Antioch sits on the Delta (part river/part estuary) and this means you can live here and make a life for yourself on the water. If you’re big into boating and boating culture (or you just like living on the water) then you’ll like it here. The nifty thing about the Delta is it connects to San Pablo Bay and then San Francisco Bay and the Pacific. Which means you can motor or paddle your way to as many major spots in NorCal as your little heart desires. 


Delta Dawn

The Best Thing About Antioch

Antioch is a bedroom community and as such there aren’t jobs in-town. That means you might have to navigate Highway 4 to get to work. This is one of the gnarliest freeways in the East Bay, an area notorious for bad traffic. Seriously, you don’t want to drive this road every day. Fortunately there is a BART (bay area rapid transit) stop in Antioch so we can not recommend strongly enough to either work from home if possible or make sure your job is conveniently accessed via the train. 


Employment/Traffic

The Worst Thing About Antioch?

As noted Antioch is a bedroom community but those beds sit in a pretty wide variety of homes. There are plenty of single-family homes but also tons of apartment/condo and townhome options. Which means that while the city is geared towards families, the water culture and housing options bring a different energy to the city than most sleepy suburbs. Families have a lot to do here with the Antioch Water Park providing a fun escape from the summer heat. 

There’s also access to beautiful outdoor spaces at the Down Wetlands Preserve and Black Diamond Mines. Both offering amazing hiking and trail walking options nearby. In addition to lots of smaller parks there is also the Antioch Community Park which has sports fields, playgrounds, camping, fishing, a wonderful beach and pool. You also have more adventurous entertainment options at the Antioch Speedway and Antioch Paintball Park. Perhaps even more important for singles, couples and families is the amazing water play options with paddle-boarding, kayaking, boating, swimming, and more all at your doorstep on the Delta. 


Lifestyle of Antioch

Antioch is a pretty big school district with a mix of strong and weaker schools with an overall average of C+ on [**niche.com**](https://www.niche.com/k12/d/antioch-unified-school-district-ca/ ) Geography is everything in terms of the quality of the schools for your kiddos. Most of the weaker schools are north and west and the southern and eastern neighborhoods have the pearls. It should be noted that even in some of the weaker areas and schools the teachers are generally praised for caring for the students and the knocks seem to come more from issues around resources for extracurricular activities. 


Schools in Antioch

Antioch is one of the least expensive cities in the Bay Area and that’s a huge plus in the craziness of Bay Area real estate. Add the fact that the city is on the Delta and gives you all the perks you get from living on a beautiful body of water and it makes Antioch worth a look. 


Waterworld on a budget

Why You Should Move Here Now?

Lone Tree Estates is one of the few developed family communities in Antioch that has all the amenities of master-planned neighborhoods. This includes a community pool, tennis courts, basketball court, playground, hiking trails and a wonderful Club House. The homes in the neighborhood were built in the late 1990’s and are designed with bigger and manicured lawns and mature trees to keep the streets cooler in the summer. 

There are plenty of parks in the area including Eaglesridge and Prewitt Family Park. Prewitt in particular, with 99 acres of walking and hiking trails, a summer swim area and tons of play and picnic areas. 


Families

Lone Tree Estates 

Not shockingly, one of the major pluses to living in Black Diamond Canyon is the direct access to [**Black Diamond Regional Preserve**](https://www.ebparks.org/parks/black-diamond). Living in this neighborhood means you live on the edge of one of the real gems in the park world in the area with 6,000 acres of stunning hiking/biking/camping and strolling at your doorstep. The neighborhood also has wonderful subdivisions like The Estates at Black Diamond, which has great big family-friendly homes with 4, 5, 6 and even 7 bedroom homes, which can come in handy for big families and those with two work-from-homers who need private space. Prices in the neighborhood are typically just below a million, which in the Bay Area, for homes this big and luxurious is a bargain. 

Black Diamond Canyon

Living in the Lake Alhambra neighborhood means you win the water lifestyle lottery twice. You’re near the Delta and you get to live in this charming lakeside neighborhood, with its peaceful, scenic vibe. The neighborhood surrounds the Lake so many of the homes are on the water and the rest have easy access to the wonderful boating, fishing, and walking trails that circle the lake. Homes here tend to be smaller (and less expensive) averaging in the high $500 to mid $600k range. Much of the neighborhood is filled with singles, couples and families that want that outdoor, water-centric lifestyle that comes from being on a lake that is less than a mile from the [Antioch Dunes National Wildlife Refuge](https://www.fws.gov/refuge/antioch-dunes) that sits on the shore of the Delta. 


Families/Couples/Retirees

Lake Alhambra

Antioch

**Antioch Review - 4 Stars**

It is a multi-cultural neighborhood that is a strong community of supporting the image of the town. Even though the community is not as economically wealthy as other towns it supports itself from the families that help support the town through education or community activities. Also, the town has been improving it's image as well as economy through the real estate that has made more affordable housing to new residents and creating a high demand of jobs for all workers.

**Antioch Review - 4 Stars**

I'm a current resident here in Antioch. I can say that Antioch is my home since I've been living here for about 8 years now, half of my life. Honestly living here has brought me to some very good people, which they've turned into very good friends of mine now. Also the area is nice and I like how everything can easily be accessed. Now, if I could change anything from Antioch, I think it would be the variety of attractions or places to go out and enjoy. I would like to see more of that.

**Antioch Review - 3 Stars**

Antioch is an emerging community in need of cleaner neighborhoods and less drugs on the street. Some sections of Antioch are nice while others are really bad. Despite the local population and the way residents treat the place, Antioch has amazing trails, like the ones in Black Diamond Mines, and waterways, like the Sacramento River, that make the crime and filth worthwhile.

Antioch, California

Gateway to the Delta

Looklyloo Score: 78

Reviews

What's it like to live in Antioch?