You don't know the Bay Area well then. Yes, anywhere down near 101 is a hole, but there are many many absolutely gorgeous towns/communities in N. Cal. Inland from 101, ya have those you mentioned, plus Portola Valley, upper Burlingame. Down south Saratoga, Los Gatos. Santa Cruz if you can handle the hour comute. Most of the east bay is super nice once you get away from the bay. Many parts of SF itself, ALL of Marin. This area has so many lush green beautiful neighborhoods its mind boggling. Unfortunately, infrequent visitors usually see the worst places possible. Basically, the flat areas around the bay suck (except for SF and Marin), but many, if not most away from the bay are great. Jay
"Also, check out Corona and Temecula. These inland towns are getting a flood of buyers from everywhere." I was driving through Corona yesterday. A new tract home there will cost you almost $500,000 now. Twenty miles to the east in Riverside they are close to $400,000. Traffic is horrendous out here. Can take close to 45 minutes just to get to the freeway (91) during morning rush hour. Yet homes have been appreciating better than 25% a year for the last 3 years. The home across the street from me was purchased for $300,000 a year ago. Today a simliar home around the corner just went on the market for $405,000.
Anyone that knows anything about the BAY AREA knows that Contra Costa County and the East Bay has some very rich neighborhoods. 1.) Orinda 2.) Alamo 3.) Lafayette 4.) Danville Just to name a few.
"Other than SF and marin and a few communities around Stanford, the bay area is not a high quality place to live." You obviously have no idea what you are talking about when it comes to the Bay Area and the quality places to live in the East Bay. http://www.real-estate-tech.com/usa.htm
Oh ... I do. Having worked in the bay area for the last 20 years for most every major silicon valley company and SF bank. Nobody I know would live in the east bay ... but then we probably run in different crowds. AS long as you like it thats all that matters .....
Los Gatos and anything along the coast range is nice - or on the coast side. The bay side is another matter. Other than the penninsula communities around Stanford - woodside, menlo Park, Palo Alto and a few others like burlingame and parts of mountain view, I would never consider living there. SF has some nice areas and Marin areas are quite nice. Once you get across the bay(s) things rapidly deteriorate - even up in the hills. Not my type of place to live. As long as you like it that is all that matters.
Are you kidding me? I don't think you know what Waggie is talking about when he refers to the "east bay'. He's not speaking of Oakland. The communities of Orinda, Alamo, etc are some of the nicest I've seen anywhere in the country. Great weather out there too. I am originally from the S. Bay, but have spent a lot of time in the east bay. I can't think of anyplace in S. Cal that is similar. Not too crowded, oak trees all over the place. Rolling, golden hills without smog. The place is wonderful. Its more a family area (quiet), but I doubt it can be beat for quality of life unless you have a specific need (daily surf, etc). Even the commute to SF from there is a non event if you take BART. I bet at least half the people out there work on that side of the Bay though (Pleasanton, Walnut Creek, etc have plenty of high tech related biz). Jay
CalTrader: >Nobody I know would live in the east bay Apparently you don't know anyone rich enough. Ever heard of BlackHawk? JB PS. People who don't REALLY know the area think of Oakland, Fremont, Newark, etc as THE "east bay". The jewels of the east bay are nowhere near that area.