Livermore, California

While Livermore is largely a family-centric town it does have some younger residents who work at Livermore Labs and frequent the local pubs and restaurants. It’s not a big scene and most locals recommend living in Oakland if you’re looking to party a bit and you can take the train to work.

For families Livermore is a great place to raise the kiddos. There are a wide variety of neighborhoods, from luxury to more modest home options. The schools are excellent and there are year round community activities, downtown and in the many parks around the town. As was noted, you are surrounded by State Parks, mountains and short drives to National Parks and some of the best skiing in the country. While many of your days will be filled with school activities, little league, soccer clubs, swimming in the many community pools, and enjoying the restaurants and pubs downtown, much of life here happens on weekends exploring the great wide world in the countryside of California.

Livermore is one of the great science and technology hubs in the country as a result of being the home of Lawrence Livermore National Lab - a national power in nuclear deterrence, climate and energy security and general national defense technology. Livermore has historically been a “company town” with plenty of locals working at the Lab. Sandia National Laboratory is also here, supplementing Lawrence Livermore with more government research and development jobs. Many other locals do commute to tech jobs to the west or work in the healthcare or education systems of the city and county.

If you want to live near the science and tech hubs of the Bay Area but also be right on the edge of some of the most outstanding outdoor experiences in California then put Livermore on your short list. It’s less expensive than plenty of the cities to the west as an added bonus.