Offered a job at a hotel in Walnut Creek, CA. Considering moving from lovely San Diego,CA for this better position. Can anyone give me an idea of what I am getting into? I am 25 and moving with my fiance. I love San Francisco, but where exactly could I live to be close to work and SF? I am looking for a 20-30 min drive to work max. Any nice cities in the area? How about Napa? Any help would be appreciate as I am having a hard time deciding to move or not to a place I don't know much about. I will be flying up there next week, but wanted a locals point of view. Thanks!

Napa will be about 1 hour under good conditions from Walnut Creek. Depending on what time of day you are travelling you might hit commute traffic which could be a bear. Walnut Creek itself is a medium sized suburb which has grown in leaps and bounds over the past two decades. It used to be walnut orchards and now has almost everything from a Nordstroms to upscale restaurants. The schools are pretty good. YOu might look in either Berkeley or Oakland as places to live and you will be approximately 20-30 minutes from both SF and Walnut Creek. I suggest you look in North Berkeley or Elmwood (Berkeley) or North Oakland, Montclair,Glenview,Rockridge or Piedmont Avenue areas of Oakland. These will give you pretty easy access to Hwy 13 which then will lead you on to Hwy 24 to Walnut Creek. Wherever you live I'd say try to stay clear of 80 or 680 as your commute routes. While 24 leading to the Caldecott Tunnel can be slow going at times it is a relatively short distance of slow going. Berkeley is Berkeley and Oakland, although slightly more metropolitan,has some pretty nice areas.
You can get many of the amenities of the city in either place with less rent and closer access to W.C. Walnut Creek is in the valley so the temps will be significantly higher in the summer months than in either Berkeley or Oakland.

bmeyerhoff,

First of all, get a map of the Bay Area so you can determine distances between the towns and cities. Nut Creek is in a VERY busy area between San Ramon and Concord on 680. Gridlock is common, but BART is an option.

Secondly, housing prices in the Bay Area are through the roof! I don't know about San Diego, but it is something you should check out. If you are 25 years old in the Hospitality industry, you are probably not making a ton of money. It is definitely something to consider.

Curious

Napa is definetly not an option for 30 min. commute.. at least a hour & 1/2 for me from middle of Napa to dowtown SF.--on the "good"days
My sister is moving to Walnut creek area to help with care of elderly relative and planning to take BART to job in SF.
If you don't like warm weather 85-100 like in WC --Oakland or Berekely cooler 65-80 and SF 60 to 70--
These are summer "high" temps.
Advise from PamSF is right on.
Goo Luck

I've lived in both San Diego and the Bay Area. Prefer the Bay Area better. More culture, better restaurants, better public transportation, etc. Even though I loved the beaches in San Diego, I found it too laid back and the climate too dry. WC is a very nice upscale town in the Bay Area. Great place to go out in the evenings. A good handful of nice bars and restaurants. WC and Concord are similar to El Cajon in climate,as they are in a valley. Can be hot as hell in the summer. Napa is way too far for a commute and you'll hate the traffic. Try Pittsburg/Antioch for affordable living close to work (WC). SF is only a 45 minute ride on the BART from the area.

You have received good information and advice so far. The East Bay is a very desirable place to live. I agree that your weather in Walnut Creek will be similar to inland areas of San Diego. It is very pleasant year round. Summer days over 100 are the exception, not the rule.

Realize as you consider possible places to live that some commutes will involve a bridge crossing. Your idea of Napa is an example. Currently the toll is $2 to cross the Benicia-Martinez bridge. All the Bay Area bridge are $2 except the Golden Gate which is higher, maybe $4?? The $2 tolls may be going up to $3.

The commute from Napa would suck. And Walnut Creek would be much cooler in the winter than inland areas in San Diego, with more rain.

We may be moving to SF as well. We have been doing home searches and found alot of cool homes in Half Moon Bay...what is that commute like? Anything going on there? We are 30-somethings with 2 small kids.
Also, any comments on Sausalito? The commute certainly looks quick to SF.
Thanks!

The commute to Sf from Sausalito will be quicker than from Half Moon Bay.Depending on what part of the city you are commuting to,it can take a full 30 minutes to go cross town at rush hour. Now..cost of housing is a whole other thing. Suasalito real estate is higher by far than in Half Moon Bay.

Sausalito will run much higher costs in real estate... plus you have to cross the golden gate everyday and thus paying the $4 toll (it's somewhere around that number.. I haven't taken it since I left for Italy).

Current toll for the Golden Gate Bridge is $5. All other bridges are $2 (for now). If you buy the electronic toll payer Fastrak, it's $4 for the GG and $1.85 for the other bridges.

For proximity to SF, Walnut Creek is not that bad. It's a very suburban feeling city. If I were you, I'd look into actually living in the town where you work. COmmuting gets old, and it's easy to get to SF from there.

If you did want to get closer in, as Pam said, Berkeley & Oakland are quite close. It takes me just about 30 minutes to get from Berkeley to SF. I love Berkeley, but it isn't for everyone. Renting in Berkeley & Oakland is not such a bad deal, Walnut Creek might be cheaper.

Christie,

As for Halfmoon Bay to SF. It's doable, in the sense that some people do it, but you'll be spending maybe 3-4 hours of every day commuting. Sausalito is great if you can afford it, most can't. You might try looking at Corte Madera. I know someone who lives there, whose kids go to school in the Tiburon school district. Excellent school system.

There is a BART station in Walnut Creek so you could feasibly live in SF and take BART to your job in Walnut Creek. The BART ride from SF to Walnut Creek depends on your starting point but would probably greater than 30 minutes. You could live in Berkely and take BART to Walnut Creek as well.