(Antioch, Pittsburgh, Oakley)
or East Alameda Co. (Ran Ramon, etc.)? where are the better homebuying values?
TIA

Meth Labs of the bay area.
Cleaned up alot since the 70's/80's
Pittsburg is an easier commute (Rapid tranist line goes there)

San Ramon quite a bit more $$$
Livermore/Pleasanton a bit less...but rising rapidly (if not already) due to Rapid transit station in Pleasanton.


hope that helps!
more qeustions? ask away, gimme a cople hours.

Yuo may be able to SCORE BOTH.................
Alameda East & Contra Costa East counties in 1 fell swoop.

Check it out!

Welcome.

Big questions:

Where would you be working?
Do you have kids?
What kind of neighborhood do you live in now?

The older areas of Pittsburg, Antioch& Oakley are primarily solid blue collar neighborhoods. This would be the cheapest areas to buy a house, but the schools would be questionable if you had kids. Southeast Antioch is where all the new housing and commercial developments are. Brentwood is also similar in that there is alot of new development going on. If you like golf, there are 2 brand new golf course/housing developments in Brentwood. I play golf out there quite a bit and they are nice. The big downfall with this whole East Contra Costa area is that the Highway 4 commute is ATTROCIOUS. Sure the housing is cheaper, but the drive at rush hour is brutal.

San Ramon in Southern Contra Costa & Livermore, Pleasanton & Dublin in Eastern Alameda County are very nice. I'm kind of jaded on this since I live in Livermore. The housing here from lowest price to highest is probably Dublin, Eastern Dublin (brand new developments)& Livermore, and Pleasanton & San Ramon. The schools in this are are far superior to the East Contra Costa Co. cities. 2 large business parks in San Ramon & Pleasanton, along with the Lawrence Livermore National Lab give the majority of these cities primarily white collar neighborhoods. The commutes on I-580 & I-680 in these immediate areas can be heavy at times, but are preferable to Highway 4. I hope this helps you.

Rob

to answer your questions:
1) I'd be working primarily from home, but also field work in Sacto, Modesto, East Bay area (draw a triangle). No 'traditional' commuting but I will need to get around.
2)no kids yet
3) don't mind blue collar but do prefer <25 y.o. houses and clean/safe neighborhood; my home in WA State is worth ~215K so I definitely will be paying more regardless.

and yes i do like golf!

...my personal first choices, as to solid property investments, and nicest areas to live in. Though, anything around here is a solid investment.

It all depends on how much you have/want to spend. Great info from Rob - I totally agree.

I'm a loan agent (mortgage broker). Look me up if you want/need, when you're ready.

Lots of new developments in San Ramon (Widemer sp? is one of them) to the east of 680. Housing prices have not gone down much. You can still find deals here and there.

The commute to Sacramento in the AM is reverse commute, as is out to Tracy/Stockton/Manteca.

Down 680 to Freemont/Milpitas/Silicon Valley it's with the commute so figure 45-60mins per 30 miles. This is my daily commute.

Overall nice areas. San Ramon, Dublin and Danville are going to be getting crowded over the next 4 years to the East of 680 with all the new developments. I lucked out I live on the 'west' side of 680 where it is already built out, most of the homes on the west side are 20+ years, with the one's that border Dublin in the 30+ year range.

Also- you're 45 mins from SF Int'l airport and San Jose airport. About 30-35mins from Oakland airport. Continental/United have a lot of direct flights out SFO, while American goes through Chicago and Dallas. I lost track of the time when I'm stuck on the east coast and I tell the agent to please get me to one of the 3 airports and I'll be happy.

Sacramento area you have a less of a selection.

Nice area, great climate. There is a reason I deal with the commute each day.

Let me know if you need any more specifics.