relocating to walnut creek from charlotte, nc

[myself]

don't post too much around here but figured this would be a good starting place. i'm looking for a little info from people that live in this area and california in general.

i've accepted a position in walnut creek and will be moving there from charlotte, nc at the end of this month. i know jack about california and have only been there twice. i DO know it's expensive as all get out compared with charlotte so i'm trying to prepare myself for that. so far i'm concerned most about finding somewhere to live that isn't 5 grand a month and also getting our car and my jeep('98 grand cherokee) smogged. the smogging thing is what i'm confused on... is this a california term for emissions testing? or is it more in depth than that? 'cause we've got that in NC already. i've tried to find some info online but have found very little about it.

has anyone got any advice on either of these subjects? or anything else? good areas to live? or avoid? we're looking to rent in the walnut creek area initially just so i'm close to work and so we can get a "feel" for the area and figure out where we would like to maybe buy one day.

i appreciate it...

[Kurtuleas]

Walnut Crack is a great place, but EXPENSIVE as all hell.

You want to stay OUT of the East Bay if you can, (While Walnut Creek is considered east bay, I mean Bizerkly, Oakland, etc.)

Dubin, Pleasanton, San Ramon are cool, still pricey though, and your commute would not be too bad. Try to stay on THAT side of the hill. Brentwood is growing fast and a great place to live.

Discovery Bay is the place to live, (of course becuase I live there) but your commute may suck thru HWY 4. Lotsa houses for rent in my hood from investors lately. You are RIGHT ON the CA delta, so if you are into fishin or watersports you would love it.

For the smog, if your rig is stock, it really should not be a problem.

[Flatty]

If you are working in Walnut creek, check ou tConcord, and Martinez too. How about Pleasant Hill. I am in the process of moving out that way as well.

Dima

[myself]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

Walnut Crack is a great place, but EXPENSIVE as all hell.

You want to stay OUT of the East Bay if you can, (While Walnut Creek is considered east bay, I mean Bizerkly, Oakland, etc.)

Dubin, Pleasanton, San Ramon are cool, still pricey though, and your commute would not be too bad. Try to stay on THAT side of the hill. Brentwood is growing fast and a great place to live.

Discovery Bay is the place to live, (of course becuase I live there) but your commute may suck thru HWY 4. Lotsa houses for rent in my hood from investors lately. You are RIGHT ON the CA delta, so if you are into fishin or watersports you would love it.

For the smog, if your rig is stock, it really should not be a problem.

yea i've about had a heart attack looking at houses and apts. in that area. it's insane how much more it is than charlotte, which is an expensive place to live. granted, it's apples and oranges.

i'm worried about commuting too... i have a 5 minute commute now... so that's why i was looking at walnut creek just due to proximity to the job. but i'll for sure check out the places you listed. we'd like to find an "older" neighborhood to live... something with a little character but i don't even know if such a things exists out there. everything seemed so new at least the little that we saw.

my jeep is stock engine wise... all my mods are typical wheeling stuff; lift, tires, bumpers, etc. so is the smog check just another name for emissions tailpipe testing?

where are good wheeling spots? i've tried to read up and find out what's close...

thanks for the response.

[myself]

Originally Posted by Flatty

If you are working in Walnut creek, check ou tConcord, and Martinez too. How about Pleasant Hill. I am in the process of moving out that way as well.

Dima

where you going to live?

[myself]

another question i just remembered... anyone have any experience with car/auto haulers?

i need to find someway to get my jeep out there...

[tdavis]

If you have school age children, be sure to check the schools out - there is some really bad ones in the SFBay area.

I live in Pinole, right off the bay. Lovely place, I don't need A/C, it doesn't ever really get cold (low 30's for several nights), and it's still a small town, even though we get overran by the Richmond/San Pablo gangs at times..

The commute to Walnut Creek from here would be tough - when the freeways was built, they was all designed to get you into San Francisco, not between the suburbs.

As for the commute, is your new job near a BART station? If so, that can make your life and commute much easier.

As for SMOGcheck, you'll have no problems if you have the stock smog equipment on the vehicle, except if you have big tires and have not regeared to compensate for them. Start reading HERE; you'll have to do the dyno smog check.

[Kurtuleas]

Originally Posted by myself

where are good wheeling spots? i've tried to read up and find out what's close...

thanks for the response.

You DO NOT want an "older" area really. Older means San Leandro, Hayward etc. AKA Ghetto. I know becuase I work there

In the newer areas such as Brentwood or Oakley, rent is CHEAPER becuase you are farther east from the Bay (Plus closer to the Wheeling)

I would REALLY suggest Brentwood, Oakley or Disco. Stay away from martinez, richmond, concord or Antioch. Your commute MAY be 1/2 to 45 mins or so on HWY 4 with traffic. If you moved to Dublin. Pleasanton or San Ramon, you would have bout the same commute, but will pay more for rent.

As for wheeling.....I am 2 1/2 hours from the 'con in my rig, which has a hard time breaking 55MPH. We got some of the best wheeling in the country. The 'con, Fordyce, etc., just head up to the Sierras.

[myself]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

You DO NOT want an "older" area really. Older means San Leandro, Hayward etc. AKA Ghetto. I know becuase I work there

In the newer areas such as Brentwood or Oakley, rent is CHEAPER becuase you are farther east from the Bay (Plus closer to the Wheeling)

I would REALLY suggest Brentwood, Oakley or Disco. Stay away from martinez, richmond, concord or Antioch. Your commute MAY be 1/2 to 45 mins or so on HWY 4 with traffic. If you moved to Dublin. Pleasanton or San Ramon, you would have bout the same commute, but will pay more for rent.

As for wheeling.....I am 2 1/2 hours from the 'con in my rig, which has a hard time breaking 55MPH. We got some of the best wheeling in the country. The 'con, Fordyce, etc., just head up to the Sierras.

well cool, thanks for the advice. we live in an older area of town here in a craftsman style house. it used to be a textile mile area and all the houses were built for the workers. our house was built in 1914 and just has a ton of "character" which is something we were looking to get out there too. from what we saw in SF, places like this were a TON of money.

a couple people told me to look at alameda... that it was a similar area but it seems like its too far away from where i'd be working. i think 30 minutes, maybe 45 is going to be my max on a commute without me freaking out. i think this is going to be my biggest adjustment to deal with.

any suggestions of places to look in brentwood or the other areas you said? we're working with a relocation person but so far she's not doing so hot at suggesting places.

i appreciate it...

[myself]

Originally Posted by tdavis

If you have school age children, be sure to check the schools out - there is some really bad ones in the SFBay area.

I live in Pinole, right off the bay. Lovely place, I don't need A/C, it doesn't ever really get cold (low 30's for several nights), and it's still a small town, even though we get overran by the Richmond/San Pablo gangs at times..

The commute to Walnut Creek from here would be tough - when the freeways was built, they was all designed to get you into San Francisco, not between the suburbs.

As for the commute, is your new job near a BART station? If so, that can make your life and commute much easier.

As for SMOGcheck, you'll have no problems if you have the stock smog equipment on the vehicle, except if you have big tires and have not regeared to compensate for them. Start reading HERE; you'll have to do the dyno smog check.

no kids, so that's not a concern for us.

i think there's a bart station within a few miles of where i'll be working so that might be a consideration...

i've regeared and am only running 33's so hopefully this won't be an issue for me.

thanks.

[Kurtuleas]

Originally Posted by myself

a couple people told me to look at alameda... that it was a similar area but it seems like its too far away from where i'd be working. i think 30 minutes, maybe 45 is going to be my max on a commute without me freaking out. i think this is going to be my biggest adjustment to deal with.

any suggestions of places to look in brentwood or the other areas you said? we're working with a relocation person but so far she's not doing so hot at suggesting places.

i appreciate it...

Personally I think Alameda sucks, again, try to stay away from the immediate Bay Area. Some people love it though...

Your biggest adjustment is going to be the culture shock, not the commute.(and the lack of GREEN. There are not as many trees out here)

Anywhere in Brentwood is cool, I will double check the commute time with a buddy of mine who works in Walnut Crack tonight, but I THINK it would be about 45 mins..

Are you looking for a house or an apartment?

[IV WHLN]

If you can afford it stay in WC or look in Lafayette. My wife was from Alameda. I didn't like it (too close to the worst parts of Oakland), but your commute would be opposite the flow of traffic. Pleasent Hill is nice. Concord and Martinez are patchy. Stay away from Antioch (just my opinion).
As for smog. If your ZJ is (or was originally) all wheel drive, you do not have to dyno it. My last ZJ was orignally a AWD before I swapped the axles and t-case. I never had to dyno it for smog. All they care about is what the vin says in that regard.

[myself]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

Personally I think Alameda sucks, again, try to stay away from the immediate Bay Area. Some people love it though...

Your biggest adjustment is going to be the culture shock, not the commute.(and the lack of GREEN. There are not as many trees out here)

Anywhere in Brentwood is cool, I will double check the commute time with a buddy of mine who works in Walnut Crack tonight, but I THINK it would be about 45 mins..

Are you looking for a house or an apartment?

culture shock huh? just at the amount of people? or all the different people?

and yea, i noticed when we were out there that there aren't a lot of trees. the mountains looked kind of odd without trees all over them. i distinctly remember that...

house for sure.

[myself]

Originally Posted by IV WHLN

If you can afford it stay in WC or look in Lafayette. My wife was from Alameda. I didn't like it (too close to the worst parts of Oakland), but your commute would be opposite the flow of traffic. Pleasent Hill is nice. Concord and Martinez are patchy. Stay away from Antioch (just my opinion).
As for smog. If your ZJ is (or was originally) all wheel drive, you do not have to dyno it. My last ZJ was orignally a AWD before I swapped the axles and t-case. I never had to dyno it for smog. All they care about is what the vin says in that regard.

several people from where i'll be working said antioch was nice and that i should look there... what's wrong with it? just curious, i honestly don't know having never been there.

my zj is 4wd...

[Kurtuleas]

Antioch is GHETTO. I THINK there are some parts of antioch that are ok, and a few decent bars, but basically it sucks.

Brentwood is way better. Also check out my hood, Discovery Bay. I will still have to follow up on the commute time for you though. The closer you get to the Bay, the more expensive the rent and the less you get for the amount of money you pay.

BTW, those are not MOUNTAINS, those are hills. What we called a mountain back east is a hill here. The Sierras are the mountains.

[myself]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

Antioch is GHETTO. I THINK there are some parts of antioch that are ok, and a few decent bars, but basically it sucks.

Brentwood is way better. Also check out my hood, Discovery Bay. I will still have to follow up on the commute time for you though. The closer you get to the Bay, the more expensive the rent and the less you get for the amount of money you pay.

BTW, those are not MOUNTAINS, those are hills. What we called a mountain back east is a hill here. The Sierras are the mountains.

damn that's crazy... that's supposedly where my soon to be boss lives and she raved about it.

i'm going to check out brentwood and i'll throw your place in too... i just searched on brentwood and it looks like there are some nice places there.

hills... i'll have to remember that.

[Kurtuleas]

Found this from areaconnect:

for some reason I could not space out the stats.....

Actual Reported Population and Crimes:

Antioch, CA Brentwood, CA
Population: 101,593 40,091
Murder: 10 0
Forcible Rape: 28 14
Robbery: 232 24
Aggravated Assault: 283 62
Burglary: 733 186
Larceny Theft: 1269 679
Vehicle Theft: 918 120

[Hawk570]

Ok I live in Concord...nothing wrong with concord and its about 20% cheaper to live there then walnut creek or lafayette. I also work in Moraga so I commute. A commute in the bay area is relative to what time you start work. I start at 7 am and I can generally get from the middle of concord to the middle of Moraga in about 30 minutes. thats not a bad commute since a good portion of it is using main streets and not freeways...I would try and avoid Hwy 4 if possible at least as far as pittsburgh and antioch are concerned. Concord has some very nice "older" neighborhoods. Rent is average..but a lot less then the Walnut Creek area is. Also we have some nice wheelin around here...not really close by but not more than 3 or less hours away. Welcome to northern cali....it beats the hell out of southern cal any day!!

[IV WHLN]

Antioch has the same problem as Alamada but worse. There are some nice developments but you are way to damn close to the ghetto. Hell, my old college roomate was from Antioch and he called it the "meth capital of the world". That might be a bit extreme, but its bad. Just look at the stats Kurtuleas posted.

[welndmn]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

Personally I think Alameda sucks, again, try to stay away from the immediate Bay Area. Some people love it though...

Your biggest adjustment is going to be the culture shock, not the commute.(and the lack of GREEN. There are not as many trees out here)

Anywhere in Brentwood is cool, I will double check the commute time with a buddy of mine who works in Walnut Crack tonight, but I THINK it would be about 45 mins..

Are you looking for a house or an apartment?

I agree, Brentwood, is nice, Oakley is great as well, you also have Knightsen (Knightson?) right next to Brentwood.
Parts of Antioch are stil very nice, but ask a local to be sure.
Pitsburg and Bay point are ok areas, but ask a local.
For the smog, don't sweat it, most of the horror stories are so one off its not worth thinking about.
If you want to speak to a good Realtor that works mainly in these East Bay area
http://ryantaylor.topseller.net/
Ryan Taylor is great, he is also a wheeler and on this board.

[dyogim]

The further east you go on hwy 4 the worst the traffic gets. Pittsburg and Bay Point have increased in housing development. There's back roads you can take but sometimes those can get backed up.

Any city you go to will have it's bad areas. Brentwood as I remembered was always a farming city. However, the ratio of suburbia to rural seems to be increasing.

If you find any prospects definitely ask. I live in Pittsburg and live in a nice quite area up along the hills between Pittsburg and Concord.

[Kurtuleas]

5 bedroom, 4 bath
3500 square feet
3 car garage
community pool
GATED COMMUNITY!

All in Disco for $2,150 a month.

It's not on the water, but I know that neighborhood..that house is only bout 3 years old.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/244340868.html

there's a ton of them in disco on craigslist.

Also, you could take Marshcreek road from Disco and/or Brentwood into Walnut Crack instead of HWY 4

Compared to Walnut Crack:

Bout same rent, just 1400 square feet with no backyard
3 bedrooms 2 bath

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/244512262.html

[dyogim]

Pleasant Hill and Pacheco are a couple of other places to consider.

[welndmn]

Originally Posted by Kurtuleas

5 bedroom, 4 bath
3500 square feet
3 car garage
community pool
GATED COMMUNITY!

All in Disco for $2,150 a month.

]

If you move to Disco Bay, I hear you get a free license plate frame "live where you play, Disco bay" :LOL!

[Kurtuleas]

Originally Posted by welndmn

If you move to Disco Bay, I hear you get a free license plate frame "live where you play, Disco bay" :LOL!

AND you get a T-shirt that says "A small drinking community with a boating problem"

I am sick of those damn licence plate frames. EVERYONE seems to have one.