What city or town should you live in? This blog is all about the ‘Pros and Cons’ for Livermore, CA. Find out if this city is right for you.
What about Livermore
A little background
Livermore primarily boarders with Pleasanton, and a small section on the North side of Dublin. It can be accessed from the 580 freeway. It’s located in Alameda County, California and on the eastern edge of California’s San Francisco Bay Area. Livermore is the most populous city in the Tri-Valley, giving its name to the Livermore Valley.
Some History
Information provided by WikipediaA Spanish expedition led by Pedro Fages skirted the western edge of Livermore Valley in 1772. Shortly afterwards, the Spanish Mission of San Jose was founded in 1797 on the slopes of what is modern day Fremont.
During the first seven years of the 1800s, five hundred and two individuals were baptized at Mission San Jose from the four tribelets in the Livermore Valley. In this time, Spanish military conducted raids throughout the East Bay using the valley as a natural corridor for move.
he 48,000-acre (19,000 ha) Rancho Las Positas grant, which includes most of Livermore, was made to ranchers Robert Livermore and Jose Noriega in 1839.Most land grants were given with little or no cost to the recipients. Robert Livermore (1799-1858) was a British citizen who had jumped from a British merchant sailing ship stopping in Monterey, California, in 1822.
The Pros for living in Livermore
Number 1: Livermore has so much to do
From outdoor to indoor entertainment, Livermore has it all. Let’s start with wineries. Livermore Valley is the home of 45 wineries. The two largest are Wente and Concannon. What I recommended to tour them in style and safety is to take the Livermore Wine Trolley Tour.
One of the more popular events is the Downtown Street Festival. This is formally the Honey and Wine Festival.
They have a nostalgic day car shows sponsored by the Ultima Cruisers and Farmer’s Market. An annual event that you must see is the Livermore Rodeo. This is a whole week and event that starts with a parade. Bankhead’s theater, they host numerous events to include concerts lectures and several types of performances. Livermore has two movie theaters, Livermore 13 Cinema West and the Vine Theater.
Let’s talk about parks. They have approximately 28 neighborhood parks ranging from two to 30 acres in size. Two community parks offering a variety of amenities for equestrian use, rodeo grounds, and an all-weather soccer field. They have five regional parks, totaling 1,560 acres and 10 special use parks to include hiking, bike, and equestrian trails.
Livermore has 3 public golf courses.
Let’s start off with Las Positas golf course. It’s located on the west side of Livermore next to the airport. They have an 18 hole and a nine hole golf course. Going Southeast you’re find Poppy Ridge. They have two 18 hole golf courses. Saving the most unique for last is Wente Golf Course, which is located on Wente vineyards. This is an 18 hole course that has amazing views of the vineyards and the Hills around it.
Number 2: Restaurants
Livermore’s downtown area offers a variety of different types of restaurants to choose from. I recommend taking a casual stroll up and down and both sides of the street to make sure you see all the different choices. You’ll note that most of these restaurants have adapted very well to outdoor dining and style, safety, and comfort.
Number 3: Downtown shopping area
They offer a variety of unique, one of a kind stores. Livermore’s downtown has several interesting stores to choose from. They also have numerous strip malls that host popular chain stores and restaurants.
Number 4: Municipal Airport
The airport is used for both business and private aviation. In the past, they’ve host air shows. It also serves as a business hub for small corporate jets. Most of the airport’s 460 tenants are made up of Livermore and Pleasanton residents. This is the perfect setting for aviation enthusiasts.
Number 5: Employment
Livermore is home to the renowned science and technological centers for Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory. They have numerous vocations in engineering and science. Livermore also has several business centers throughout the town to include the business center at Livermore airport.
Number 6 Livermore’s residential real estate
Livermore from a map view
It resembles a rectangle with appendages on the sides.
Livermore is made up of approximately 70 communities.
I’m going to discuss just a few in this BLOG.
I will start our real estate tour at the border where Livermore meets Pleasanton on the southwest side.
This area is made up of seven communities that were built in the mid ’90s to early 2000s.
Portofino community
Beck Properties was the developer and it was built in the late ’90s. It’s made up of one to two story homes, square feet is from 2,700 to 3,700 square feet. Now, these are big lots. They’re from a third to a half an acre in size. Looking at the homes from an aerial view, you can see that the backyard is large enough to accommodate a pool, grass area, and an outdoor living space.
I’m going to focus on this property here, which I sold a couple of years ago. This is a large one-story home, which has over 3,200 square feet. What makes this development unique is some of these properties have four car garages, which this one did. The window on the right side here is actually part of the garage.
Sunset West
Okay, we’re going to leave this newer area, travel about a mile North to an older area called Sunset West. This community was built by Sunset Homes in the late ’50s to late ’60s. It’s a mixture of one to two story homes from 1,100 to 2,000 square feet, lot size is from 6,000 to 7,500 square feet. This was a listing I sold about years ago. What attracted my clients to this area was the close proximity they had to all three schools. Many residents in this area will actually walk their children to school.
Springtown
I’m now going to travel to the northeast end of Livermore to a community called Springtown.
The first phase was built in the early ’60s around their public nine hole golf course. Springtown offers a mixture of condos, townhomes, garden homes, duplexes, and single detached homes. You’ll find the majority of Springtown single detached houses are a bit smaller. They run from 800 to 1,400 square feet. Springtown houses are priced on the lower side. This can make an excellent opportunity for your first home.
Dunsmuir
The last area I’m going to discuss is a newer area on the southeast side of Livermore. The community is called Dunsmuir. The developer was Signature Properties. They were built in the early 2000s. Home size is from 2,200 to 3,500 square feet and lots range from 8,000 to 11,000 square feet.
You’ll find a mixture of one to two story homes here. Some have casitas, which is a separate dwelling that has a kitchenette, a bathroom, and a little space for a living quarters.
Many of these properties have views of the local vineyards, the park, or the greenbelts. Clients who I represented who purchased property in this area have told me that they really enjoy the community feel and how meticulous the neighborhoods are always kept up.
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Number 7: Great schools
Livermore public schools have very good ratings. Livermore also has Las Positas Junior College, which is rated as number three as top colleges in California. The college offers a guaranteed transfer program to several colleges in California and other states.
Number 8: Livermore’s home prices
Livermore home prices compared to the other Tri-Valley cities, and especially the Silicon Valley area are much less.
The Cons for living in Livermore
Number 1 High housing costs
Livermore home prices are less compared to the other Tri-Valley cities. And of course, much less than the Silicon Valley area. However, if you travel just 22 miles east to Tracy, you’ll find Livermore’s prices much higher. To learn more, please read: Livermore Cost of Living.
Number 2: Livermore Airport’s noise
One of the problems living near airport, of course, is noise from the airplanes, especially if they’re corporate jets. Now, Livermore airport is aware of this and they do have a noise abatement program.
Number 3: Livermore doesn’t have BART
BART stands for Bay Area Rapid Transit. Fortunately, you’re only a few miles away from Pleasanton Dublin station, which has the station for BART. There’s talk about putting in a Livermore BART station, but unfortunately that will be years away.
Number 4: Livermore lacks nightlife activity
Livermore, like all the other Tri-Valley cities, doesn’t have a lot of nighttime activity. It’s basically a quiet town.
Well, that concludes the pros and cons for living in Livermore, California. Obviously, the pros outweigh the cons over two to one.
Please let me know your thoughts on this.
I hope you enjoyed this article. Please let me know if you have any questions. Warren
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Hello…I work with both buyers and sellers in the Northern California area.
My real estate spans from the East Bay (Tri-Valley) to the Greater Sacramento areas.
If you would like to know more about the Tri-Valley area, please read: “Everything you need to know about the Tri-Valley area”
To better understand what each city has to offer, I have created a Pros and Cons videos and articles for each Tri-Valley Area:
If you are thinking about purchasing or selling a home, please reach out to me by text, phone, or email. If it is convenient, I can schedule a Zoom chat so we can discuss your home goals. Wishing you all the best on your home journey. Cheers!
eXp Realty
(925) 980-4603
DRE # 01861944
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