Martinez, California

Job in Martinez. Where to live? Considering Walnut Creek / Martinez

Lived in Martinez for the last 3 years, and I've been very happy with it. I used to go to Walnut Creek more often, but now I absolutely hate it (very snobby, rude, expensive, climate is too hot). Since Martinez is only 50% surrounded by freeways, there's no pass-through traffic and very easy to get anywhere within the city, and out of it. Temperature is milder than other places in the Eastbay interior due to its proximity to the carquinez straight. Since it's the county seat, and the main jail is downtown, you will see some homeless around the city, however gentrification has been improving that over the last few years. Crime is pretty low, usually limited to domestic crime (rather than random shootings), and with the jail, the courts, the sheriff's office, highway patrol, and the coming/going law enforcement, there are a TON of cops throughout the city. I haven't even had a package stolen off the porch, and my neighborhood isn't "the best". Downtown has changed quite a bit throughout the years, less antique stores and more breweries and restaurants thanks to a younger population buying houses. Proximity to Amtrak is wonderful if you like to get out of town or explore the Bay Area. Political split seems to be around 50/50 between longtime residents (typically conservative) and the younger crowd (typically liberal). Overall, it's a fairly chill place, without a lot of the typical Bay Area problems.

Moving to what I believe is part of the East Bay area!

Traffic on 4, 680, and 80 is terrible during commute times. Martinez is relatively nice, and housing is inexpensive for the Bay Area. You probably want to live there unless you really like local nightlife or have a family that wants better schools. Expect getting to Berkeley, Oakland, or San Francisco to be a slog, but you're close to Pleasant Hill, Concord, and Walnut Creek which all have a decent amount going on (shopping, restaurants). Northern Lafayette or Pleasant Hill could be an option, as there are some back roads, but I have no idea what the commute traffic is like.

Take my comment with a grain of salt, as I'm in a more urban area (North Oakland) and used to driving at most 20 minutes to get anywhere I want to go, or walking to BART to get into San Francisco. Coming from Houston an hour drive might seem fine to you.

Job in Martinez. Where to live?

Lived in Martinez for the last 3 years, and I've been very happy with it. I used to go to Walnut Creek more often, but now I absolutely hate it (very snobby, rude, expensive, climate is too hot). Since Martinez is only 50% surrounded by freeways, there's no pass-through traffic and very easy to get anywhere within the city, and out of it. Temperature is milder than other places in the Eastbay interior due to its proximity to the carquinez straight. Since it's the county seat, and the main jail is downtown, you will see some homeless around the city, however gentrification has been improving that over the last few years. Crime is pretty low, usually limited to domestic crime (rather than random shootings), and with the jail, the courts, the sheriff's office, highway patrol, and the coming/going law enforcement, there are a TON of cops throughout the city. I haven't even had a package stolen off the porch, and my neighborhood isn't "the best". Downtown has changed quite a bit throughout the years, less antique stores and more breweries and restaurants thanks to a younger population buying houses. Proximity to Amtrak is wonderful if you like to get out of town or explore the Bay Area. Political split seems to be around 50/50 between longtime residents (typically conservative) and the younger crowd (typically liberal). Overall, it's a fairly chill place, without a lot of the typical Bay Area problems.

Living in Martinez CA