topic Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco in Bay Area

Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

sfotobrentwood — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:03:36 GMT

I would really appreciate opinions on living in Brentwood, East Contra Costa. I have family there and visit often, I love what I see when I visit. I very much want move there from San Francisco, as we are finding more and more difficult affording the cost of living in SF ie, private school tuition, high mortgage payments, and just in general knowing we are not saving enough for the future, ie college for the children and retirement accounts. Husband having commute nightmares already!! He is not into rideshare or BART, he works 7-3:30PM, is this a bad commute time?? Anyway, I say it will be worth it to not have to work three jobs between us and all the extra weekends. Any thoughts,or are there any SF transplants to Brentwood that have made the transition and could share your experience/s?? Thanks much

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

CrimsonWife — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:46:22 GMT

Frankly, given the changing demographics in Brentwood since the real estate crash, you'd probably be looking at private school tuition there as well. The middle-class folks who during the boom were buying in Brentwood because they were priced out of nicer towns are now able to buy in those areas. For example, I know a couple of firefighters (one's wife is a teacher, the other's wife is a police dispatcher so roughly similar incomes). One bought a home in Brentwood a couple years ago. The second just bought a condo in Foster City for about the same price.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

sfotobrentwood — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:22:11 GMT

Changing demographics??

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

SoBitter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:33:45 GMT

Changing demographics??

I think she means lower-income families are moving in. Middle-income
folks are walking away from/selling their homes in areas like these and investors are moving in, bringing in lower income renters, section 8, etc.

Message Edited by SoBitter on 11-17-2009 08:33 AM

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

sfotobrentwood — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:17:40 GMT

Wow. I hope more Brentwood residents will comment.

Where do you think the middle class is going now? The town seems so nice on my visits. I love the Farmers Market on Saturdays. I have attended mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary and parishoners seem really nice. The neighborhoods seem well kept. I hope more Brentwood residents will comment for me. Main motivation is being closer to family. My youngest would be attending Heritage with her cousins. I guess I am feeling my bubble is being burst, that this was the best move for our family, but still think SF is getting way out of reach for us with our goals to save more for retirement and college for our kids etc.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

SoBitter — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:45:34 GMT

Where do you think the middle class is going now?

I suspect alot of middle class families who walked away without rebuying are doubling up into relatives' homes to save money. The declining rental market is evidence that families are not choosing to rent. I also don't think these middle class families are leaving the bay area, since there are few places outside of the bay area that are still prosperous (anyone notice the high # of transplants - out-of-state car license plates on the road lately? this is almost like a gold-rush, unfortunately, without the gold!)

I understand what you mean about city life. High property taxes seem to be mishandled and there almost never seems to be any money left for education. The schools are oversubscribed, the crime is rampant, taxes are rising, and nobody seems to care! Good luck with the Brentwood move, your setup sounds pretty idyllic.

Message Edited by SoBitter on 11-17-2009 11:45 AM

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

bobgibbs — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:09:31 GMT

Hello,

The discussions in this thread are very good. I have seen many families leave their homes and go towards renting, many choose to remain in Brentwood. The comment about many investors buying is also correct. I will say that there are some very nice areas in Brentwood where people keep their homes nice and are very friendly, the Rose Garden area comes to mind. I also know that there are many buyers just like you who are looking in the Brentwood area. In most cases I am seeing homes come on the market and be sold to all cash buyers who do intend on living in the house. I have family members who live in Brentwood and in Discovery Bay and they absolutely love it.

Hope this help.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

girard — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:27:21 GMT

don't do it, this is a wacky idea if your husband has to commute to sf. i worked in oakland and my co-worker had to sell her home there -- yes brentwood area -- as she couldn't handle it after two years and that was to oakland, not sf. and yes, she had kids too and had the same idea as you -- college and retirement. if you care about your husband's sanity (and preserving an intact family too) you'd give up this wacky idea.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

funfolder — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:44:43 GMT

This is the wrong board for brentwood residents to reply.

We made our first visit to brentwood and checked out 3 houses in shadow lakes and deer ridge. We like the area. It's like los altos with new homes. High school and middle school are new and right there. When bart station completes in Antioch, this town is going to boom again.

Due to the upside down of the housing market now, some people have to sell their home and leave. I believe most will sell and stay because the places are even more expensive for them. But, remember, there will be people moving to the town due to the low cost of living compared with SF.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

norcalnative — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:58:52 GMT

To be honest I can't nor could in the past understand the draw of Brentwood area. When you have options like clayton - Dublin etc?

Brentwood is one hell of a trek from key employers in the Bay Area. Even Danville to SF was a nightmare commute during the hey day and after 4 months gladly traded my 3bd - 3bath - 3car garage with pool house for a condo in SF. Now if you work in Pleasanton or the Tri Valley area then Brentwood might be an idea. But I think Clayton would be #1 on my list long before going over another set of hills.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

norcalnative — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:03:18 GMT

Which is also why I have a hard time seeing how the Brentwood home values will see any sort of stable pricing in the near future and I would expect to see them continue to have large numbers of foreclosures and folks moving out of the area close to key employment opportunities.

A very good example of an out lying housing area that grew exponentially during the bubble caused by cheap loans and easy money only to have reality sink in that its a bit far for key employers in the Bay Area and still remains an outlying area where homes should have values that reflect their proximity to employment.

Cities in and around Sacramento have a better range of potential employers within acceptable range than the Brentwood area - its just the simple fact of its location.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

kdog — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:35:03 GMT

Just for those who read this post later, i just want to comment on living in brentwood. We just purchased a 5/3 with 3000 sqft for about 350K. What a fantastic place to live. After considering Concord we found that the drive time from East Concord/Clayton to Highway 680 (or Walnut Creek Bart) was 22 minutes because of side road traffic. The time to get from Brentwood to Walnut Creek was 25 minutes. Many people find being on the freeway to be an emotionally exhausting experience while completly ignoring the time they spend just getting to the freeway (all of which is just psycological). Take an inventory of how you spend your time and what the trade offs will be. If you are working two or three jobs just to pay for your tiny house in SF then the trade off of having to commute an 1 hour in each direction to only one job is kind of worth it don't you think?

The question is when you get off work are you happy with your living arrangements?

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

Boraxo — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:09:32 GMT

I would never live there as the schools are just not good enough and it is too far out in the stix (and I don't even commute to SF). But then again you paid half as much as I did for a similar sized property in Danville. Hopefully you will save enough to afford private schools and the extra wear and tear on your car. :smileytongue:

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

lexa — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 20:59:44 GMT

kdog wrote:

The question is when you get off work are you happy with your living arrangements?

the question is whether one want to spend over 1/2 of the time off work and sleep on commute and most of summer indoors (your living arrangements :smileyvery-happy:).

if one asnwers yes to both, that one can live almost anywhere in US often for much less than in Brentwood as there are roads, AC and heating units almost everywhere in US.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

AMH — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:50:31 GMT

lexa wrote:
kdog wrote:

The question is when you get off work are you happy with your living arrangements?
the question is whether one want to spend over 1/2 of the time off work and sleep on commute and most of summer indoors (your living arrangements :smileyvery-happy:).

if one asnwers yes to both, that one can live almost anywhere in US often for much less than in Brentwood as there are roads, AC and heating units almost everywhere in US.

Well, I for one am looking out in that area. I enjoy the outdoors and water. I live on the peninsula right now and i hate it with a passion. Waking up in a large, nice house and being able to put my boat in the water within 10-15 minutes is a huge selling point for me. Almost every weekend of the summer/spring months I fight traffic to get OUT of the peninsula area to get out to the lakes in the sierra foothills and of course, the delta.

I would much rather have a nice,newer home out near trhe delta than a 50 year old pile of crap in the heart of all the peninsula/south bay.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

kdog — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 01:57:36 GMT

Yeah, my wife works in SF and commutes about 45 minutes every day from Pleasant Hill. She has a co worker who lives in the Sunset District in SF. It takes her co worker 45 minutes to get from sunset to downtown SF via Muni. When you start doing the math you start realizing that living closer doesn't always mean getting to work faster. I'd rather spend 45 minutes on the freeway than 45 minutes on muni any day of the week.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

ptiemann — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:21:12 GMT

I would be very careful with the move to Brentwood, or prepare to find employment in Livermore.

I don't know anyone who moved to Brentwood but I know several families who bought in Mountain House, which is just South of Brentwood.

These people were employed on the peninsula.

Every single one of them abandoned the nice big house out there and moved back to the peninsula. The commute was killing them. One family moved back after 3 months, the one with the most stamina lasted about 12 months. They rent now in the peninsula, and - as far as I know - keep their nice big house as a rental.

I am not kidding. Every single one whom I know to have moved over there came back.

No wait. I know one exception.

One couple owned property in Saratoga. A multi-million-Dollar house. They sold their Saratoga house at peak and with the equity bought in Mountain House for cash. Retired at 40.

(They admitted on a recent visit though that they are bored.)

-Peter

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

AMH — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 02:35:35 GMT

my commute will not be bad. Im on the road before most have gotten out of bed. There is no way i could do it working bankers hours.

ptiemann wrote:
I would be very careful with the move to Brentwood, or prepare to find employment in Livermore.
I don't know anyone who moved to Brentwood but I know several families who bought in Mountain House, which is just South of Brentwood.
These people were employed on the peninsula.
Every single one of them abandoned the nice big house out there and moved back to the peninsula. The commute was killing them. One family moved back after 3 months, the one with the most stamina lasted about 12 months. They rent now in the peninsula, and - as far as I know - keep their nice big house as a rental.
I am not kidding. Every single one whom I know to have moved over there came back.

No wait. I know one exception.

One couple owned property in Saratoga. A multi-million-Dollar house. They sold their Saratoga house at peak and with the equity bought in Mountain House for cash. Retired at 40.
(They admitted on a recent visit though that they are bored.)

-Peter

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

kdog — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:04:12 GMT

Yes but you are also talking about people who have probably never had a serious commute before. The reason why the freeways are jam packed every morning is because most people commute. From my point of view I am commuting 40 minutes every day already, what is another 20 minutes to live in a house that is twice the size of buying locally.

Re: Moving to Brentwood from San Francisco

lexa — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 03:18:28 GMT

Bud_Weiser wrote:
Well, I for one am looking out in that area. I enjoy the outdoors and water. I live on the peninsula right now and i hate it with a passion. Waking up in a large, nice house and being able to put my boat in the water within 10-15 minutes is a huge selling point for me. Almost every weekend of the summer/spring months I fight traffic to get OUT of the peninsula area to get out to the lakes in the sierra foothills and of course, the delta.

to each his own.

what you describe doesn't qualify as active outdoor life in my book....

also it is not too difficult to get to Sierra from Fremont (vs. Brentwood), commute to work is also quite short...

I don't care if I wake up in a nice hungar or bedroom; I care what I do between waking up and going to bed.