San Jose to Livermore relocation (Sunnyvale, Pleasanton: condo, house, neighborhoods)

[mami3jc]

We are in San Jose now, but considering relocating to Livermore. For what we're approved for, we could get a tiny condo in a nice area of San Jose, but for the same amount we could get an actual house in Livermore. I just want to get away from the East side/ Downtown San Jose type of neighborhoods, does Livermore have a simliar area?


Also, my husband would commute to San Jose. How is the commute heading to San Jose at 6 am?

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by mami3jc

We are in San Jose now, but considering relocating to Livermore. For what we're approved for, we could get a tiny condo in a nice area of San Jose, but for the same amount we could get an actual house in Livermore. I just want to get away from the East side/ Downtown San Jose type of neighborhoods, does Livermore have a simliar area?

Also, my husband would commute to San Jose. How is the commute heading to San Jose at 6 am?

He would probably have a 1 hour commute, maybe more depending on the location of his office. Livermore isn't a horrible place. I don't know much about it, but I have been to Pleasanton which is right next door. Pleasanton is a nice town. Have you been out to Livermore to see what it's like? If you've been there, what did you think about it?

You might also want to do a search here to see if anyone has posted anything previously about Livermore.

[AlvisoRocks]

"Also, my husband would commute to San Jose. How is the commute heading to San Jose at 6 am?"

Well, I personally believe the Livermore/Pleasanton 580/680/880 commute to San Jose in the morning is probably one of the worst in the Bay Area, and is also brutal in the afternoons going back over the hill.

For what it is worth - If you can afford Livermore, then you should probably also give Gilroy and Hollister a look as housing is more affordably priced and you would still be on the same side of the hill, with other alternative roads for the commute into San Jose in the morning.

Just a thought..........

[MaikeerinWA]

Depending on where your husband works in San Jose, the Altamont Commuter Express might be a viable transportation option.

[gobears15]

As the previous poster mentioned, ACE should be a possibility. It ends up at SJ Diridon, and the travel time from Livermore to SJ is not bad at all on that train (~1 hr). I grew up in Livermore and did a Livermore to Sunnyvale commute for a while. The commute definitely sucks. It will mostly be over an hour. I often experienced 1h15 commutes with some 1h30s and a few insane ones on really bad days. It gets old pretty fast. ACE would be worth it because it has an hour travel time, and it's pretty consistent. When you're on a train, you don't to watch the road, so the time spent feels very different from driving.

Livermore is a fairly nice city with several positive aspects. For one, it's pretty eclectic. There are lots of great wineries to visit out on Tesla Rd if you like wine tasting. There's a rodeo once a year, as there are some ranches and quite a bit of open space on the edges of the city. The downtown and city facilities were recently renovated -- the downtown is pretty pedestrian friendly and has some decent restaurants, there's a nice movie theater, a performing arts theater, a truly magnificent library and some other nice stuff, like a community center. Schools are what I'd call fairly middle of the pack. They definitely aren't bad, but my experience with them wasn't anything to write home about.

Personal experience depends heavily on neighborhood of residence. Here's a rough breakdown:

South Livermore: Concannon Blvd, Ruby Hills (Pleasanton), near 84. Very expensive because of the open areas and proximity to wineries. The homes are largely big and very upscale. Some of the remote neighborhoods are pretty quiet for obvious reasons.

North Livermore: Springtown consists of 50s-60s home built around a golf course. There is a large percentage of elderly living in the golf course area, as that's where the area traces its roots to. As you go toward Vasco, the homes get newer and the neighborhoods are a bit younger. Springtown is probably the one of the quieter areas of Livermore, as it is somewhat isolated.

East Livermore: East of Mines Rd., up to Vasco Rd. right next to LLNL and Sandia. This area is generally composed of somewhat recent homes (15-25 yrs). It has a fairly suburban feel. It's generally safe and I'd guess most of the homes are occupied by families in their 30s-40s.

The East Ave-1st St.-Mines Rd. section has some 1990s homes on the East side, and generally gets a bit older (probably 50-60 years old) as you move west.

Central Livermore, enclosed by Portola, Railroad, N P St., and N Livermore St. is often a bit lower income. It's a largely Hispanic neighborhood.

The area near downtown w/ number/letter streets (1st, 2nd, 3rd, S I, S J, S K, etc) has an interesting blend between small shop areas and homes. These are fairly near Livermore HS. Here you'll find some of the older homes in town (50-125+ yrs).

In West Livermore from Murietta up to Isabel Ave., you'll find lots of tract homes from the 1970s. This is generally a fine middle class area. Beware that many people in the NW area complain of noise from the Livermore Airport.

So Livermore in comparison with San Jose: The commute is worse. The town is generally quieter and has less in-town traffic. There aren't really any areas quiet like E. SJ / Downtown SJ. The downtown is smaller. Livermore's civic facilities are much nicer. There is more of a town feel in Livermore, but don't expect middle America. There are fewer ethnic restaurants and ethnic food markets. There are a lot of highly educated people because of the labs (lots of educated folk in the SC valley too). There is very little public transit... you drive everywhere.

I guess my post is pretty long, but I have quite a bit of information regarding Livermore since I spent so much time there. I also have a comparison point w/ SJ since that's where I live now. If you want more information, you can contact me personally with a PM or something.