How scary are the natural disasters?

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are very interested in moving to San Francisco after visiting the city. We especially liked Marin outside the city but of course we would explore other areas before buying. We know it’s expensive but the money isn’t really a problem for is. The only thing that gives me pause is natural disasters. Neither of us has lived in a place with wildfires or earthquakes. How scary is it really? We have young kids so I’m concerned about air quality.

[Anonymous]

Earthquakes are NBD although you want to make sure your house is to recent code, especially if built into the side of a hill as many in Marin are.

The fires concern me, although Marin is relatively damp and less likely to burn as much. SF itself is not a fire risk. I grew up on the Penninsula which I consider relatively safe from fires too. I couldn't afford to live there or Marin and I wasn't willing to live in, eg, Santa Rosa, because of fire danger, so I no longer live in CA. The thing that bothered me about the Santa Rosa fires was the difficulty in evacuating down those beautiful winding roads.

[Anonymous]

I’d avoid areas like Santa Rosa, Berkeley and Oakland hills, Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley/ Boulder areas up in the mountains for fire. For earthquakes, try to avoid houses with a liquefaction risk.

DH loves the Marina district in SF but it’s the worst from an earthquake standpoint.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d avoid areas like Santa Rosa, Berkeley and Oakland hills, Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley/ Boulder areas up in the mountains for fire. For earthquakes, try to avoid houses with a liquefaction risk.

DH loves the Marina district in SF but it’s the worst from an earthquake standpoint.

Spot on. Avoid buying in any hills in the East Bay, Sonoma County, probably Marin too. Marina District unsafe in earthquake and this is well known..

Big earthquakes are rare--the last big one in SF was over 30 years ago. Smaller ones that you can actually feel happen a couple of times a year and are no big deal. Newer buildings have been built with strict building codes. Avoid brick buildings and aforementioned liquefaction areas.

If you like it, go for it. California does not have hurricanes or tornadoes. Fire and mud slides are the top risks. Avoid very close to the coast too.

[Anonymous]

I’ve lived in SF for 20 years. Earthquakes feel like a truck just backed into your building. Sometimes you don’t feel them at all. I’ve never had anything fall from a shelf or slide from an earthquake. There’s only been one fire that caused a ton of smoke in the city. We all wore masks and at 3am the sky was bright orange- it was eerie.

Hurricanes on the East coast were more work and stress.

[Anonymous]

I’d suggest exploring a bunch of areas. Microclimates, geographical features, and character really vary widely across the Bay Area.

Napa, Sonoma if you want the wine country, cute town, good restaurants. Petaluma is more affordable. Look for houses close in to town to minimize fire risk. Surprisingly affordable for the Bay Area.

Berkeley, which is my favorite is this combo of really nice, historic houses, clean tree lined streets, university vibe, bookstores, record stores, great restaurants, and a gritty level of mostly harmless druggie/homeless around downtown. Easy to take BART into SF. Stay out of the hills for fire risk.
Upper Rockridge and Claremont area is Berkeley on the edge of Oakland and Oakland but really nice. Fantastic restaurants, Berkeley Bowl for groceries, and lots of small shops. Very few big box or chains though Target is downtown. Climate is great never too cold, never too hot.

Danville and San Ramon, nice suburbs in the east bay. Can get very hot.

San Jose is actually nice. My favorite areas are Rose Garden and Willow Glen.

Santa Clara and San Mateo have lots of small towns and areas. Campbell and Los Gatos are adjacent small towns toward the southwest. Also in Santa Clara county are Saratoga and Cambrian Park. There’s Hillsborough with old style mansions in San Mateo, Burlingame with smaller craftsmen, San Carlos with a crazy Christmas light thing, Los Altos and Menlo for $$$, Palo Alto.

[Anonymous]

For SF, I’d look at Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Inner Richmond, Laurel Heights and St Francis Woods. Sea Cliff is cool but hard to find anything under 4 million.

[Anonymous]

Don't forget the sharks! Honestly the tornados here are scarier than the earthquakes. The fires don't happen on the coast.

[Anonymous]

Don't buy anywhere there is a risk of landslides/geological movement.

This is in Southern California beach community called Palos Verdes. The land in some areas of the city is moving one foot per week. Yes that is per WEEK. The gas company shut off gas a month ago and yesterday the electric company had to shut off power to around 150 multi-million dollar homes.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/electricity-to-be-shut-off-for-homes-affected-by-rancho-palos-verdes-landslide-city-issues-evacuation-warning/

Here is a video of what land movement does to a home. It is incredulous that this home is still for sale:
https://youtu.be/VVoSGUsuZa4?si=GlFf5pUUatzQmH4T

When in doubt get a geological inspection. We live in another area of California and loved one house after seeing it but it was in a canyon. We found out a buyer had backed out after a geological inspection showed concerns so we didn't bother investigating more and bought another house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d avoid areas like Santa Rosa, Berkeley and Oakland hills, Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley/ Boulder areas up in the mountains for fire. For earthquakes, try to avoid houses with a liquefaction risk.

DH loves the Marina district in SF but it’s the worst from an earthquake standpoint.

Spot on. Avoid buying in any hills in the East Bay, Sonoma County, probably Marin too. Marina District unsafe in earthquake and this is well known..

Big earthquakes are rare--the last big one in SF was over 30 years ago. Smaller ones that you can actually feel happen a couple of times a year and are no big deal. Newer buildings have been built with strict building codes. Avoid brick buildings and aforementioned liquefaction areas.

If you like it, go for it. California does not have hurricanes or tornadoes. Fire and mud slides are the top risks. Avoid very close to the coast too.

Why avoid close to the coast. Rising water levels?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d avoid areas like Santa Rosa, Berkeley and Oakland hills, Santa Cruz/Scotts Valley/ Boulder areas up in the mountains for fire. For earthquakes, try to avoid houses with a liquefaction risk.

DH loves the Marina district in SF but it’s the worst from an earthquake standpoint.

Spot on. Avoid buying in any hills in the East Bay, Sonoma County, probably Marin too. Marina District unsafe in earthquake and this is well known..

Big earthquakes are rare--the last big one in SF was over 30 years ago. Smaller ones that you can actually feel happen a couple of times a year and are no big deal. Newer buildings have been built with strict building codes. Avoid brick buildings and aforementioned liquefaction areas.

If you like it, go for it. California does not have hurricanes or tornadoes. Fire and mud slides are the top risks. Avoid very close to the coast too.

Why avoid close to the coast. Rising water levels?

DP, but I assume they meant rock slides into the ocean. SoCal (moreso than NorCal) has houses on cliff edges and they will eventually fall in. You also can't really be on the coast without being on a fault line. Rising water could be a concern on the Bay front, like Alameda (which is a great town).

I actually think coastal areas would be a good bet for OP if they don't have to commute - something like Half Moon Bay. However the schools are often iffy because coastal towns are usually agricultural/ touristy and not near the kind of job centers that go with strong schools.

[Anonymous]

I live in MoCo now but grew up on the Peninsula and then lived in the City in Cow Hollow for over 15 years. I find the severe thunderstorms way scarier than anything I’ve ever encountered in the Bay Area…and I was there in 1989 and remember the quake well.