Herbie:
Typical realtor answer. He's speaking through his arse. And they wonder why they are held to only one notch above a used car salesman by John Q Public?
The commute from anywhere in East County to anywhere outside of East County is miserable, long and expensive. But commute we do because there are no jobs out here but some 250,000 residents who need a job to support themselves.
Pittsburg to Berkeley may be 37 miles, but you won't make that 37 miles in 44 minutes even at 2:00 in the morning unless your Pittsburg home is situated right next the SR4 onramp and your Berkeley destination is also right next to the offramp. During the peak period commute you can figure one and a half hours to make that trip.
How do I know this? I've lived in Antioch for almost 30 years and commuted all over - Walnut Creek, Oakland, Vacaville, SF, Pleasanton. It only gets worse by the year, freeway widening or eBART will make little difference. After all, which comes first the chicken or the egg?
I still commute to Oakland about four times a month using an express bus and BART. It takes 90 minutes from the bus stop to the door of my Oakland destination if all goes well. And, that bus stop is the last one before the bus heads to the Pittsburg BART station and my destination is literaly across the street from the BART station in Oakland.
I can drive it in less time most days, but parking is a nightmare and expensive as is driving. And if you value your auto as I do, parking it in a major metro is sure to end up with damage sooner or later. To say nothing of the cost of a rear end collision during commute crawl on SR4, 680 or I80. If you commute for a couple of years, it's bound to happen to you at least once.
But, don't take my word for it. Come out and see the commute for yourself. I have family that will not drive out here to see us on the holidays from central county due to the highway 4 backup.
From my perspective, you're better off renting near your job in Berkeley than buying a home anywhere in East County where the commute will suck away 3 hours of your life every working day and add stress on top of that.
