Is Fairfield close enough to the bay area?

[vi...@roadrunner.com]

We've been considering a relocation to the bay area - from socal.

We've spent a lot of time over the past summers sailing at Rio Vista -
not as much on the bay.

I've been offered a job in Fairfield. We are considering living in
Concord, Walnut Creek or Benicia to keep the commute reasonable.

It looks like the drive from Fairfield to Rio - along 12 might not be
so easy since it's only one(?) lane in each direction.

The move from the midwest to SoCal wasn't as rewarding for windsurfing
as we expected. We do get to windsurf alot - but we do alot of
driving to get to those places.

Just really looking for the real world picture. It's easy to say -
yeah go for it - it's the bay area. But since one of us would be
without a job after the move - I'd like to keep it as real world as
possible.

Thanks.
Vic

[Steve Elliott]

Fairfield would be very close (about 1/2 hour) to Sherman Island. I don't
know what the traffic is like on 12, but the days I've driven it it wasn't
bad. You will also be within 1 hour of Berkeley, Pt. Isabel, and the
Northbay sites (Larkspur, Rod and Gun, Bullhead). Weekend trips to Tomales
in the spring would cost you an hour and a half to 2 hours.

Housing in Fairfield is way cheaper than Walnut Crik. Not sure about
Benicia.

Steve

vi...@roadrunner.com wrote in news:1189715005.129488.121120@
22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com:

[Crabby]

Benicia is the nicest city of the three. Much cooler than WC or
Concord and better commute to Fairfield. Pretty easy shot to Berkeley
on weekends, but 2 bridge tolls to SI (still better than going thru
Fairfield.) Or head down hiway 12 after work, then take hiway 4
home. Benicia (12th St) is sailable at times in the spring, or, if
you do the k-thing, all summer.

[timwn...@gmail.com]

Fairfield would be a super easy commute to Rio Vista and not even half
bad to much of the east bay/north bay sites. I have a buddy who grew
up in Fairfield and after visiting her 'rent's house, was pleasantly
surprised by the area. I always thought it was a freeway stop of
never ending sprawl, but there's some really nice spots. She also
says that getting to Napa is a piece-of-cake for more high-brow
activities.

-Tim

[a_m...@yahoo.com]

Vic,
I used to live in Berkeley, commuted to Walnut Creek at first, then to
Pleasanton for years. Living in SoCal, you know about traffic; the Bay
Area can be pretty gnarly (I live in northwestern Washington now, and
I'm always surprised when I go back to visit just how much time we
used to spend in the car and not even think about it).

The Bay Area is a very reliable place for wind from late spring
through fall, and there's even a fair bit of winter storm sailing at
reasonable temperatures. In the East Bay, however, if you hold down a
job that doesn't give you tons of flexibility, the only really
reliable after-work sailing you'll get will be in the Delta. Berkeley
and Pt. Isabel (in El Cerrito/Richmond) are great jumping off points
for formula sailing, as you'll easily get through the light stuff to
the wind line and then have the whole bay to play on, but if you're
into small stuff, you'll probably not get a lot of time on the water
after work as things tend to slow down near shore about 5:30 or so and
the windline moves further out. That's how I got into sailing big
stuff (and that started the whole racing thing for me, but that's
another story).

The Delta serves up sunset sailing quite regularly, so working in
Fairfield, you should be able to hit that pretty reliably.

As for places to live - Walnut Creek is extremely suburban, and pretty
expensive. It's gotten pretty chi-chi out there. Concord, just to the
north, is less expensive, and a bit less toney. Both are a pretty long
ride from the Delta, since the Freeway connecting them there (680) can
be pretty hosed traffic-wise. Benicia is much closer, and if you're
formula sailing, you can do it right there if you don't want to go out
to the Delta. Mike Percey tells me nice things about Martinez -
another data point.

If you want to consider El Cerrito/Berkeley/Albany, that might work
for you as well - you'd be reverse commuting on 80, which should make
that whole deal pretty manageable. To me, quality of life in that area
would be way higher than out in Fairfield/Benicia, and much preferred
over Walnut Creek/Concord. That's just how I'm wired; you'll hear
people say the opposite. That would give your spouse all kinds of
options for easily commutable work (via BART, etc.) in the City, or
Oakland, or Berkeley.

Good luck with this whole thing. I still love the Bay Area; what drove
us to look for greener pastures was our desire to live in quieter
place to raise our kids; it's hard to beat Bay Area climate (I'm
especially fond of the nearer East Bay - great compromise between City
Fog and inland heat, simply pleasant almost all year long), wind,
cultural life, urban amenities, and career opportunities.

-Andreas

http://g-42.blogspot.com

[rath...@gmail.com]

Vic,

Perhaps you can tell us:
-acceptable commute time (work)
-acceptable drive (for sailing)
-will you be sailing weekdays or just weekends?
-what kind of wind are you looking for?

I've lived in Berkeley, Oakland, San Rafael, and San Francisco. Like
Andreas, I too as thinking of the East Bay... mainly Berkeley, Albany,
El Cerrito areas or even Marina Bay. Your commute to work would be in
the 30-40 minute range which may or may not be acceptable to you. The
climate is much more temperate than inland, and you are much more
centrally located during the season on the weekends if you want to
experience the variety sailing in SF Bay offers.

Driving times from Berkeley (best guesstimate):
-Berkeley Marina (right there!)
-Pt. Isabel 5-10m
-Alameda (winter storms) 20m
-Candlestick 25m
-Treasure Island 15m
-Sherman Island 45m
-3rd Ave 40m
-Waddell 1hr 30m
-Ocean Beach (for surfing or kiting) 35m
-Pacifica (for surfing) 35m
-Half Moon Bay (excellent flat water winter sailing) 1hr
-Tomales Bay (awesome spring NW spot) 1hr 15m

If you live way out in Fairfield, you put yourself very far from
sailing spots on the Peninsula and coast which have some of the most
epic conditions. There is so much more than just the Delta.

kev

[vi...@roadrunner.com]

Kev,

Thanks for the reply - sorry for the slow response.

> Perhaps you can tell us:
> -acceptable commute time (work)

I'd like to keep the commute to 20-30 minutes. Neither of us have had
to drive more than 20m each way for the past 8 years.
> -acceptable drive (for sailing)
Driving for sailing would ideally be no more than 30 minutes each way
- if done after work. We do 45 minutes each way to Leo now. I'm ok
with a longer drive on the weekends.

> -will you be sailing weekdays or just weekends?

Ideally it would be weekdays and weekends. We barely get 50 days a
year on the water here - and that includes spring drives to Isabella -
3 hours each way.

> -what kind of wind are you looking for?

I use an 85l board with 5.2 as my most used sail size. He is on an
80l board with 5.8 as a common sail size. We do have boards in the
low 100's range - but they don't get a lot of use. Our biggest sails
are a 6.6 and 7.2 but we never rigged them this summer.

>
> I've lived in Berkeley, Oakland, San Rafael, and San Francisco. Like
> Andreas, I too as thinking of the East Bay... mainly Berkeley, Albany,
> El Cerrito areas or even Marina Bay. Your commute to work would be in
> the 30-40 minute range which may or may not be acceptable to you.

The person that recommended me for the job lives in Berkely and says
that his drive is only 30 minutes. The concern I have about living
closer in - is having adequate garage space and/or parking space for
the van. We carry gear for two people.

I've always been curious about the areas north of Berkeley along the
80 so I like these suggestions. Problem is the offer isn't great.
Some company line about salaries being more in line with Sacramento
rather than SF.
I'm tired of chasing a buck though - and would like to make this
decision on other factors.

Also boyfriend will kite instead of windsurf - if not enough wind or
close enough access to windsurf.

I looked through archives of bay area sites. My impression was that
these are generally afternoon only sites?????

Thanks.
Vic

[a_m...@yahoo.com]

>
> I looked through archives of bay area sites. My impression was that
> these are generally afternoon only sites?????
>

In the Bay Area, except for winter storms (which don't come on a
schedule...), wind happens in the afternoon, as it's all thermal
driven and the fog covers the whole bay in the mornings. The one
exception to that is the Delta (Rio Vista/Sherman Island), which can
have rocking dawn patrol sessions in late spring through late summer -
when the morning marine layer is thick all the way into the East Bay,
it's usually epic out in the Delta.