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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Walnut Creek House Hunter - Recommendations????
Hi Ladies,
We are currently house-hunting (hurray! exciting!!) and are looking in a couple of areas. We currently live in Alameda and love it and are looking here, but we're expanding our search and looking in Walnut Creek too (we love that the houses are more spacious and back yards are bigger; warmer summer weather).
Does anyone live/lived in WC and have any thoughts? Do you love it?
Do you have any recommendations on any particular area of WC to look at homes? (We are working with a local realtor - but wanted to get your input too).
Safe neighborhood and great schools are the most important factors when we're looking at areas.
TIA!
Re: Walnut Creek House Hunter - Recommendations????
I've lived in Pleasant Hill and Concord but not Walnut Creek. I do know that anything off Ygnacio Valley Rd. or Treat Blvd. will have traffic in the mornings and evenings as those are main roads off 680 for commuters.
Not sure what age your kids are in but here is the WCUSD link for which elementary and middle schools http://www.walnutcreeksd.org/105810412145937420/blank/browse.asp?A=383&BMDRN=2000&BCOB=0&C=54431
High schools - http://www.walnut-creek.org/services/regional/schools.asp
IUI #1 10/12/11 (Bravelle + HCG + Prometrium & acupuncture) = 10/26 BFP! Beta #1=250, Beta #2= 615. 1st u/s 11/8.
I've lived in the dubC on and off since the third grade. As much as I would like to not be the suburbanite, I do love it here. My parents live closer to Northgate and it's a very safe community. I work over in Woodlands and feel the same. The downtown is great with lots of fun shopping and good restaurants and there's the Iron Horse Trail and canal system for walking and bike riding.
My friends that have kids love it here since there are lots of kid friendly activities, play groups and parks (since I don't have any kids, I can't really say anything).
But overall, I think it's a lovely place to live. Even though I've lived here most of my life, I still really love it.
Hope this helps! If there's any other info you need, feel free to contact me
I feel that Alameda and Walnut Creek have very different vibes - WC is definitely more of a traditional suburb than Alameda. So be aware of that.
Pretty much all Walnut Creek schools are decent and safe - the city doesn't get a lot of bad crime.
As pp mentioned, traffic can be a pain, particularly if you live far from the freeway and need to commute. Just getting from one end of the city to the other on Ygnacio Valley Road can take a while if traffic is bad. There are BART stations in both Walnut Creek and on the Pleasant Hill/Walnut Creek border, so that helps if you're commuting to the city or elsewhere.
ETA: To clarify my remarks re: schools: There are schools in Walnut Creek that belong to the Walnut Creek school district (comprised of five elementary schools and one middle school), and some that belong to the Mt. Diablo School District (which has elementary, middle and high schools). There is also Las Lomas High School in WC that belongs to the Acalanes Union High School District. Confused yet?
Now that I type this, I dunno why it's so patchwork, but anyway...
In general, I'd say the elementary/middle school options in the WC district are better than the ones in Mt. Diablo. That's not to say Mt. D. doesn't have good schools though. It's really case-by-case.
It looks like you have pretty young kids so maybe high schools aren't as critical a point right now. But if you're looking long term - Northgate and College Park in Mt. D., and Las Lomas in Acalanes are your best bets, so I'd try to find a home zoned for that area. I'd stay away from Ygnacio Valley High School. The other HS's I don't think are zoned for Walnut Creek but they aren't great either.
Keep in mind that a lot of people move to specific areas of WC for those better schools, so houses in those areas are definitely more expensive (particularly around Northgate).
I'm new to WC, but I have learned most elementary schools weather its Mt. Diablo or WC district are good. You have to watch out for some middle schools, and avoid avoid avoid Ygnacio Valley High School.
When we were looking, I would find houses that fit our needs, bed/bath/price/sq ft etc, and i would look up the address on the school district website to find out what schools my kids would go to. Then look them up at greatschools.net. i found that to be really helpful.
Good luck with your search!