Living in El Sobrante
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May 2012
We are looking into buying in the Pinole/San Pablo/El
Sobrante area and would love some input from everyone since
the previous posts are a bit old. Is it safe for small
children? How are the schools? Are there things to do for a
SAHM? We are looking to buy, but would also like to know how
easy a house would be to rent. Any recommendations on good
areas are also appreciated. What has been your experience in
the area? Thanks Helen
I live nearby Pinole in the El Sobrante area of Richmond,
and I think the Pinole/El Sobrante area makes a really nice
community. It's very diverse, in terms of race/ethnicity
and economics/class, there are a lot of people raising
families out here, a lot of SAHM (and also working moms).
Many of the elementary schools are quite good, the middle
and high schools are a bit uneven, but there are good
programs/niches within them. One complaint about the area
is that it's very car oriented, you have to drive
everywhere, lots of chain stores/restaurants, and you have
to drive to either Berkeley/Oakland area or Walnut
Creek/Concord area to go to most kid type places (other than
parks which we have tons of). But on the upside we are so
close to beautiful countryside, the bay, the woods, etc.
So, I think it's a fair trade-off. Would I live somewhere
else if I had the money to buy an $800,000 house or
something? Possibly. But given that I really don't, this
is not a bad place to raise a family. --west county mom
I can offer some perspective on El Sobrante. We bought a
house in the May Valley area in 2008 and are very happy. The
neighborhood is very quiet overall and seems relatively
safe. Our house was broken into last year unfortunately, but
I do think that happens in many neighborhoods/cities
including wealthier ones. There are 2 very good elementary
schools in the area, Olinda and Valley View. The schools
after that are not quite as good (although they are
completely rebuilding DeAnza), so we will need to cross that
bridge in several years (we have a 26 month old son).
We have a very nice group of diverse neighbors, and it seems
like I am seeing more and more small children in the
neighborhood. I do know there have been a few houses for
rent on our surrounding streets, but it would also be a
great time to buy (houses have come down significantly in
price, to your benefit, but unfortunately not ours). anon
June 2008
We currently live in Lafayette. I know this is supposed to be
the ultimate desireable place to live, but I'm miserable. The
values here are achievement and materially -oriented, aspiritual
and apolitical. Everyone looks the same. The schools get high
test scores, but it's because there is so much homework the kids
are all sleep-deprived.
I am looking to relocate to a community which is progressive to
alternative and artsy, and values creativity, questioning, and
genuine intellectual activity versus an MBA degree from a name
college. We are middle income (which translates to struggling in
the Bay Area!) and also, of course, want some place safe for our
kids to play and attend public schools. I also value the natural
world very, very highly.
I am interested in El Sobrante. There is so much land there and
Open Space, and it is affordable.
Is there a community of progressive people in El Sobrante? Is it
safe? Can anyone recommend neighborhoods of
artsy/hippie/progressive folks raising kids? Are there
neighborhoods to avoid (safety)?
Sorry I'm sounding so negative but I'm just having a low moment
over here today! Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.
Jasmine
Sorry to hear about your experience with Lafayette but I understand you
completely. My inlaws leave there and I call it ''lala'' land. My
husband, 2 kids and I live in El Cerrito and love it. Schools are not
bad though I am not fond of the middle and high school. Bad rep.
El Sobrante has some great areas and I think you would enjoy the area
before Carriage hills off of Hillside drive. I just sold a house there
and the neighbors were all there because they wanted to have their
little community. It has an entrance to Kennedy Grove Park as well.
Very few homes come on the market there. Otherwise the area off of May
Road has some nice homes and Valley View Elementary school which is
considered a good school.
good luck.
Catherine
El Sobrante has some lovely areas with larger lots, more reasonable
prices, and a semi-rural atmosphere. It is slowly evolving into a more
sophisticated area, but retains a great deal of its ''redneck''
tradition (said in a positive sense). It is reasonably safe (there are
a few areas where several meth labs have been raided), and it is in
close proximity to recreational areas such as San Pablo Reservoir and
the Briones and Kennedy Grove areas. It is also close to Tilden Park.
The ''downside'' is the school system. It is part of the West Contra
Costa Unified School District (formerly Richmond Unified) and, while
the elementary schools are reasonably good in El Sobrante proper, the
middle and high schools, IMO, leave much to be desired. If I had young
kids, and wanted to stay in El Sobrante (where I now live), I would
seriously consider private school.
Public transit is also less-than-favorable. The Orinda BART is
relatively close, but involves a bus ride on The County Connection or a
10 to 15 minute car drive (with parking charges) to the BART station,
but the BART connections are good (the line is the one which goes to
San Francisco and SFO Airport directly.
Robert
Hi Jasmine,
I live in El Sobrante, in one of the developments off of Castro Ranch
Rd. We certainly have lots and lots of open land around us. Makes for
quiet nights (unless the cows are mooing!), beautiful scenery, and
gorgeous bicycle riding right outside your door.
The huge downside, of course, is the current state of the school
district. I would seriously ponder what you want from your
institutionalized schooling services (unless you intend on pursing
alternative routes such as charters, homeschools, etc.) before you
move. In general, the stressors here revolve around lack of resources,
whereas the stressors there seem to revolve around diminishing returns
and the perceived need to be ''on top.''
I don't know of specific artsy/hippie/progressive neighborhoods.
Carriage Hills has been pretty safe but we've had our share of
vandelism, car theft, etc. Coming from Lafayette, crime might seem
higher just by relative perspective.
So, you are looking for a spiritual, political, less status driven
community....you mention progressive, alternative, artsy, creative and
intellectually engaging......off the cuff, it sounds pretty Berkeley to
me.
Aside from the location of your house, and I could be wrong, but I
don't think you'll find all of these things as a factor of where you
live but rather, who you cultivate friendships with. We live amongst
attorneys, MBA'ers, entrepreneurs, blue-collars, pink collars,
rednecks, etc. It is quite a mix of demographics....much like the
housing structures.
good luck with your search!
There is certainly a progressive community in El Sobrante interested in
environmental conservation, electoral issues and Barack Obama, the
Waldorf School (progressive education). Our supermarket, Raley's, has a
great natural foods section. My own interests are in the arts and
particularly animal husbandry and environmental conservation of land. I
was successful in obtaining a clean up grant for a local riding stable
to aid in conserving the integrity of our local creek, and teach
horseback riding with a strong eye toward loving integrity of land and
horses and people. Kari
Editor Note: Reviews were also received for El Cerrito because the heading on the original question was "Living in El Sobrante or El Cerrito".
May 2007
Re: Safe, family--oriented neighborhood?
We love El Sobrante. We moved to El Sobrante from Albany in order to purchase a
larger home. El Sobrante is somewhat rural (there are horses and goats in our
neighborhood), diverse and family friendly. It is also very safe. There is an active
neighborhood association which just oversaw the installation of a brand new
toddler/kid park. Olinda and Valley View are wonderful schools. I have heard great
things about them from parents who have children there. There is a beautiful creek,
library, boys and girls club, dance studio, soccer league, and some great
restaurants (peruvian, salvadoran, chinese, italian, mexican, indian as well as
local breakfast places). The Lakeridge Athletic Club is also in El Sobrante and
offers swim, tennis and other aerobic classes and camps. We also have Canyon Swim
school which is quite popular for children's swim lessons. One of my favorite places
is Central Foods on Appian which just changed owners and has lots of organic and
natural products, produce and meats. Another wonderful place is Eco Village Farm
which is a community learning project for sustainable farming. The weather is great,
just outside the fog belt. My husband works at UC Berkeley which is a 20 minute
ride.
He can also drive the back way through Tilden to avoid traffic. We are very happy
here. Come check it out!
Loving El Sobrante
March 2005
I'm growing weary of our small, old North Berkeley home. It's in
the best location in the universe, near totland, gourmet ghetto,
BART, all the wonderful things Berkeley has to offer BUT a)
we're too close to our neighbors and b) to be the house we want
it to be, we'd have to sink another $100k into it and c) we
can't afford all those gourmet ghetto restaurants and stores
anyway! We have an infant and are planning another baby. We're a
lesbian couple. So here's what I want to know: I've heard some
great things about El Sobrante -- chiefly that you're so close
to the regional park and you get so much more house and land for
your money. But I'd love to hear from some lesbian/gay couples:
is El Sobrante queer-friendly? And I'd love to hear from anyone
who has kids who's moved from Berkeley/Oakland: do you miss the
city environment? Is there enough for your kids to do? What age
do you think does best in El Sobrante v. in a more urban area
like Berkeley? And is El Sobrante still a great deal
comparatively?
eyes on El Sobrante
We are a lesbian couple with a 3 year old and a newborn. We
moved from Oakland to El Sobrante last summer and we love it. I
left Oakland kicking and screaming, not wanting to leave. My
partner stays home with our kids and she wanted to move and we
could no longer afford Oakland. I relented because she's the
one who has to really deal with where we live, i.e shopping, the
neighbors, getting from point A to point B so I said okay. And I
have to say I LOVE THE BURBS!!!!! Oh my god, with the Pinole
shopping center right near our house, what used to take days to
do with errands takes 1-2 hours, our nieghbors are so nice, the
man next door mows our lawn, it's so quiet it really feels like
we don't live around 5 million people, we live on 1/4 acre and
i've met so many people who have just moved here because thay
are being priced out from berkeley/oakland area that i think in
a few years it will be an extension of that area. If you own
your home in N Berk (sound like you do) you could buy a mansion
here with a view. We have never felt anything remotely
homophobic, there is so much more i could tell you, feel free to
write to us and we can give you more insight into the area out
here. We love it and I think it's one of the last overlooked
areas in the BA. Of course I'd love to see more queers here so
perhaps I'm biased but it rocks.
erin
June 2003
My husband and I are thinking of moving to El Sobrante. We are
looking for a more relaxed setting but not to far away from the
city. I work in Berkeley and my husband works downtown San
Francisco.
We have a two year old son and we would like to know what
peoples experience has been in moving to El Sobrante. We are
looking to develop a group of friends who also work as we do,
with kids that we can share time with on the weekends.
What have your experiences been in moving there. What are the
upsides to it and the downsides?
Thanks, any thoughts are welcome.
Chris
We moved to the El Sobrante area in 2001 from El Cerrito where
we then found an affordable home and we love it! It has now
appreciated well over $100,000. It is a beautiful, little known
area with views of the Wildcat Canyon hills (hiking only minutes
away), very peaceful and the weather is perfect, we're right on
the edge of the fog line. It is an area with mostly 50'sh
ranchers with a lot of old time residents, although that is
changing with people moving in from the Berkeley area. It is
remarkable that this area hasn't really ''caught on'' yet, it is
very close to El cerrito/Berkeley/Orinda (about a 15-20 minute
drive, usually) but yet totally isolated from that culture,
almost like a time warp going back to the 50's. The down side:
there is really no ''center'' to go to or much culture. The best
restaurant is Uncle Sam's (Chinese buffet, incredibly good) in a
defunct shopping center, no book stores or theaters. But hey,
the Berkeley area is right around the corner. Valley View
elmentary school is pretty decent, Waldorf is also in the
neighborhood. Murphy and Sheldon schools are not so good. If
living in an unpretentious, peaceful, friendly, spacious area
without all the hype, this would be for you. It takes me about
10 to 15 minutes to drive to either the EC Del Norte or Orinda
Bart station around 7:00AM. Great place to raise kids!
SF/Brkly/EC transplant.
Chris,
My husband and I bought a house in El Sobrante nearly 4 years
ago and really enjoy living in that area. The reason many
people move there is the low cost of living. We were able to
buy a newer, larger home than we could have afforded in
Berkeley. In addition, it is quiet and peaceful. It is
ethnically diverse and has the basic shops nearby (market, drug
store, drycleaner, bank). There is an entrance to Wildcat
Canyon Park off of Clark Street and Kennedy Park near the dam
has a play ground and a huge openspace for little ones to run.
The biggest downside for parents is the school system. The
elementary schools are ok, but the high school performs very
poorly in the annual testing. In addition, downtown El
Sobrante is also not very attractive or well planned and can
get quite busy with weekend traffic. Give me a holler if you
have other questions or concerns. Cheers!
Cindy
Hello Chris,
We have lived in El Sobrante for five years. We moved here from
central San Rafael. As you noted, there are pros and cons to
living in El Sobrante, but then, there are pros and cons to
living just about anywhere. I really like El Sobrante. I am
active in a neighborhood mom's group, and it's great to have
other families with young children near us. Some neighborhoods
may be different, but our neighborhood has many families with
young children and babies. We are close enough to SF to get
there in 25 minutes on a Saturday morning (sans trafic), yet so
far, we still have less local traffic than many other bay area
towns. My favorite part of living here is watching the fog roll
off the hills into the sunshine, it's beautiful. And our
weather is great - when the fog rolls over the hills, it will be
sunny here, while foggy in El Cerito. It's only hot a few weeks
out of the year, and our winters are mild (compared to my mom's
house in Union City). It does take a while to find the parks,
fun library events, and events at Kennedy Grove that suit you
and your family, but there are many things going on locally.
There are several local hiking spots, horses, and fun farm
vehicles for kids to see. Please feel free to email me when you
move!
grace
July 2002
Does anyone know anything about El Sobrante? Is it a nice
place to live and raise a family?
Anna
I moved to El Sobrante over a year ago from Montclair. I
highly recommend the area....especially for raising a
family. If you are planning on using the public school
system and buy into the API ratings, you'll see that Valley
View, Olinda and Ellerhorst all score between 8-10 (out of
10). You can ask your agent to show you houses that fall
within the boundaries of these schools. Be careful,
though, as the other local schools vary and some score very
low on that same API scale.
Also check Pinole out. It is very pretty there and also
out of the hubub. To get a good feel for the area I
suggest you take a drive on the following roads and check
the houses/developments on them: San Pablo Dam Rd (before
Castro Ranch Rd), Castro Ranch Rd., Wright ave (off of
Pinole Valley Rd), etc....
The only thing I *really* miss out here are independent
stores for books, for groceries, for restaurant food, etc.
...but all is within a 1/2 hourish drive......
good luck,
---lucia
I lived in El Sobrante for 6 years. I think it's getting
better every year as more development happens. It has
pleasant weather, and easy access to the freeway. I have
siblings who attend Pinole Valley High, and it is not a
very good school. There are lots of kids who are not into
academics there and who are a bad influence on others
(according to my step-mom), though I'm sure that can be
anywhere. My sister went to two different private
Christian schools, and both were not very academic either.
a.m.
Regarding El Sobrante-- it's like so many places in the Bay
Area--a lot depends on your individual neighborhood and neighbors.
We've lived here for 2 years and bought here because we had
a need for more space than what we could have purchased in
Berkeley for the same money. The town is unincorporated, so
can have an ''unzoned'' look about it, and there is no
well-defined downtown and no ''cute'' shopping areas. There
is easy shopping for necessities, though, at the huge strip
mall complex on Fitzgerald (Target, Mervyn's, etc.) There
is a good supermarket, Raley's, on San Pablo Dam Road. A big
drawback is that we are not able to walk many places from
our home, although our neighborhood is quiet, hilly, and
multi-ethnic--all bonuses in my view. The schools are
apparently a very mixed bag, but my child is not school age
yet so I have no experience there. My biggest advice is to
talk to the neighbors and try to figure out if they, and the
neighborhood itself, are a good fit for you.
Cheri
El Sobrante is quiet, has beautiful views of the Wildcat
Canyon hills, good school system, friendly, unpretentious
people and is still (but not for long) ''affordable'', by the
Bay Area standards. Weather's perfect, we still get
the ''air conditioning'' effect from the coast. We bought
here about 2 years ago after Berkeley/EC and never
regretted it. It's a bit of an unknown, tucked away area,
probably the reason why it hasn't been that popular. We
still visit Albany/Berkeley frequently, it's only about a
15 minute drive to Solano. My commute to SF is about 45
minutes using public transportation (you can take the trans-
bay bus or drive to EC Del Norte). Drawback: the town
doesn't really have a ''center'' or much culture but very
easy access on the freeway to whatever your interests are.
Super nice place to raise kids!
Feb 2000
Does anyone live in El Sobrante? We love Berkeley but cannot afford to buy
so may consider moving further north. Was wondering what the community is
like, how the schools are rated, is it convenient for shopping etc.
Robert
John
Really the best people for this sort of info are realtors. Drop Ira
Serkes a line (Realtor at home-buy-sell.com) and ask his advice. Tell him I
sent you. Ira's "area" is N. Berkeley, but he does know a lot of people
and he'll point you in the right direction. He should be able to tell you
who to talk to, at the very least.
Trish
After realizing that Berkeley and Oakland were out of our
league for home buying (we did not want a fixer upper that
needed a min. of $60K just on foundation work alone!), we
looked out in El Sobrante to rent on some recommendations
of friend. We had initially thought we would look for a
home to RENT, especially since the homes were incredibly
reasonable in comparison to what we had been looking at
in Oakland (Montclair, Adam's Pt., Crocker, lower Piedmont).
[Note: Let me add that we were expecting our 2nd
child and had been living comfortably crowded with a 2
yro in a LARGE 1 Bedroom apt (930 sq ft). We realized
it was necessary to find larger quarters before the due date
of March 1998.]
After doing the math over and over again, we realized it might
be cheaper to buy in this area than to rent and it sure was! Low
and behold we were charmed by the ultra quiet and country-like
feeling of the unincorporated community of El Sobrante. We went
from looking to rent to actually OWNING a no-fixer-upper!
Considering we never thought we would own w/o an inheritance
in our pocket, it was really an amazing feeling when we found our
house. It feels like we are zillions of miles away from the hustle
and bustle of the crowded cities, w/o being far away at all.
We have a FABULOUS yard for the trikes, playhouse, kiddie pool,
general running around that little ones need. The daily park outings
in the city were beginning to cramp my style. The weather is
great (we have a TRUE summer), the commute is reasonable, shopping
is readily available locally as well as in many different directions
(WC, Orinda, Lafayette, Pinole, El Cerrito), and my neighborhood school
did relatively well in the recent rankings (it scored a 7) and is a
serious consideration this year for my soon-to-be kindergartner. My
neighborhood is incredibly diverse (UCB Faculty, state employees,
educators, contractors, nurses, teamsters, artists....you name we
got it!). I could go on and on.
Soheila
We live in El Sobrante because we could not afford a house in Berkeley or
Albany or El Cerrito or ... Besides, my husband hates samll rooms
with short ceiling and damp, mold-smelling rooms (characteristic of houses
in the price range we could afford in Berkeley and Albany.) Our house in
El Sobrante is relatively new and relatively spacious with a nice yard
and nice diverse neighbors (though not a very intereactive neighborhood).
The elementary schools are even better than those of Berkeley and
sorrounding areas, but high schools are terrible and many residents opt
for private schools. I still shop at Berekley Bowl because WebVan does not
deliver to the area yet!
I go through Camino Ranch Rd and Orinda Village and 24 and 13 to get to
the campus. It takes 30-40 minutes, but is not as tiring as freeway.
It is GEORGEOUS every morning to watch the dam and its green sorrounding.
good luck.
"Bonnie
The East Bay Waldorf School is in El Sobrante, on Clark Road
just three or four blocks off of San Pablo Dam Road. It is a
thriving private school, with three kindergartens, the grades,
and starting next fall, a high school. Prices are in the middle
range compared to other private schools. The school is
attracting more families from nearby communities each
year since the move from Emeryville several years ago,
and also has two bus routes serving Berkeley, Oakland,
Orinda. The school is strong on languages, the visual arts,
theatre, and music. We have built a unique woodworking
and gardening building on the upper 5 acres. (My oldest
daughter was in the founding kindergarten.)
July 1999
Does anybody live in the Carriage Hills area of El Sobrante/Richmond.
If so, do you like it? Is it family/kid friendly? Are there moms
groups there? Do you have to come to Berkeley/Oakland for playgroups,
music classes, habitot, everything? Is the commute long? Is it safe?
Would you recommend it to your friends?
I do not recommend living in Carriage Hill just because it is built on
landfill. We live in El Sobrante, next to it, and we enjoy having
beautiful parks around us and we go on short hikes very often. we first
considered Carriage Hill for living, but in an earthquake area living on
landfill is not very desirable. (July 1999)
Although I do not actually live in this area, I have a number of friends
that live in the El Sobrante area and speak highly of Carriage Hills. It
is probably one of the most affluent areas of El Sobrante with *newer*
tract home developments. These homes feed into the best of the West Contra
Costa schools (although I don't personally think too highly of this school
district - I would recommend checking into the test scores of these schools
- if you're seriously thinking of moving to this area.) It's a relatively
safe area of the bay area to live in (not really urban but not truly suburban
living either). It's about a 30 minute commute to the university.
While I can't speak to the Carriage Hill area specifically, I have found
El Sobrante and West Contra Costa County not to be very child friendly.
You certainly don't get the same kind of strong family/strong
community/small own feel like you do in Berkeley, Albany or places like
Benicia. The parks and library facilities are mediocre, O.K. at best.
While youth sports programs, special park and rec programs, daycare and
preschool programs exist - it has been my experience that you really
have to seek them out. These programs are not highly advertised or
promoted. If you are looking for a special kids programs you'll
probably have to drive to places like Orinda, Walnut Creek, Berkeley
or Albany.
There are two well established play groups in the West Contra Costa
area. Moms, Dads and Munchkins meets at West Contra Costa parks on Fridays
at 10:30 a.m. For more information contact, Pierrette Johnston
(510) 222-8557. Family Fun Connection meets in the El Sobrante/Pinole area
every couple of weeks.
I do not recommend living in Carriage Hill just because it is built on
landfill. We live in El Sobrante, next to it, and we enjoy having
beautiful parks around us and we go on short hikes very often. we first
considered Carriage Hill for living, but in an earthquake area living on
landfill is not very desirable.
Although I do not actually live in this area, I have a number of friends
that live in the El Sobrante area and speak highly of Carriage Hills. It
is probably one of the most affluent areas of El Sobrante with *newer*
tract home developments. These homes feed into the best of the West Contra
Costa schools (although I don't personally think too highly of this school
district - I would recommend checking into the test scores of these schools
- if you're seriously thinking of moving to this area.) It's a relatively
safe area of the bay area to live in (not really urban but not truly suburban
living either). It's about a 30 minute commute to the university.
While I can't speak to the Carriage Hill area specifically, I have found
El Sobrante and West Contra Costa County not to be very child friendly.
You certainly don't get the same kind of strong family/strong
community/small own feel like you do in Berkeley, Albany or places like
Benicia. The parks and library facilities are mediocre, O.K. at best.
While youth sports programs, special park and rec programs, daycare and
preschool programs exist - it has been my experience that you really
have to seek them out. These programs are not highly advertised or
promoted. If you are looking for a special kids programs you'll
probably have to drive to places like Orinda, Walnut Creek, Berkeley
or Albany.
There are two well established play groups in the West Contra Costa
area. Moms, Dads and Munchkins meets at West Contra Costa parks on Fridays
at 10:30 a.m. Family Fun Connection meets in the El Sobrante/Pinole area
every couple of weeks.
this page was last updated: Jul 17, 2012
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