In the heart of San Francisco’s East Bay area in the beautiful state of California, is the Tri-Valley area.
The Tri-Valley area is made up of 6 cities.
They are:
Each city is unique and has numerous features including beautiful parks to high ranking schools.
If you are considering moving to this area you’ll want to consider living in Pleasanton.
However, before committing to such a big step, you need to know the Pros and Cons for this city.
This article will cover both the positive and negative of Pleasanton, so you can make an informed decision if it is right for you!
About Pleasanton
Just a little background, it borders between Dublin on the North side and Livermore on the East side. It can be accessed from either the 580 or 680 freeway.
A bit of history on Pleasanton
Per Wikipedia:
“Before the establishment of Pleasanton in the 1850s, an earlier settlement in the location was called Alisal. It was located on the lands of the Rancho Santa Rita, near the site of an Indian ranchera, around the Francisco Solano Alviso Adobe. It is one of the earliest houses built in the valley in 1844. It is still standing and serves as the centerpiece of the Alviso Adobe Community Park. Alisal, nicknamed The Most Desperate Town in the West”.
Alviso Adobe Community Park located off Foothill Road. You can find a tour of it on my video, “Pleasanton’s top coolest parks and walking trails”.
Before I start, I want to point out I have already posted several videos on Pleasanton:
Pleasanton videos
Neighborhoods:
Parks:
What you need to know:
- Top 5 Reasons to MOVE to Pleasanton
- How to BUY a HOUSE in Pleasanton California the RIGHT way
- 17 items you NEED to know FIRST before living in Pleasanton California – moving to PLEASANTON CA
- Pleasanton Cost of Living
- Everything YOU Need to know about Pleasanton, CA
Therefore, to make article interesting for you and a bit challenging for me, I’m not going to repeat anything I’ve already discussed in my prior videos.
There may be the same topic, like traffic or activities to do, but what I’m going to share is new information I haven’t provided before.
Hopefully, by reading this you find out something new about Pleasanton you didn’t know. This way you can decide if it’s the right place for you.
Here are the Pros for living in Pleasanton
Number 1: Pleasanton has unique things to do
The Preserve and Moller Ranch Hiking Trail offers a lot to hikers and is a bit of a mystery to find. Many local residents have no idea it exists. What I recommend is park at The Preserve staging area where you can access the upper trail, which is the preserve. The lower area is Moller Ranch Trail. Total length for both trails is a little over three miles. You’ll see all kinds of nature. Be prepared to hike on uneven terrain and steep inclines at times.
Now when you finish your hike, make sure you walk up street just about 50 feet to Laurel Creek Park. This place is really cool. You’ll find picnic tables that have amazing views of the city and mountains around.
Number 2: Pleasanton’s historic district
As you walk through downtown Main Street, you’ll feel you’ve been transported back in time. Many of these historic buildings were once connected by secret tunnels under Main Street.
Number 3: Pleasanton is haunted
Well, not really. These great buildings exhibit and an assortment of historical architectural flare from Victorian craftsmen, art deco, to modern. So apparently, over time, stories have been told about ghostly sightings making their appearance at some of these buildings. FYI, I’ve lived here for about four decades and I’ve yet to see any, but you never know.
In the fall, Pleasanton’s museum hosts their annual ghost tour. Before I leave the downtown area, I want you to know that you can use your cell phone to take a self-guided tour.
Number 4: Pleasanton’s infrastructure
As I mentioned in my previous videos, there are over 44 community and neighborhood parks, great schools (Pleasanton Unified School District), and a well-maintained downtown area.
What I want to discuss now is how the town maintains these public areas so they always look in good order. The city prides itself on going the extra mile when it comes to their city’s maintenance. The play area equipment in the parks and schools are checked and maintain regularly so they’re in good order and repaired and replaced when needed. The city’s public roads are also maintained well, and the town’s overall appearance is clean and kept in good order by their landscaper and maintenance personnel.
Number 5: Pleasanton’s residential real estate
The cities residential real estate has a lot to offer. You’ll find a variety of properties from condos to large homes situated on acres of land.
They have several communities. And for this article/video, I’m just going to discuss a few. Looking at Pleasanton from an aerial view, you’ll see it resembles a rectangle. The homes on the West side tend to be large custom homes.
This area is Castlewood. They have their own country club, which is private and they feature two 18 hole golf courses. Going North on the West side is The Preserve and Moller Ranch communities.
This is the same area for the two hiking trails I discussed earlier in this video. Moller Ranch is a mixture of track and custom homes. The Preserve are large homes up to 4,500 square feet. Most of them have good size lots between a quarter to a half an acre.
The last neighborhood I’m going to mention is Birdland. Birdland is part of a larger community called Pleasanton Valley neighborhood. This is one of the most popular older communities that’s located in the central area of Pleasanton. These homes are built in the mid sixties through the early seventies. They’re a mixture of one to two-story homes, ranging from 1,500 to 3,000 square feet.
They have two neighborhood parks, Woodthrush and Walnut Grove, and access to Pleasanton’s largest community park Ken Mercer Sports Park. By the way, all the streets are named after birds, so hence the name Birdland.
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Number 6: Pleasanton was named one of the 10 best places to visit in the United States
In 2018, Pleasanton was ranked number four on Livability’s top 10 best and underrated places to visit in the United States for the town’s festivals, celebrations, and mild year round climate.
Here are the Cons for living in Pleasanton
Number 1: Pleasanton has traffic
As I discussed in previous videos, Pleasanton’s commute traffic to the Silicon Valley and the San Francisco area is brutal. However, Pleasanton can also have local traffic, especially when there’s events at the Alameda County Fairgrounds.
The two biggest events are the Alameda County Fair, which runs for about two weeks, generally starting in the second to third week in June. The second is the Good Guy Car Show, which is usually a three-day event, and it’s held around the third week in August.
Number 2: High cost of housing
Pleasanton by far is not the cheapest area to live. Overall, Pleasanton’s cost of living average is 227.8 compared to the national average at 149.9 compared to California. Now, this means it’s 127.8 higher than the US average and approximately 50% higher than California.
To add to this, if we compare Pleasanton to Livermore, which is one of the cities in the Tri-Valley area that borders Pleasanton on the East side, it’s approximately six miles away. Livermore’s cost of housing is 30.3% less than Pleasanton. The median home cost in Livermore is $784,600. The median home cost in Pleasanton is $1,125,600.
To learn the cost of living in Pleasanton, please go to How much does it cost to live in Pleasanton, CA.
Number 3: Bart parking
Having a Bart station is definitely a pro or a feature. However, Bart has limited parking, especially in the commute time. If you can get a ride to the station, great. However, if not, you may want to consider just taking Lyft or Uber to the station.
Number4: Limited dining
Pleasanton has some great restaurants on their main street area. They also have large chain restaurants like Chili’s, Panda Express, and Cheesecake Factory. However, if you’re looking for a large variety of dining options, you may be disappointed.
Number 5: Pleasanton doesn’t have much nighttime activity
It’s basically a quiet town. Yes, you can always go out and have dinner at one of the local restaurants. However, if you’re planning to go out in the evening for dancing, comedy, concerts, professional sports events, you’re not going to be able to find this in Pleasanton.
This concludes my pros and cons for living in Pleasanton, California. Again, my goal in this blog was not to repeat anything I’ve discussed in my prior videos and blogs on Pleasanton.
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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