Relocating to Hercules from Minneapolis (San Francisco, Hayward: 2015, house, find a job)

[MPLS_native]

Hi all,

I am looking for some info, opinions, and feedback about the town of Hercules from people who live there. My family currently lives in a suburb of Minneapolis, but are on the cusp of a move to the bay area. We have been out there once for a few days to survey the greater San Francisco area, and after working with a realtor to look at some of the "more affordable" (yeah right!) areas we think we have settled on searching for a house in Hercules. We like the fact that it is more of a quiet town and seemed at least on the surface to be pretty family friendly and safe.

I am hoping to get from the community a better sense of the area, the things that you can really only discover about a place by living there for a while. I know some people who have moved to suburbs of Minneapolis without fully understanding what they were signing up for, and really regretted their choice of town later because they mostly arbitrarily picked one based on seeing it once for 20 minutes.

Reasons I *think* I like Hercules:

-Relatively affordable
-Seems safe
-Seems quiet
-Seems family friendly
-Public schools have a decent / not terrible rating (we can't afford private schools)
-Mild climate - temps in the summer are not in the 90s or 100+ all summer long (according to climate data I've seen online)


Things that worry me about Hercules:

-Daily rush hour commute / can I find a job close to home that won't have a horrible commute (how is the commute to somewhere like Walnut Creek?)
-Public schools are only mediocre, especially at middle school and high school level
-Close (too close?) to areas/towns that people have warned me are unsafe
-I have heard that I should be wary about the refinery in the area... why? How does that affect me?


I would love to hear from some people who actually live in Hercules about what it is really like there? Do you love it, think it's ok, or hate it?

Thanks!!

[jade408]

People
I have met like it. Other than the commute. For some people it is “too diverse” which impacts its reputation. I have several coworkers who live there and like it (they are not white, I work in San Francisco.)

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

My mom had a house in Pinole, next to Hercules for a while. I haven't been there for quite a few years, but it was a nice area - everything that you described. My stepfather commuted to UC Berkeley by taking back roads. Not a great commute, but at least really pretty/scenic. You could do worse, unless it's changed a lot in the last 10 years or so.

The refinery can be smelled when you're driving by it sometimes, but isn't a big deal to me.

[bmw335xi]

I'm no expert on Hercules, but you pretty much summed up my impression of it.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

Hi all,

I am looking for some info, opinions, and feedback about the town of Hercules from people who live there. My family currently lives in a suburb of Minneapolis, but are on the cusp of a move to the bay area. We have been out there once for a few days to survey the greater San Francisco area, and after working with a realtor to look at some of the "more affordable" (yeah right!) areas we think we have settled on searching for a house in Hercules. We like the fact that it is more of a quiet town and seemed at least on the surface to be pretty family friendly and safe.

I am hoping to get from the community a better sense of the area, the things that you can really only discover about a place by living there for a while. I know some people who have moved to suburbs of Minneapolis without fully understanding what they were signing up for, and really regretted their choice of town later because they mostly arbitrarily picked one based on seeing it once for 20 minutes.

Reasons I *think* I like Hercules:

-Relatively affordable
-Seems safe
-Seems quiet
-Seems family friendly
-Public schools have a decent / not terrible rating (we can't afford private schools)
-Mild climate - temps in the summer are not in the 90s or 100+ all summer long (according to climate data I've seen online)


Things that worry me about Hercules:

-Daily rush hour commute / can I find a job close to home that won't have a horrible commute (how is the commute to somewhere like Walnut Creek?)
-Public schools are only mediocre, especially at middle school and high school level
-Close (too close?) to areas/towns that people have warned me are unsafe
-I have heard that I should be wary about the refinery in the area... why? How does that affect me?


I would love to hear from some people who actually live in Hercules about what it is really like there? Do you love it, think it's ok, or hate it?

Thanks!!

You might ask the realtor to also look for listings in Pinole or El Sobrante

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

-Public schools are only mediocre, especially at middle school and high school level

Hercules Middle School is a 3/10. That is more on the lousy side. Mediocre is would be a 5.

Hercules Middle in Hercules , CA - ranking, school information, ratings, test scores, test results

Also make sure any property you get is not in a flood zone.

http://www.adaptingtorisingtides.org..._PS_120315.pdf

There is no way I would move from Minneapolis to the Bay area at this time unless it was a forced job relocation with no other alternatives.

[MPLS_native]

Originally Posted by capoeira

There is no way I would move from Minneapolis to the Bay area at this time unless it was a forced job relocation with no other alternatives.

@capoeira, I'm actually quite interested to hear more of your thoughts behind this. I haven't had anyone say to just outright not move to the Bay area at all, so I would love to hear that opinion explained. This would not be a forced move for us. We are leaning about 70% towards moving there, but not fully committed yet.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

@capoeira, I'm actually quite interested to hear more of your thoughts behind this. I haven't had anyone say to just outright not move to the Bay area at all, so I would love to hear that opinion explained. This would not be a forced move for us. We are leaning about 70% towards moving there, but not fully committed yet.

Your quality of life will be worse unless you need to spend every waking moment outside. Unless you have a household income of $350k, then you'll approximate the quslity of life of $90-100k in Minneapolis.

Hope you are on path for really high income.

Quality of life isn't great for families, unless you have inherited cheap housing in a prime location.

[capoeira]

Originally Posted by MPLS_native

@capoeira, I'm actually quite interested to hear more of your thoughts behind this. I haven't had anyone say to just outright not move to the Bay area at all, so I would love to hear that opinion explained. This would not be a forced move for us. We are leaning about 70% towards moving there, but not fully committed yet.

The area is much too crowded, especially the inner east bay 80 freeway corridor. Every trip is impacted by traffic. Frequently on the weekends the entire 80 freeway from Richmond down to the Bay Bridge is like a parking lot. Also the area between Crockett and Richmond is particularly bad for traffic since there are few alternatives to the 80 freeway. Here is what the traffic looks like on a bad weekday morning. Do you want to sign up for daily traffic jams?



The housing prices are insane for what you get. If someone has an extra ten million in cash lying around from their FB or GOOG stock options they may not mind the housing prices but most people will.

The area is also due for a major earthquake disaster, especially the east bay area along the Hayward fault. In the aftermath of the earthquake suppose housing prices decline 20%. That $150k down payment on a $750k shack has now vanished if one needs to sell.

Earthquake experts: Hayward Fault is a ‘tectonic time bomb’ – The Mercury News

https://www.eeri.org/wp-content/uplo...atrisk2008.pdf

https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2017/5013/sir20175013ah.pdf

There is also the possibility of a random shooting whenever you go out on the 80 freeway.

Mayor: Gangs ‘Creating Terror’ On East Bay Freeways

"It’s a story Hercules Mayor Dan Romero has heard far too often over the recent months. There’s been a shooting on a freeway near his city. “These are gang members and they are being very effective in creating terror (on the freeways),” Romero told KCBS on Wednesday."

The only advantage of the area is the mild weather. However one can find even better weather in many other parts of California.

[2sleepy]

Originally Posted by capoeira

The area is much too crowded, especially the inner east bay 80 freeway corridor. Every trip is impacted by traffic. Frequently on the weekends the entire 80 freeway from Richmond down to the Bay Bridge is like a parking lot. Also the area between Crockett and Richmond is particularly bad for traffic since there are few alternatives to the 80 freeway. Here is what the traffic looks like on a bad weekday morning. Do you want to sign up for daily traffic jams?
The housing prices are insane for what you get. If someone has an extra ten million in cash lying around from their FB or GOOG stock options they may not mind the housing prices but most people will.
The area is also due for a major earthquake disaster, especially the east bay area along the Hayward fault. In the aftermath of the earthquake suppose housing prices decline 20%. That $150k down payment on a $750k shack has now vanished if one needs to sell.
Earthquake experts: Hayward Fault is a ‘tectonic time bomb’ – The Mercury News
https://www.eeri.org/wp-content/uplo...atrisk2008.pdf
https://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2017/5013/sir20175013ah.pdf
There is also the possibility of a random shooting whenever you go out on the 80 freeway.
Mayor: Gangs ‘Creating Terror’ On East Bay Freeways
"It’s a story Hercules Mayor Dan Romero has heard far too often over the recent months. There’s been a shooting on a freeway near his city. “These are gang members and they are being very effective in creating terror (on the freeways),” Romero told KCBS on Wednesday."
The only advantage of the area is the mild weather. However one can find even better weather in many other parts of California.

Oh come on...you are really going overboard here, gang terror, earthquakes, ten million cash to buy a house, drive by shootings that's absolute nonsense. I lived in the SF bay area most of my life and outside of it being expensive it's fine place to live for more reasons than just the weather.