wushunut

Well...looks like I'll be doing a cross-continental migration mid-year next year. My soon-to-be wife is going to be working at Travis AFB in Fairfield and because of the field I'm in, I'll likely be trying to find work in SanFrancisco. Needless to say, we'll need a place to live. Any recommendations for a place that is in between both places and would not be too terrible a commute for both of us? I've resigned myself to the fact that I WILL be sitting in traffic...

Pololo_RX8

Yes, and that $800K will only get you a condo here. Good luck with your move.

CB.

Buck Naechid

wushunut- I live just south of Fairfield and commute to Oakland. 36mi, 40-45 min AM, 60+ min at nite. All bets are off time wise if there is any kind of crash. You need to balance the commute with how much you can afford on housing. Solano County is substantialy cheaper than Marin, Alameda, and SF. The commute is not that much longer time wise- most of the heavy traffic on 80S starts about Richmond area on in to the Bay Bridge to SF.

I would suggest you look in the Fairfield area for housing so only one of you has a tough commute. You didn't say what field you're in and it sounds like you don't have a job yet. You ought to consider looking for work somewhere other than SF, say Sacramento to start with-easier commute, less general hassles on traffic, bridge tolls, parking etc.

PM me and if you let me rant a little on the Peoples Republic of California I'll try to help you get familiar with the area. Good Luck!

cgrx

check out Vallejo

IZoomZoomI

vallejo is close, homes aren't that expensive there yet. Not the greatest neighborhoods though.

cgrx

true, try to find a non-ghetto area

wushunut

Thanks guys. Keep 'em coming. I don't know anything about the area so the more you guys can contribute. I was looking at a map and thought Vallejo might have been a good option but I'm glad I can rely on the insight of locals. Just a bit more info. I'm in the financial services industry, specifically in the compliance field. Finding a job in Sacremento would be better, but I'm guessing that most of the financial services sector is located in San Francisco. I don't mind driving. I've been dealing with DC traffic all this time so I imagine it'll be similar.

We're not sure if we're going to rent first or try to find something to buy. Between our two incomes and the equity I've built up on my home here, I think we can put something down on something modest (by Cali standards!).

Anyways, keep the insight coming! I definitely appreciate it. Anybody know anything about Walnut Creek?



*IZoomZoomI - btw..I was the guy that bought the appearance package stuff from you. Thanks again for a great transaction. I still haven't put it on yet. I'm still debating about what I want to do with the front of the car.

cgrx

Walnut Creek is nice

IZoomZoomI

hehe, thanks for the reminder slipped my mind for a second. Well the thing is if you work in SF and live in vallejo, you might want to factor in the commute cost. People probably would say i'm bitching but you would have to pay 3.00 to cross the bay bridge to get to S.F and another 3.00 to cross the richmond bridge back home. But if you were planning to work in sacramento that wouldn't be an issue.

HaloX

You might as well take BART to do that rather than drive. Commuting back and froth from SF to Vallejo is a nightmare especially on 80. On BART you just drive to the El Cerrito BART parking lot and catch BART to SF. That is so much easier because you dont have to go through the daily conga line on I-80. Besides, you can sleep, catch up on reading or even browse rx8club.com on your laptop. Well, unless of course you love the bump and grind on 80, you can ignore what i said up top.

Moostafa29

I don't have that much of a commute, but I take BART everyday. Couldn't life without it. The few times that I have driven to work, it sucks. Only reason I do is because the dealership is a half mile away.

Pololo_RX8

Walnut creek is nice.. very nice... but I believe the equity you built up in the East Coast will be good for a good 5% down.

You should rent first monthly ... Now it's a buyers market again.

You can always take a BART to SF... Most of the Finance businesses are in SF.

Good luck,
Carlos