Commuting *to* Tracy (San Jose, Riverside, Orange: new home, neighborhoods, school district)

[Socal82]

It looks as though I will be getting a job offer shortly in Tracy, CA with a nice bump from my current salary. Currently, I live in Orange County, so I'm looking to move up to the Bay Area. What areas would you suggest, keeping in mind the following:

Budget range of $400K to $700K, depending on whether it's a fixer or a turnkey place.

The lady will likely land a job in the city somewhere, so BART access is extremely important.

I like land - I own dogs, and prefer to leave them running around the yard while I'm working. The more space, the better.

We don't have children, although I do appreciate the effect of a good school district on resale value.

The obvious picks seem to be Dublin and Pleasanton, but they seem to have a lot in common with the more soulless parts of Orange County. Castro Valley could be possible, but what would the commute be like to Tracy? Could my gal get to the BART station in Pleasanton easily from Livermore? Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville, Brentwood, Sunol.... should I even be considering any of those?

Thanks for whatever help y'all can give. I appreciate it.

[Bulldogdad]

Seeing as how you want to do a reverse commute I'd say anywhere along I580 from Castro Valley to Livermore including San Ramon. Much further than that and you'll get caught in the heaviest commute traffic. The time you commute would be a big factor as well.

If it were me I'd do Livermore south of Concannon Blvd. Many other nice places as well in that general vicinity. Easy to get to BART.

Brentwood is on the other side of the hill but much closer to Tracy. Very Very quiet bedroom community.

BTW I commuted out of the Central V alley to Livermore and many other East Bay cities for a few years for work. What your wanting to do could work out real nice if you can aford it.

[ccm123]

I would pick Pleasanton or Dublin. There are some new homes being built in Dublin and a BART station nearby.

[Carlite]

Socal82, out of curiosity, what kind of work do you do? As you've already gathered, it's unusual to commute in to Tracy.

[buklau]

Originally Posted by Carlite

Socal82, out of curiosity, what kind of work do you do? As you've already gathered, it's unusual to commute in to Tracy.

Agree.

OP - Livermore may seem like a good option. It has some areas that could have a more outdoors or rural feel, as you somewhat mentioned. It's also a bit cheaper then Pleasanton, but still nice.

[CousinMaynard]

if she has a typical 9-5 work schedule then NO, BY NO MEANS should you move to livermore if you have a choice. the 10 or so minutes you save by living in livermore will cost her much more being stuck in the commute direction.

if i recall correctly it was 40 miles from my house in castro valley to my sis' house in tracy, so CV is do-able if you find a place you like, and CV also has bart station.

[Socal82]

Seeing as how you want to do a reverse commute I'd say anywhere along I580 from Castro Valley to Livermore including San Ramon. Much further than that and you'll get caught in the heaviest commute traffic. The time you commute would be a big factor as well.

If it were me I'd do Livermore south of Concannon Blvd. Many other nice places as well in that general vicinity. Easy to get to BART.

Brentwood is on the other side of the hill but much closer to Tracy. Very Very quiet bedroom community.

So, Brentwood is out, as is Walnut Creek and Danville. Thanks!

Livermore south of ConCannon looks gorgeous. Gonna be tight on price, but I'll definitely take a look.

Socal82, out of curiosity, what kind of work do you do? As you've already gathered, it's unusual to commute in to Tracy.

I'd be managing the Northern California operations of a company with its largest regional facility in Tracy. I currently have a similar commute in Southern California, going from Orange County to Riverside. There's nothing more relaxing thaleaving work, putting on cruise control, and listening to the radio. But I digress.

if she has a typical 9-5 work schedule then NO, BY NO MEANS should you move to livermore if you have a choice. the 10 or so minutes you save by living in livermore will cost her much more being stuck in the commute direction.

if i recall correctly it was 40 miles from my house in castro valley to my sis' house in tracy, so CV is do-able if you find a place you like, and CV also has bart station.

The lady does do a 9 to 5 type job, so she will be traveling at peak hours. What would be the drive time from Livermore to San Jose or the BART station to SF be at that time of day?

So it looks like I'm down to Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, San Ramon, or Castro Valley. Livermore and CV are the more rural feeling, am I correct, *as opposed to the suburbia in Dublin, San Ramon and Pleasanton? How many minutes did it take you to your sisters, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks again for the help!

[CousinMaynard]

castro valley still has some rural property out on in the east part, but nothing probably in your budget. but it is a suburb of oakland so most properties are neighborhoods. you can certainly find a place with a big yard for the dogs to run around in though, no problem.

we use to go snowboarding up at dodge ridge all the time, and on the way home we would hit a bit of a back up on westbound 580 at the 680 junction sometimes on the way home, nothing too bad tho.

edit: and if your going to be driving in tracy or anywhere int he valley in the winter time, i suggest getting fog lights installed if you dont ahve them already. winter mornings often mean pea soup fog in the part of the world

[CousinMaynard]

Originally Posted by Socal82

How many minutes did it take you to your sisters, if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks again for the help!

i would mostly go out to her place for holidays. and pretty much that is where most ppl who grew up in the bay area but got priced out moved to so there was a lot of traffic on holidays so we'd get stuck in traffic on 205 before we could 11th street.

but if its just a normal day and you stay in the left lane and dont get stuck behind a cruiser or a semi going up altamont pass youre only talking a little more than a half hour

[Bulldogdad]

Originally Posted by CousinMaynard

if she has a typical 9-5 work schedule then NO, BY NO MEANS should you move to livermore if you have a choice. the 10 or so minutes you save by living in livermore will cost her much more being stuck in the commute direction.

if i recall correctly it was 40 miles from my house in castro valley to my sis' house in tracy, so CV is do-able if you find a place you like, and CV also has bart station.

Meh, living in Livermore there are plenty of non commute ways to the BART station

OP you can get the BART times from Dublin to SF off their web site.

Commute to SJ is a little more problematic during peak times on the Sunol grade. They have improved it greatly over the last 12 years but it can still get real messy if you get an accident.

It used to be one of the worst commutes in the Country during the 1990's
With the Recession and the improvements it much better now.

Understand Livermore is not rural and you can be anywhere in the greater BA within 30min-1 hour when you learn the traffic patterns and the interconnecting streets/freeways.