Help me find a San Fran suburb

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The question is what is a reasonable sized house to you? Houses in the bay area are smaller than houses in other parts of the country in general.

The next question is how far are you willing to commute, and do you have the sort of job where a little bit of regional geographical flexibility is necessary. For example, if your DH works in tech and getting a job in the peninsula in the future is not out of the question, the East Bay or Marin would not be a strategic place to live. Are you planning on looking for work too, and is your work geographically flexible and/or centered more in one region of the bay area? If both of you intend to work in SF, living in Marin or the East Bay would be fine. IMHO it's easier to find houses in East Bay and Marin suburbs in that price range than closer to SV that have decent schools.

East Bay: Berkeley and Albany sometimes have 3 bedroom houses in that price range (although be prepared to move fast and wave contigencies), El Cerrito/Kensington is a nice area for families although the schools historically are not as good (this is starting to change), Alameda, Castro Valley, Fremont. Over the hill there's Walnut Creek, Lafayette, and Moraga. Then a little further down there's Fremont.

Unfortunately, they don't anymore. We've been looking for a 3/2 for 2+ years at the $1-1.1Mish point and there's not much out there. (Plenty that gets listed, but not much closes in that range unless a lot of work is needed.) The market is finally starting to soften (though not much help for us since we also need to sell a house!) so it might get better by winter, but right now in the inner East Bay (Albany, Alameda, Berkeley, Oakland and El Cerrito neighborhoods with strong elementary schools [and even some without!]) most houses that get listed in the $800K-$1M range ultimately sell for well above that, and starter 2/1s are pushing $1M. It may be better farther out, though. I'd try Walnut Creek and Pleasant Hill, and maybe parts of Moraga if you don't need to be close in. Castro Valley is still doable at that price point for larger homes. Fremont not so much, since it's part of the catchment area for some tech companies' incentive programs. (But if you're moving for a tech job, check out what home buying supports they may offer.)

I'd also seriously consider renting first in the city you're considering--both to get a feel for neighborhoods and because I strongly suspect the CA housing market is headed towards a correction, or at least a flattening, in the next year or two. Speaking from experience, it's no fun to buy at the peak.

Yeah, by sometimes I meant "occasionally there are 1-2 houses listed that actually close in that range, and if it's a fixer upper selling at the wrong time of the year, you might get lucky." I agree with renting, although I still see Walnut Creek as a solid option for families.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our best friends live in San Carlos. They love their kids schools. Their neighborhood is very pretty-and seems super friendly when we’ve visited and our friends always have things up on FB like block parties, etc. They commute both into city and Palo Alto. It’s where I’d move....

I'm from San Carlos! It's great. However, it's not in OP's price range for the house they want. The commute to SF is OK but not great, it's better for Oracle or the Palo Alto jobs. I personally cannot afford to move back, which my parents (who grew up there and had blue collar jobs) can't grasp.

[Anonymous]

We searched extensively or a three bedroom house with good schools within an hour commute to SF. Our budget was 1.2 at the time. We did not find anything and decided not to move.

[Anonymous]

Martinez, Benecia, Fairfield? Tracy?

All horrible commutes.

[Anonymous]

How about Pacifica? 3/1 for just under a mil.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How about Pacifica? 3/1 for just under a mil.

It is not known for having good schools. I would not want to send my kids to that high school district. I would buy less house in a better district or move to a better area away from the peninsula. Do you have to be on the peninsula OP? Where will your dh be working?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How about Pacifica? 3/1 for just under a mil.

It is not known for having good schools. I would not want to send my kids to that high school district. I would buy less house in a better district or move to a better area away from the peninsula. Do you have to be on the peninsula OP? Where will your dh be working?

I think, generally speaking, there are no longer any secret enclaves in the Bay Area with the good schools-short commute to SV or SF-reasonably priced housing trifecta. You have to pick one (or if you're lucky, two) unless you have a pretty sizable budget.

So basically--if you see big houses for under $1M, it's a safe assumption that either the schools are underperforming, the commute is problematic, or both. I'd say people who can flex on the cost do so (hence the insane housing prices), and those who can't choose either schools or commute. Personally I'd choose commute (and did!), since schools can change but commutes can't. But if you're in a field where you might get a job somewhere off the beaten path in the future, it might be worth a long commute initially with an eye towards shortening it in years to come.

Wherever you choose, I'd rent for at least the first year.

[Anonymous]

Bay Farm

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are moving to SF area in January (DH got a new job) where should we live?

It would help to know exactly where his job is. The "SF area" is huge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1. Don't call it San Fran. Nobody does that except people from DMV.

The only thing worse is if you call it "Frisco". Ugh!

[Anonymous]

OP, could you make Alameda work? i think the commute is tricky but the house prices are lower for lovely houses and the schools are good.

Some other towns we briefly considered were Albany and Orinda. Orinda is more expensive than Albany but they both have schools that are supposed to be very good.

I have a friend of a friend in Orinda but only have heard of Albany through word of mouth.

Those are the only pockets that come to mind when looking for something at the around 1 million or less with good schools. (and I am not sure Orinda meets the price, it may just always end up over that).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, could you make Alameda work? i think the commute is tricky but the house prices are lower for lovely houses and the schools are good.

Some other towns we briefly considered were Albany and Orinda. Orinda is more expensive than Albany but they both have schools that are supposed to be very good.

I have a friend of a friend in Orinda but only have heard of Albany through word of mouth.

Those are the only pockets that come to mind when looking for something at the around 1 million or less with good schools. (and I am not sure Orinda meets the price, it may just always end up over that).

^^^^ I don't have experience with san rafael up through the north bay towns. That area was not realistic for my dh's commute so I just did not research it much at all. Walnut Creek I have looked at, and Danville. There was a time a few years ago that you could get a house there in your price range but I am not sure about now.