Dublin, California

If you live in Dublin, you have access. Access to great schools, access to trip-worthy destinations, and access to both the essential and nice-to-have amenities. Like the rest of the Tri-Valley area, residents in Dublin enjoy proximity to big cities like San Francisco (40 minutes away on a good day) and San Jose (35 minutes away on a good day). During lighter traffic times you can also get to the popular Walnut Creek in 20 minutes, or the Oakland Airport in 20 minutes. Driving one hour south you’ll run into Santa Cruz and one hour to the north you’re in the famous wine country of Napa Valley. For weekend getaways, you’ve got Yosemite a short 3 hours away and Lake Tahoe bit further at 3 hours and 45 minutes. Is your head spinning yet?

In terms of a commute, your central location gives you the freedom to work in a variety of the neighboring cities. The BART station and easy access to both the 680 and 580 are attractive draws for prospective residents.

As we’ve noted, Dublin is a great place to raise a family. Residents applaud their city’s low crime rate and responsive police department. Depending on where you’re moving from, the weather can either be a pro or a con for Dublin. The Dublin Hills Regional Open Space Preserve, which is a great spot for hiking, biking and horseback riding, borders the city to the east and blocks much of the weather patterns coming in from the ocean. This means less mild weather, or sometimes below freezing temps in the winter and above 100 degrees in the summer, in extreme cases. Someone moving from SoCal will be a bit turned off while someone moving from the midwest might be unperturbed.

If you’re more of a homebody, or are just looking for a classic mall with your favorite box stores and essentials, you’ll be happy to hear that you have multiple spots to choose from within city limits. Dublin Place in west Dublin offers essentials like Target, PetSmart and Hobby Lobby with plenty of grocery stores, banks and gas stations nearby. In the center of town, Hacienda Crossings Shopping Center has a Best Buy, TJ Maxx, Barnes & Noble and one of the best Regal Imax Theatre in the East Bay. Fallon Gateway located on the east side of town has a Dick’s Sporting Goods, Vitamin Shoppe, Guitar Center and lots more.

The Dublin Unified School District serves 13,000 students via its seven elementary schools, one K-8 school, two middle schools, two high schools (one comprehensive and one alternative) and one alternative learning center. Soon, construction on Emerald High School will be complete.

Niche.com awards Dublin School District an “A+” rating with particularly high scores in the “Academics” and “College Prep” areas. Student-teacher ratios are 21 to 1 and according to state test scores, 73% of students are at least proficient in math and 78% in reading. Dublin High School stands out with an overall 9/10 rating on Greatschools.org , and scores 10/10 for College Readiness and 10/10 for Test Scores.

For private options, parents will not be disappointed. The Quarry Lane School (PK-12), Valley Christian Schools (PK-12), St. Raymond School (K-8) and the Stratford School (PK-5) are located in Dublin and have an “A+” rating from Niche.com.

According to Redfin, the Dublin housing market scores a 93/100 in terms of competitiveness. Most homes receive multiple offers, often with waived contingencies. Often they’ll sell above asking price within a week to ten days of going on the market. So, why are we boring you with all these details? Well, an argument can be made for taking the leap before you feel ready. Even if you do jump into the frenzy of this housing market now, it might take awhile to find the right house and have your offer accepted. With all Dublin has going for it, unless you need a huge nightlife scene or work super far away, you can trust that moving here is likely a good investment for you and your family. After all, nothing says rising property values like a highly rated school district.