What is Fremont, CA like?

[tc-sacto]

Here is your average dump in Fremont. $500,000 for a P.O.S. built in 1952.

http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing.asp?frm=byxmls&xlid=1045296281&fh=on&lnksrc=feathome&poe=realtor

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Hope that I don't upset anyone: That is a nice little s@*#&$^hole. But nicer than the one I just sold that I lived in for a couple of years. Heck, that would fetch close to $40,000 in my large metropolis. Maybe.

[stevepaa]

Looked where Scios is, and maybe Niles and Sunol might be your best bets. Likely to find horse boarding if that is an option also.

You do need to see for yourself, at least 4 days to look. And together you will probably need to make ~$140K.

good luck

[ckissick]

You'll like Sunol the best, Livermore second. You'll never afford your own horse property, so go for boarding. Check out this website:

www.mlslistings.com

Your wife better ask for a huge pay increase. But hey, if you manage to stay here a few years and build some equity, you can go back to Texas and retire like royalty.

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

Thanks yall!!! It's amazing what can get done and found out just by asking on this board!!!

[john70t]

Not sure about the east bay, but one factor is a reverse-flow commute will make your quality of life a WHOLE lot easier. Imagine everyday 3 or more hours sitting in traffic just for work.
I've driven across the bay bridge and down to San Bruno during afternoon rush hour at a constant 55mph, and going the other way was a single mass of stopped traffic.

[juanbenae]

one VERY important thing everyone local forgot to mention,,, the golden gate region of PCA here is very good. a very wide array of people, and they put on good events. that makes a 500k dump almost worth it....

[Groesbeck Hurricane]

At $385 this is an overpriced property in my neck of the woods:

http://www.century21.com/buy/property_detail.aspx?teasers=property-detail-pic+Property+Detail+with+Pictures&tr_key=31035506&bSite=N

[cowtown]

Originally posted by Groesbeck Hurricane
At $385 this is an overpriced property in my neck of the woods:

http://www.century21.com/buy/property_detail.aspx?teasers=property-detail-pic+Property+Detail+with+Pictures&tr_key=31035506&bSite=N

I am living in the wrong state.

I grew up in Santa Clara (which is near Fremont) and now live in the "Valley." I don't think you're going to get acreage for horses out here for less than $1M (for 1-2 acres in a po-dunk town), and your wife would have a huge commute on our famously overcrowded roads.

How long does it take to drive to TX, anyway?

[dagwood928]

I made the drive from north texas to within an hour of San Fransisco in about 30 hours....with a 4 hour sleep/ thaw break.

[aigel]

Unless you have 1.5 million to spend, you will not have a place to keep horses within a 20 mile radius of Fremont. You will have to board them and that is expensive too. $500 each is easily spent a month. You can put a mule on a pasture for $200, but for real boarding, expect to be paying a grand for both horses.

Here is a house with 4 acres in Livermore that is right on a very busy shortcut street, and on the corner of another, MINES ...

http://www.realtor.com/FindHome/HomeListing.asp?snum=72&mlsttl=&frm=bymap&pgnum=8&mls=xmls&js=on&target=&ct=Livermore&st=CA&sbint=&sbls=&sblo=&areaid=77514&mnsqft=&fid=so&vtsort=&mnprice=0&mxprice=99999999&mnbed=0&mnbath=0&typ=1&poe=realtor&x=11&y=0&sid=04676167AD37C&snumxlid=1043406023&lnksrc=00002

MINES is where we go canyon carving on a regular basis. So we could meet at your house.

Fremont isn't great, but I would not even attempt to commute. If you do, go only as far as Pleasanton or Livermore. Stay away from the Valley (brentwood, tracy etc.). That has just been voted one of the 10 worst commutes in the country.

There is decent neighborhoods in Fremont. I recommend that you rent a house close to work to get started and to get familiar with the area. Rent is comparably cheap. 2k a month will get you a decent 3 or 4 bedroom house. I do not expect the house prices to continue to rise at double digit rates per year. They may even soften a bit, who knows. So, there is no hurry to buy right away.

The Livermore to Fremont commute is hefty, so be careful. Before you buy a house or settle where you would have to commute, do the commute for a couple of days, just for "testing". I think a lot of people buy their bedroom community house on sunday and then get a rude awakening when they go to work the first day!

And one word about reverse commute: SURE, but usually the reverse direction is the direction where the prices increase. Yes, you can probably get from the Peninsula to Fremont quickly in the morning, but prices on the Peninsula are prohibitive. There is a reason commutes are going one direction and not the other!!!

Unless you make six digits, life will really suck here. Especially if you are used to a decent standard of living now. Two people can fairly easily make that much in this area. There is plenty of opportunity and business has really picked up.

We are enjoying ourselves greatly here. The area and the people are very diverse and there is tons to do in your spare time. I am into a lot of different things, and I can find it all here.

I may have a small house with only a two car garage, but I also have Laguna Seca, Sears Point, Thunderhill, Buttonwillow, Fernley Reno and soon another track in Merced. What else do you need?

If this area would not be attractive, people would have long quit moving here...

George