Poppy girl

And its much cheaper the Walnut Creek.

Giantaxe

Actually, the median house price - even on a sq ft basis - is considerably higher in Pleasanton.

budleigh

We started off with Pleasanton in mind earlier this year but couldn't find a decent 4 or 5 bed rental property for love nor money! we did look round a few very expensive and very scruffy rentals though.

Ended up in Danville just down the valley which is slightly less expensive but great schools and very pretty, still a huge demand for family rentals though mainly because the schools are all so good.
It is a really great area for families and kids.

Philgr

Yeah P-town seems to be short of housing stock for sale or rental, and what is out there still apparently shifts quickly - although sales prices have fallen pretty dramatically in the last couple of years. Don't ask me to explain the logic behind that!

oldskool

Pleasanton is a really nice town in what is generally a very nice area. The schools are good, although some of the other towns/burbs along the 680 rank a little better.

Downtown Pleasanton is nice but small. There's usually a small farmers market on Saturdays. It has a number of nice places to eat and there are plenty in the surrounding area anyway.

There are a number of nice parks in the whole tri-valley area.

Weather is generally good, yes it is hotter than the bay area. There are summer days where it's at 113/114 in recent years so there can be some uncomfortable days, but generally it is just nice, warm and sunny. It's a good idea to have access to a pool - plenty of houses, rentals or otherwise have a community pool around here and there are public ones too.

Weather is generally good all year round to be honest - usually Sunny and even in the winter many days are tee-shirt days.

The commute is the downside if you or s.o. is working outside of the immediate area. Plenty of people do it though and put up with it, I guess that's why there is a problem. If you can break it up a little, it's definitely tolerable - this seems to be the key to commuting here because day after day it does wear you down.

Walnut Creek, Danville and so on are also nice but I think for a Santa Clara commute I wouldn't go much further than Pleasanton. Further North would be too much for many.

kevntrace

We live in Dublin, just across the freeway from Pleasanton. Highly recommend the Tri-Valley area. Pleasanton does have a small downtown but it is full of character. Dublin has an awful 70's era strip mall downtown, but newer development is happening on the east side. San Ramon is a newer city, but it too has no real downtown. Livermore is also close by and has recently revitalized its downtown. Livermore also has a nice wine growing region with lots of small vineyards. Can be quite nice for picnics with the kids.

I see no one mentioned the ACE train as a possible commute from Pleasanton to Santa Clara. Saves driving, and puts you on a regimented schedule so you HAVE to leave work at a certain time, otherwise you miss the train.

I used to commute to Sunnyvale - its certainly doable. I now work in San Mateo but get to work from home very often (it helps to have my own private office space in the house). I also travel a lot, so I drive to SFO more than San Mateo these days.

I would highly recommend the Tri-Valley area as a place to live with kids. The weather is great, but it can peak to 113/114 on occasion in summer. You get used to it. And the vast majority of homes have air conditioning. You can always visit the ice rink in Dublin if it gets too hot!

Xebedee

Lived in Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin and Tracy.
Found it all very artificial and plastic after a while.

Better places to live in America.

Scouse Express

Here's a look at the planned toll;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbWg-mozGsU


Jim.

funkybubbles

Thank you all for your replies!
Im going to visit Pleasanton next week,looking forward to it
Waiting on visa's now

Poppy girl

Come to the BE bash on the 14th August in SF

funkybubbles

I fly back the 13th,but thanks

Poppy girl

Next time