Antioch, Calif.: ‘Last Bastion of the Good Commute’ in the Bay Area (The New York Times)
ANTIOCH, Calif. — In 2018, after years of renting in the San Francisco Bay Area, Denee Cox found herself priced out of her hometown Oakland, Calif., after a series of rent increases. She did the math and realized it might be more affordable to buy a home and pay a monthly mortgage, but she knew she’d have to look elsewhere. A home in her neighborhood at the time, Oakland’s Trestle Glen, would be more than $1 million, considerably above the $350,000 or so she hoped to spend.
“I never saw myself living in Antioch,” she said. “But what caught my attention in Antioch was that I was able to find something completely turnkey. I didn’t have to do any work. It was new roof, new paved driveway, upgraded kitchen and bathroom.”
Ms. Cox, a licensed mental-health therapist and single mother to a 25-year-old son, 20-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son, gradually found more to like about the city. Its diversity was a draw, as was the fact that it had convenient options for big-box shopping, including a Costco. And it wasn’t so far from the rest of the Bay Area that she couldn’t get her son to Oakland for his basketball games, or for her daughter to visit from college in San Francisco.
“It’s very charming,” she said, “like a diamond in the rough.”
Antioch is filled with sprawling suburban subdivisions built during various real estate booms, particularly the 1990s and early 2000s. Ms. Cox’s home is in an older neighborhood she described as friendly and “working class.” She and her son go hiking at nearby Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve, and he joined a local hockey team.
Myesha and Elgin Lawson had been looking to buy in Antioch for much the same reason: affordability. They said they were able to see several nice homes in their price range of $400,000 to $500,000. Most had at least three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, and at least 1,400 square feet. After renting nearby, the couple recently closed on a 1,700-square-foot house listed for $459,000. They offered $472,000 and got it.
Mr. Lawson, 38, who grew up in neighboring Pittsburg, described Antioch as “family oriented, laid-back and quiet.” The couple said the city has changed with the influx of newcomers priced out of areas like Oakland and San Francisco, with more renters and fewer homeowners. Ms. Lawson, 41, who grew up in San Francisco, said she sees people out walking dogs and neighbors who keep an eye on things.
Most worrying to Ms. Lawson was the commute. The couple, who have a 10-year-old and a 6-year-old, both work in San Francisco — Ms. Lawson in operations for a bank, Mr. Lawson in hotel management. Each weekday, they leave their house at 4 a.m. to drop off the children with relatives who take them to school. Then they drive together to catch the morning’s first BART train into San Francisco, at 4:47 a.m.
