Vallejo vs Vacaville vs Benicia vs others?

[sjbraunlich]

Oh nice thanks alot thats great! I actually drink their beer alot here in NM!

[firtree]

Late to the party, but wanted to chime in. So tired of people being negative about Vallejo. I can only guess these folks have never lived in Oakland, San Francisco, New York or other urban areas. Places like Benicia, Vacaville, Fairfield, Suisun scare ME! Vallejo is great for what it is. An affordable place and home to many creative people who want to be close to San Francisco and Berkeley/Oakland but also want to have a house, and this is the only place they can afford. Sure there are areas that are not good, most cities have those. Not much in the way of amenities or great restaurants or food shopping other than Safeway/Raley's. Many folks who live here cross the bridge to Berkeley to get great grocery options. Not far from Sonoma or Marin and a pretty drive, it's easy to enjoy the coast or wine country as well.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Vallejo is such trash. Anything West of I80 is either crumbling, decrepit early 19th century buildings and homes, or neighborhoods with a high percentage of gang activity. East of I80 is slightly better with somewhat modern tract housing. However a lot of the trash spills over from the otherside of I80 and often robs and plunders the good side of Vallejo.

[firtree]

I don't agree. Vallejo isn't trash. There's a great community of people here, that really love their town. Good Saturday Market, beautiful homes. Why is someone living in Mission Viejo writing a review about Vallejo? I'm glad I moved here. I'm glad I didn't have to go all the way to Sacramento to buy a house I could afford. San Francisco is 45 minutes away. Berkeley and Oakland only 20-30 min respectively. Marin is 45 minutes. Sonoma about the same. Sure, there's not much here right now, but the citizens are trying to make changes happen. The people that live here are actively involved in their community. That's a great thing. The weather is fabulous, and it's wonderful having a home.

[Mr. Fantastic]

I have expert knowledge about the Bay Area. I lived there for 6 years pursuing my PhD in Astrophysics.

What you've posted is mostly "feel good" pseudo facts about the city. The truth is just a few years ago Vallejo was only rivaled by Oakland in terms of murder rate. Yes the rate is dropping, but Vallejo still has a disproportionately high violent crime rate for a city of its size. Those are actual facts.

[bellalunatic]

Originally Posted by Mr. Fantastic

I have expert knowledge about the Bay Area. I lived there for 6 years pursuing my PhD in Astrophysics.

What you've posted is mostly "feel good" pseudo facts about the city. The truth is just a few years ago Vallejo was only rivaled by Oakland in terms of murder rate. Yes the rate is dropping, but Vallejo still has a disproportionately high violent crime rate for a city of its size. Those are actual facts.

LMAO!!!!!

Expert knowledge of the Bay Area is living in Berkeley for 6 years??!!!


ROFL

[firtree]

I post my experiences of living in a city. Of course, that's what will be most helpful to someone inquiring about a place. Anyone can look up statistics. The human element of living experience is often what is sought after. The Bay Area is huge. To be an "expert" of the Bay Area in 6 years is quite a statement. Many of us have lived here a huge portion of our lives and still don't consider ourselves experts.

[Helgagirl]

We are multicultural Asian/Hispanic upper Middle class family and we like some feedback about the community as a whole. Being that the community consists of approximately 70% Caucasion, my question is whether anyone has ever felt any form of discrimination or racism being that it is such a small town. We would love to be a part of the community as we are from the Bay Area and need to find an area to raise our children. They are very athletic and involved in sports and academically advanced in the G.A.T.E program. We are involved with Boy Scouting and volunteer for community events. Hoping to hear positive feedback! Thank you.

[NapaValleyAgt]

Hi - I have lived in Solano County and Napa Valley for a few decades and [mod]see note[/mod] I hope I can help you decide on the area best for you and your family.

Benicia - Great Schools on the Waterfront with cute downtown. Lots of events throughout the year with a Farmer's Market right in town. I believe being able to walk to town is a plus.

Vallejo - Born and raised here - some of the most affordable homes here - Downtown area has some Victorian and older bungalows. The east side is preferred for many with the hills as your backdrop close to Blue Rock Springs park with easy access to 80 and at the southern end close to Benicia.

Green Valley is located in Fairfield and has some of the best schools in the area and is closer to Travis AFB - the weather here is better as it's closer to Napa which has the ideal weather. Green Valley and Rancho Solano are beautiful communities close to Suisun Valley which leads to Napa and you will find countryside with vineyards and wineries with a beautiful backdrop of Twin Sisters peaks. We relocated here after living in Yountville for 18 years which is in the center of Napa Valley. Napa is only 20 minutes away which is host to many top world renown restaurants.

Vacaville about 5-10 degrees warmer has a cute downtown and lots of suburb/subdivision housing and the Travis School District is close to the air base. Lots of shopping, outlet malls, Nut Tree etc.

Napa - about the same drive time as Benicia - wine country lifestyle. We lived 8 miles North in the small tourist town of Yountville while our son grew up and it was wonderful. You could walk to everything so if you were investing in a home here something walkable would be nice.

Dixon - if you like countryside and affordability this town is very close to Travis driving the backroads so you miss most of the traffic into the base except for Peabody Road as you get closer. This town is super small and they have a couple events at their Fairgrounds annually. The weather is similar to Vacaville; however, may be a little cooler as it's out in the flat lands and close to Travis. Lots of agriculture and is growing.

Another cute town in Yolo county is not that far away either and that is Winters. I love the small downtown and it's only 10 minutes or so to Lake Berryessa - small town feel with Mountain backdrop. Homes are still affordable here and less competition when purchasing a home.

[mod]see note[/mod]