvsoldschool wrote: I live in Pleasant Hill currently. Don't live in Concord. That's cruel!  If she wants less than a 30 min commute, as well as a house, the best bet would probably be El Sobrante, El Cerrito, or Rockridge (though that might be pricey). If she is willing to put up with 40 min - 1 hour than Concord/Pleasant Hill are an option, but they are on average 10 - 15 degrees hotter (though they are still pretty cool in comparison to Texas). The Bay Area is pricey, and renting has been quite difficult recently (there recently was an article about it in the Local section of the Contra Costa Times) but it's not impossible. The Bay Area is a fabulous place to live and Children's is probably one of the best places in the county in terms of Pediatrics. | ||
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Afk
United States29 Posts
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Shines Heart
3 Posts
Pleasanthill and Concord are cities I don't know too much about since I don't go there often, but I haven't really heard anything negative about either area so I think they are pretty solid choices. Also around a 25min or so commute. As far as Berkeley and Emeryville go, I think they should be choices behind what is listed above. Personally, I don't like the feel of Berkeley. I, too, enjoy my privacy and, no offense to Berkeley people, enjoy more traditional folk. I never really like travelling to Berkeley and I just don't feel comfortable there. Just not my style. Emeryville is pretty whatever. I traveled there a few times a week for a year or so and don't really see it as a good place to live. It's got a cool center but that's pretty much it. Pretty noisy whenever I went there. I would rank it pretty much even with Berkeley as far as my overall preference goes when ranking the cities. 15min commute maybe. Closer, but based on what you said about privacy the other cities I listed have more options I believe. Not that these two cities don't, there are just more likely more in the other cities. Avoid Oakland if you can. Good luck in your choice! | ||
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DyEnasTy
United States3714 Posts
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GulpyBlinkeyes
United States1449 Posts
Depending on how far away you're willing to live, how much you're planning on driving, and what your wife's schedule is like, another thing that might be worth considering is the flow of traffic. People can probably advise you on the details of specific routes, but the general rule of thumb is that traffic will be backed up on the freeways toward San Francisco in the mornings and going away from San Francisco in the evening. So, for instance, El Cerrito/Pinole/etc. have some cheaper housing options that aren't too far away, but if your wife is working something around a 9-5 schedule, she'd be fighting traffic to and from work, which can be aggravating. (As people have noted, this is all the more reason to try to be near Bart if you end up looking for housing in a nearby city!) | ||
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foureyedwonder
United States20 Posts
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jmbthirteen
United States10734 Posts
Like one of the other guys said, be sure to explore Northern California as much as you can. There is so much great stuff here. I moved here about a year ago from Pennsylvania and man, its so much better. San Francisco is a great city. I also love going up to Lake Tahoe. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. | ||
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mahi29
United States235 Posts
On April 18 2012 08:07 newvsoldschool wrote: Dublin is another nice place to live in, though it may be a bit far from Berkeley. Edit - and three more recommendations if you want a nice, quiet town: San Ramon / Lafayette / Orinda Dublin is about 45 minutes from Berkeley thru BART and about 35 minutes driving. I don't know if that is too far or not, but I will attest to Dublin/San Ramon area being super quiet and nice. I've lived there for the last 5 years and to me, it is the stereotypical suburbia. I believe its sorta pricey, but I'm not too sure since I don't pay attention to that stuff. If the commute isn't too bad, San Ramon area would be a solid place to live. | ||
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Mandarinez
United States52 Posts
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Render
United States249 Posts
There have been a lot of really good recommendations made so far, so I won't repeat what everyone else has said. Something to consider however: The two major options for you are the areas immediately around Children's Hospital (Berkeley, North Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, San Leandro, Alameda etc.), and the farther East Bay (Orinda, Lafayette, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek). All of the cities I just listed are great, but it may be helpful to think about the type of community you two want to live in. The areas immediately around Children's Hospital are a little more "city-ish". The houses/yards are smaller, and the buildings older, but there are tons of things to do (great food, fun night life, access to SF etc.); there's always something going on in this area. The farther East Bay is probably a lot more like Texas, in that the buildings are typically (but not always) newer, nicer, with more space and quiet neighbors; much more of an archetypal suburb. I grew up in Pleasant Hill/Martinez, and it was a very safe and nice area, but a little boring. I live in Albany now while I'm finishing up my Masters at UC Berkeley (done in two weeks!), and I LOVE IT. To be honest, Albany is the best marriage of the two types of places I listed above. The houses were mostly built in the 1950's and aren't huge, but the neighborhoods are beautiful, with a really pleasant small town feel (quiet, good restaurants, family oriented, Point Isabel Dog Park right on the ocean etc.) Add that to the fact that it's an 11 minute BART ride to MacArthur (the station your wife will get off) and still has access to all the fun nightlife stuff in this part of the East Bay. If you're interested in checking out anything in this area, feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to show you around. Good luck finding a place! | ||
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DyEnasTy
United States3714 Posts
On April 18 2012 09:49 jmbthirteen wrote: Welcome to Norcal! I'm not in the bay, I'm in Sacramento, but I have family who lives in the bay and I love going down there to visit. I will echo the Walnut Creek sentiment. I know people who live there and they like it quite a bit. And it doesn't have the problems that Oakland does. Like one of the other guys said, be sure to explore Northern California as much as you can. There is so much great stuff here. I moved here about a year ago from Pennsylvania and man, its so much better. San Francisco is a great city. I also love going up to Lake Tahoe. One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. What!?!? Why isnt there more SC2/Barcraft stuff from Sac up? I live in Grass Valley which is about 2 hours away. | ||
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TheGeno
United States12 Posts
Glhf finding a place!!! | ||
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don_kyuhote
3006 Posts
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/1e4Xc.jpg) | ||
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MaV_gGSC
Canada1345 Posts
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Man with a Plan
United States401 Posts
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DNaid
United States1 Post
I currently work at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Insitute (CHORI), which is a few blocks from the hospital, and I went to school at UC Berkeley. Honestly anywhere in Berkeley would be a really great choice to live. It's close and there are many housing options that fit exactly what you want. Obviously too close to the University would not be ideal; anything south of Derby would be far enough from students. Oakland is a bit trickier to figure out. Anywhere close to the hospital is a bad idea. About a month ago, we couldn't leave work because the Oakland SWAT team was trying to arrest some suspected armed robbers a couple blocks away. I have a coworker who is moving out of her place in the Temescal neighborhood (a few blocks from the hospital) because it got broken into a couple times in the last month. Also, police helicopters are not uncommon. A little further south is Lake Merritt/Downtown Oakland, which is nicer than near the hospital. The houses there are generally very close together, but it's mostly families. I don't want to say anything inaccurate about the rest of Oakland, but I would not recommend going further east/south of Lake Merritt. Emeryville is developing really quickly so you'll have a good chance finding a recently built place. It's also ridiculously close to the hospital and the traffic is minimal (she won't have to use the freeway). Like others have said before, it's close to malls and movie theaters. Freeway traffic can be really horrible around there because it is next to two freeways that dump cars onto the Bay Bridge. I live in Danville, which is in the valley east of the hospital. First of all, anything east of the Caldecott tunnel (Orinda) gets really hot during the summer. Berkeley/Oakland is pretty much always the same cool, bay temperature. If you guys are looking to live out here, the commute will be more of an issue. My 25 mile drive takes about 40-50 minutes during normal commute hours. I'd say that Walnut Creek might be the farthest you'll want to look to preserve the short commute time. Orinda, Lafayette and Walnut Creek are pretty much as suburban as you can get. The areas are really nice, lots of families, open space, and old people haha. That said, the price would probably reflect this. I wouldn't rely on BART too heavily for getting to the hospital. The MacArthur BART station can be sketchy and your wife will have to wait there while the less than punctual shuttle takes its sweet time getting around. My best piece of advice is not to live near the hospital. Places are cheaper there for a reason. I'd recommend Berkeley because it seems to knock off all the items on your checklist (assuming the sticker shock hasn't got you yet). Let me know if you have any specific questions and welcome to the Bay Area!!!! | ||
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Superiorwolf
United States5509 Posts
 Btw it does get hot on the east side of the tunnel over summer, but it's never unbearable because it's not humid, so even 100 degree whether is bearable. Alamo / Danville is a really nice quiet suburb, I'd probably suggest Pleasant Hill / Walnut Creek instead since they are a bit bigger and from what I know should be less expensive. If you're willing to live in Antioch I've heard the the housing there is all super cheap because of foreclosures and stuff, and the area is very new so everything looks nice, although the area isn't the best (it's not bad either I think). If you want to live at Berkeley in a Starcraft / gaming team house next year let me know LOL! Berkeley is a nice place to live too, lots of stuff going on and our CSL team has recently been trying to run a lot more events here and start up a nice community here Walnut Creek -> Berkeley is 20-25 minutes if you drive during non rush-hours so it's very close. Just don't go during rush hour as it could take upwards of an hour. | ||
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Froadac
United States6733 Posts
On April 18 2012 11:33 Superiorwolf wrote: Grew up in Alamo / Danville (wow, didn't know so many people on TL are from there!) and now going to UC Berkeley (and living in Berkeley). Bay Area is seriously just awesome and I think you guys have made an awesome choice to come here Btw it does get hot on the east side of the tunnel over summer, but it's never unbearable because it's not humid, so even 100 degree whether is bearable. Alamo / Danville is a really nice quiet suburb, I'd probably suggest Pleasant Hill / Walnut Creek instead since they are a bit bigger and from what I know should be less expensive. If you're willing to live in Antioch I've heard the the housing there is all super cheap because of foreclosures and stuff, and the area is very new so everything looks nice, although the area isn't the best (it's not bad either I think). If you want to live at Berkeley in a Starcraft / gaming team house next year let me know LOL! Berkeley is a nice place to live too, lots of stuff going on and our CSL team has recently been trying to run a lot more events here and start up a nice community here Walnut Creek -> Berkeley is 20-25 minutes if you drive during non rush-hours so it's very close. Just don't go during rush hour as it could take upwards of an hour. Or an hour and a half. Or two hours. Sometimes it gets so ridiculous. | ||
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