Considering a move - best N. California cities to raise a family?

[conniez]

DH & I have both lived in the Bay Area all our lives, but we are now thinking of moving out of the Silicon Valley because it's just TOO expensive! We could buy 2 homes in Stockton for the amount we're paying in rent!! The thing is, we are not sure we'd like to live that far out from the Silicon Valley area since there aren't too many jobs in Stockton, so I was hoping I could get some input on cities that are great for raising families. Some we considered were Tracy, Mountain House, Stockton (preferably areas not as hot as Sacramento!). TIA

[wencit]

How far away from the Silicon Valley are you thinking of moving? Will you or DH still commute to that area?

We live in the Tri-Valley (Dublin/Pleasanton/Livermore area) and absolutely LOVE it here. To me, it's the best of both worlds: a great place to raise children, wonderful schools, housing that's a little more affordable than Silicon Valley, nice small city feel, but still very accessible to San Francisco and San Jose. The only downside is that the traffic sucks. I also really like San Ramon and would consider there if we were moving now. The nice thing about this area is that you can still commute to Silicon Valley if you have to (and plenty of people do), so it's not like you are moving completely out of the area, like you would if you were to go to Tracy or Stockton.

Let me know if you have any more questions about this area I can answer for you.

[conniez]

How far away from the Silicon Valley are you thinking of moving? Will you or DH still commute to that area?

We live in the Tri-Valley (Dublin/Pleasanton/Livermore area) and absolutely LOVE it here.

Probably no further than Stockton, but I guess I would be open to moving further if the neighborhood & home was worth it. We were actually thinking Dublin or Pleasanton, but some of the homes we checked out were still a bit out of our price range. I will try looking again as I have heard positive things about that area.

[TwinFoxes]

I had friends who lived in Petaluma and loved it. I'm not sure about housing prices though.

I think of Dublin and Pleasanton as still having Bay Area prices for homes. But at least you aren't living in a cracker box!

[almostmom]

What about San Rafael? Marin is so beautiful.

Davis is really outside of the Bay Area, but it is a wonderful community and close to Sacramento. Definitely hot in the summer, but great in the spring and summer.

I would not recommend Stockton if you have a choice - my cousin lives there and it's really nothing like where you are now.

[AnnieW625]

I am from Woodland, which is 20 minutes NW of Sacramento. It's a great place to raise a family and there is a nice mix of public and private schools (two Christian schools one is K-12; not sure about the other, and one Catholic K-8), there isn't a whole lot to do for teenagers, but for the most part everyone is very friendly. Sports are very big in the community so a lot kids are active in sports. I went to public schools from kindergarten to college. There are two distinct divides in the city; new Woodland is closer to I-5, and old Woodland is what we consider "in town"; I could never see myself living in new Woodland, but that's because I grew up downtown and really love that area; lots of old Victorian homes, as well as stuff ranging from 20s and 30s to stuff built currently.

I moved to Davis (aka the People's Republic of Davis) after I graduated from college and I really enjoyed living there. It was a tad more hip than Woodland and there were more restaurants, clubs, and things to do. COL in Davis is probably 10 to 20% higher than it is in Woodland, and the public schools might be a tad better (Davis was our rivalry school so I still tend to believe differently... he he). It's a great college community and people are very friendly. It's the most liberal city in the Sacramento Valley, but it also has a fair number of conservatives to keep it balanced. However there are zero big box stores in Davis because the city supposedly doesn't want them so you have to drive to Woodland for that (Woodland has Target, and Wal Mart). In 2003 or so Target offered Davis a sweet deal to build a totally 100% green Target on some unused land near I-80 and the city turned them down because it just wasn't what the city needed at the time.

It's hot in either place, but everything is air conditioned. I prefer that area to Tracy, and Stockton. Mountain House is very new and was not there when we used to frequent that area, but if you are commuting back to the San Jose area it's going to a b!tch unless you take the train. DH lived in Livermore for two years and we really liked it there. He took the train to San Jose and really enjoyed it. Good homes, good schools, and very nice place to live. Pleasanton was of course a step up but it's more expensive.

[BayGirl2]

If you are looking to stay close to the city, Alameda is great. Home prices are still high, but are lower than the peninsula and silicon valley, especially now. Its a nice family oriented small town atmosphere but only a 20 minute bus/bart/ferry ride from downtown SF.

I think you get a lot more for your money and are still in the heart of the Bay Area. But I'm more of a city person than a suburbanite.

[hobie]

I would not want to move to Stockton (I did work there for a little while, pre-kids). The Sac Valley can get socked in with fog during the winter, which is not too much fun (we live in the foothills above the fog). Have you looked at Fairfield, Vallejo, or Santa Rosa?

[Laurel]

I think all the places I'd recommend are somewhat close price-wise to Silicon Valley. My top areas would be: Sonoma/Napa/Marin counties, Davis and Santa Cruz. I've lived in all of them, liked them all. Davis is the probably the cheapest of those and not a good commute to Silicon Valley.

I would have my family of 4 live in a one-bedroom home before moving to the Stockton area.

[AnnieW625]

Laurel when did you live in Davis?

[leslieu]

Can't really recommed a location, as I haved in only lived in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley. But, I would really consider the total commute time you or your DH are willing to drive, if you will be still be working in this aera. We have friends that have moved for the same reason you mentioned and now have commutes that are 1-2 hours in one direction. Something I'm not willing to do IMO.:shake:

[Globetrotter]

I hear you! (and agree about the cost) I think almost all of us go through this thought process at some point!

If you're looking to buy, this might be a good time.
(http://www.city-data.com/forum/california/)

Would you consider Livermore? I know there are expensive areas, but overall I think it should be less than other parts of the Bay Area. I would avoid Stockton - it's a depressing place and full of foreclosures. Davis is very nice, as are many parts of Sacramento, but the commute will be really bad unless you have totally flexible timings. Tracy is alright, but I personally prefer the Sacramento area. Mountain House turned out to be a failed experiment, but at least the location is closer to the Bay Area. For that reason alone, I think it has potential once the economy improves, but that could take a very long time. If you decide to consider Sacramento/Mountain House area, I can forward some information I found when my friend was considering a move in that direction. If you can find work in the Sacramento area, then I think that makes the most sense. I considered it at one point, but dh works in high tech (not software) and there aren't too many options in the Sac. area!

Maybe you should drive once during the commute timings, to get a sense of what it's like. I don't mean to scare you, but I live off 680 and there is a lot of traffic going past Fremont, and it gets worse going east on 580!


Also check out this website - it's a great resource!
http://www.city-data.com/forum/california/ (http://www.city-data.com/forum/california/)

[Laurel]

Laurel when did you live in Davis?

I'll send you a PM.

[LexyLou]

I grew up in Danville. We're actually moving back to Danville and DH is doing the commute to SV, which sucks, but hopefully that's temporary.

Other areas in the East Bay that I like are Pleasanton, San Ramon, Walnut Creek, Lafayette, Orinda...although none are really that much more reasonably priced than SV, but all great areas to raise kids.

[AnnieW625]

And FWIW my mom grew up in the Oakland Hills (Montclair, near Peidmont) and enjoyed growing up there. My cousins live in Berkeley and really enjoy it. Again not an easy commute to the SV and housing prices are probably similar to the rest of the SV, but at least there is BART, which I believe connects with Cal Train. I lived in Lafayette until I was 6 mos. old but have been back many times for St. Marys College related stuff (my dad went there) and it is a wonderful area; schools are good, yards well maintained and there are lots of trees:) You might also check out Concord.

[TwinFoxes]

I would have my family of 4 live in a one-bedroom home before moving to the Stockton area.
:ROTFLMAO: & :yeahthat:

[BelleoftheBallFlagstaff]

Benecia? Marin County is fat bank to buy, so Peteluma and the like are out! Alameda is decent.
We moved away from SSF, when we had to look in Antioch and Brentwood to be in our price range for what we wanted! Stockton (no offense) is to me the armpit of Norcal along with Modesto. My BIL lives in Jamestown/Sonora, and I don't like that area either. Anywhere hot, or surrounded my livestock farming is no bueno to me.

My dream area in the BA is either Aptos/SC or Woodside/PV, but $$$$$$$$$!

Where would you commute to and what time?

[codex57]

You do realize Stockton and the surrounding areas are just as hot as Sacramento, right? If not hotter.

My vote, if you're willing to go out of the Bay Area, is Rocklin, CA. Check out the ratings for the schools in Rocklin. It'll blow your mind. Plus, housing is still quite cheap out here. It's not as cheap as Stockton, but the area, including schools, is about 1000X better (sorry, just my opinion) and you're much more likely to find jobs and stuff. As for entertainment and shopping, it's night and day. Roseville Galleria vs..... Dollar Mart? :p

As a point of reference, DW is from San Francisco. She went to school at UOP which is in Stockton. I went to school in Davis. We now live in the Roseville/Rocklin/Lincoln area. There's no way in hell we'd move from the Bay Area to Stockton. If you're from there, you think it's fine. If you come from the Bay Area, I find it hard to imagine anyone who'd go from San Jose to Stockton voluntarily. Davis/Woodland are ok, but not for me. Even worse for my wife. We need shopping beyond the Gap and Target. We don't ride bikes so we need more stuff to do. Then there's the job thing as well. We wouldn't move to Sacramento either. Would have to be either the Roseville/Rocklin/Lincoln areas or the Folsom/El Dorado Hills areas. Otherwise, we'd suck it up and stay in the Bay. Well, parts of it.

[Globetrotter]

BTW, I was counting Roseville, Folsom, etc.. as the "Sacramento area". I don't know much about Sacramento proper.

[codex57]

Surprisingly, it's like an invisible wall. Citrus Heights borders Roseville. However, it's like a wall separating Sacramento County and Placer County cities. Residents don't cross over. It's pretty bizarre to people from the Bay, but some of the older residents won't even cross the city if they live in one of the bigger cities like Roseville or Sacramento. They say it's "too far."

As for tech jobs, it's obviously no Silicon Valley, but Placer County (particularly Roseville/Rocklin) has Intel, HP, and Oracle. Pretty big campuses. Shoot, the Intel and HP ones are monstrous. Like small cities. I can't remember but Apple might have a presence in the South Sacramento area.

[conniez]

I only had time to skim the responses, but it seems like the consensus so far is not to move to Stockton :ROTFLMAO: I commuted to Berkeley when I was going to Cal, so I'm used to at least an hour commute. DH is used to at least an hour commute, too...I think at this point we just really want the space for our family, but we prefer a city that's similar to San Jose (in terms of convenience, stores close to home, etc.)

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

Where are you commuting to? If it's San Jose, what about Morgan Hill or Gilroy?

I personally commute to Santa Clara from central San Jose and that's about as far as I'd want to commute. :p ETA - I commuted to Berkeley from Union City when I was in grad school and there is no way I would do that with kids. It's too important to me to be able to get to them faster.

[codex57]

From what I understand, the commute from Stockton actually isn't that bad. There's a train or something like that.

Still, you're living in Stockton. Just don't do it.

[mom2binsd]

I have friends who live in Granite Bay, they love it there (just a little further than Roseville- their address used to be Roseville a long time ago...I don't think the summers there are unbearable at all, it's not like a city like Atlanta that is hot & muggy! All of those places outside of Roseville are pretty nice.

A friend of mine is a VP in the Dublin schools and also loves it there.

I drove through Stockton once...I concur with many others on that area based on friends who have grown up in NorCal.