Tracy, Brentwood, Santa Rosa, or Fairfield? (San Francisco, Oakland: to rent, crime, big home) - San Francisco - Oakland - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

soccerscotty21 · 02-25-2014, 01:12 AM

I'm relocating to the bay area for a position I recently accepted and I am beginning to look at areas to live. I will be commuting to the financial district in San Francisco 2-3 times each week. The other days I will be working from home. It's me, my wife and a 2 year old. We are a quiet family who enjoys the outdoors and most recreational activities. Both of us come from small towns, but have somewhat adjusted to city life after living in Vegas. The more small town feel we can get, the better. Because I will be working at home, we are looking to get the most rooms/square footage out of our budget as possible so I can have an office. We are hoping to not have to pay more than $1750 monthly to rent. Since I will only be commuting a couple times each week, I can afford/stand to live further away in order to get more square feet. Some of the areas we have been looking at are Tracy, Brentwood, Santa Rosa, and Fairfield/Vacaville. We are also looking at Pleasanton/Livermore but there isn't much in our price range that will be big enough. Any recommendations on which area will fit us best, or other places to look in the area? Also, should we avoid any of the cities mentioned, or do any of them stand out to you in particular? Thanks for your help.

clongirl · 02-25-2014, 10:58 AM

Sounds like Brentwood would suit your family. It's a small, safe community with good schools but it is definitely not a fun drive. If you can handle this a couple times a week or even take BART in from Pittsburg/Antioch then go for it! You may also want to look into West Fairfield (an area called Green Valley/west of I-80). It's semi-rural and quite beautiful with wineries and farms. The schools are pretty good too.

I would avoid Santa Rosa only because you'd probably be taking the Golden Gate Bridge which would take you to the other side of San Francisco- much farther than the Financial District.

cre8lite · 02-25-2014, 03:02 PM

i agree, commuting from santa rosa would be farther than other locations.

NoMoreSnowForMe · 02-25-2014, 09:05 PM

I don't normally recommend Tracy, but I'm thinking it may suit you. I haven't been there for quite some time, but I had a friend who lived there, and my sister lived there for many, many years, and her kids went to school in Tracy.

I did always feel safe there. It's just suburbia-land. But, I think you should check it out. If it's square footage you want, I think you'll find it there. And I don't believe you'd have to drive through any scary areas. Parts of Antioch and most of Pittsburgh is scary, from what I recall.

I'm thinking the commute wouldn't be horrendous. At least it's a pretty straight shot.

I agree that the west part of Fairfield is very nice with suburbia and big homes. It's also somewhat hilly, not so flat like Tracy. But, I'm thinking you'll still get more bang for your buck in Tracy. It's enough farther away than Fairfield to be cheaper.

davdaven · 02-26-2014, 12:50 AM

You can get something closer to civilization with a little extra luck and research.

For example, this 3-bedroom house in Richmond is going for $1600: Nice single house in Richmond Hills available from 1st of April. It is in a very nice part of town near regional parks and open space, and it is walking distance from an AC Transit Transbay bus stop with direct bus service to the SF Financial District.

You could also look into some other random neighborhoods that are closer to SF. Here is a house in El Sobrante, which has a rural feel to it in some places yet still has good transit connections to SF: $1800: Renovated 3bdrm/2bath house in El Sob

Here is another possibility in Concord that looks promising: Upgraded 3bedroom 2bath!!! Great Location

And a good possibility in Rodeo: Lake Avenue, Rodeo

I cannot imagine living in any of the 4 cities you've mentioned. They're just so far away! However, I have family friends and co-workers who commute from all but Tracy and they don't seem to mind it. I have yet to meet anyone who can stomach life in Tracy.

P.S. Of the 4 options listed, only Santa Rosa has direct transit service to/from the SF Financial District. You would use Golden Gate Transit Routes 72, 72X, or 74. The other 3 require at least 1 bus/train transfer, even more from Tracy since it isn't technically part of the Bay Area.

soccerscotty21 · 02-26-2014, 01:24 AM

Thank you for your responses, they really help us narrow things down. The problem we are running into with getting closer to civilization like davdaven suggested is that coming from Vegas, we are used to 2000+ square feet and many bedrooms. Going down to 1200 square feet would be a challenge, especially when I will need one room as a dedicated office for the days when I work from home.

Looking further into Tracy, what's everyone's opinion on the commute if I were to drive to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and then take BART to Embarcadero which is only a few blocks from where I will be working. What's the traffic like between Tracy and Pleasanton at 5-6 AM and 5-7 PM? From what I can tell, if traffic isn't bad between Tracy and Pleasanton, that would make my commute roughly 75 minutes each way. I can do that if I don't have to drive it all, especially only twice a week. Any thoughts?

NoMoreSnowForMe · 02-26-2014, 10:15 AM

I thought you could use Google Maps, and change the time of day to see the estimated commute time, but I can't seem to get the site to cooperate right now. Maybe someone could tell you how to do it.

I thought if you put in for instance, from Tracy, to Dublin/Pleasanton BART station, then you see the box that says the current commute time, that you could click on that and then change the time to see commute time. But, nothing's happening for me when I do that.

I'm thinking that commute wouldn't be horrific, especially really early. But, I haven't personally done it.

RE: Richmond - I would like to just say that the reputation of Richmond for crime is worse than Oakland's. It's a shame because of the wonderful views of the Bay. But, like Oakland, it has good areas, but you would have to be careful about which way you drove, etc. And, I would worry about schools being good/safe, or malls, etc., where kids would hang out.

clongirl · 02-26-2014, 10:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soccerscotty21

Thank you for your responses, they really help us narrow things down. The problem we are running into with getting closer to civilization like davdaven suggested is that coming from Vegas, we are used to 2000+ square feet and many bedrooms. Going down to 1200 square feet would be a challenge, especially when I will need one room as a dedicated office for the days when I work from home.

Looking further into Tracy, what's everyone's opinion on the commute if I were to drive to the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station and then take BART to Embarcadero which is only a few blocks from where I will be working. What's the traffic like between Tracy and Pleasanton at 5-6 AM and 5-7 PM? From what I can tell, if traffic isn't bad between Tracy and Pleasanton, that would make my commute roughly 75 minutes each way. I can do that if I don't have to drive it all, especially only twice a week. Any thoughts?

Oooh, I wouldn't even consider Tracy to be honest. It's along one of the worst routes for really heavy traffic in the Bay Area. On a busy day it might take nearly an hour just to get TO the BART station in Dublin. It's a main thoroughfare for all the large 18 wheeler trucks so there's always some accident. Then of course, it's probably another hour BART ride into the City!

capoeira · 02-26-2014, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by soccerscotty21

Thank you for your responses, they really help us narrow things down. The problem we are running into with getting closer to civilization like davdaven suggested is that coming from Vegas, we are used to 2000+ square feet and many bedrooms. Going down to 1200 square feet would be a challenge, especially when I will need one room as a dedicated office for the days when I work from home.

I would go with Fairfield or Vacaville. Vacaville is nicer but a longer commute and will be slightly hotter in the summer. Also the drive to Pleasant Hill Bart from Fairfield is a lot easier than the horrendous traffic from Tracy to Dublin Bart. One can also take a bus from Vacaville or Fairfield to Pleasant Hill Bart.

Route 40 « FAST Transit

Vacaville is also close to Lake Berryessa for outdoor recreation.

Lake Berryessa Visitor Information

davdaven · 02-27-2014, 01:38 AM

Richmond and Oakland have bad parts, yes, but it is pretty easy to avoid them in Richmond. Staying away from the Iron Triangle at night will remedy most of the issues one would have there. North Richmond, which is an unincorporated community north/west of the city of Richmond, is extremely dangerous. However, it is also extremely difficult to reach, so it would take a lot of hard work to end up there. Compare to Oakland or San Francisco, where one wrong turn can have you ending up in a bad neighborhood.