Concord, California

moving to concord?

I love living in Concord! There’s a ton of good restaurants, nice walking trails (Lime Ridge & Iron Horse), we have two Bart stations and are a stones throw from Walnut Creek.

There’s people from all walks of life, cultures, and socioeconomic statuses, and just an overall lack of pretentiousness more noticeable in nearby affluent areas.

Granted, concord is pretty big. My advice is to narrow your search down to neighborhoods you like.

But all in all, buying a house in Concord was one of the best decisions I ever made and I’m grateful (almost) every day for being able to live in the Bay Area in a town that I genuinely enjoy.

For context, I live near Treat Blvd and Cowell Rd.

How is living in Concord?

I live nearby, and to be honest it's tough to distinguish many of the central county cities from one another…in places you can't tell if you've crossed Martinez—P Hill—Concord—WC borders, or unincorp areas or Clayton etc. All sort of a piece, same Mt Diablo school district, etc.

That being said it's decent working class community, and remarkable for being unremarkable hereabouts.

Some of the rec activity is great, however. Lots of paved hiking biking trails, and a regional park always not far away. Better than where I lived in Rockridge in that respect. Several pools. Always has seemed to have very active softball clubs for some reason. Bowling in Clayton Valley if it's still going.

Monument is a cultural mashup with everything from various Mexican flavors to Korean to Slavic and Middle Eastern. Park and Shop too. Take a look on Google. Todos Santos is pretty fun on a busy summer night, good beer pubs. But other than that Concord doesn't have a real restaurant district; folks go to WC for that and for the more frou frou dining. But tons of ethnic restaurants if you know where to look. In fact, I like it because it does resist becoming a $14 cocktail town.

Some areas do get crime. Off Monument at Four Corners eg.

The big music attraction is of course the Concord Pavilion. And once the Concord Jazz Festival, one of the oldest in the Bay Area (and home of Concord Jazz Records). It was supposed to be back in 2020 but I don't know what's going on now. Concord was the home of Dave Brubeck.

How is living in Concord?

Moved from San Jose, last year. Compared to the other affordable nearby Bay Area cities (Vallejo, Bay Point, Pittsburgh, Antioch), it's way more safe and clean. It feels a bit old in some parts but the city seems well managed. I am really coming to like the city more, even more than my time in San Jose, having been here almost a year now. Love being able to shop at Sam Club as an alternative to Costco. Lots of hiking and walking trails nearby too!

How is living in Concord?

We moved to Concord from SF last November because both my husband and I were wfh and my son was remote learning we needed more space. I had honestly never really spent any time here before looking for a house.

There are some good places to eat, for sure Mexican. Most houses have big lots so you'll have plenty of space to BBQ. I haven't experienced the summer yet, which is one thing I'm dreading. Our PG&E is also way more expensive than in the city because there are real seasons here.

Coming from the city I definitely appreciate the parking and the convenience of everything being about a ten minute drive away.

There are also lots of hiking spots.

Some downsides…. Our mail has been stolen and a few neighbors have had their catalytic converters stolen from their cars. There are also a ton of homeless people here and in P. Hill.

Living in Concord CA