Hey, does anyone here live in Castro Valley?

I was over there today looking at houses. I'm not that familiar with the East Bay, so I thought I'd ask if anyone on the board lived in Castro Valley or had any feedback on the area.

It looks like it is a 35 minute Bart ride into downtown SF (where I work) and houses are much cheaper over there.

If anyone has any feedback on the area, please post here.

thanks!

I grew up in San Leandro about 2 blocks from the border between San Leandro and Castro Valley and lived in Castro Valley for a few years in my 20's. Castro Valley is definitely the 'burbs and has the strip malls and chain stores that one would expect. It's not a city. It's an unincorporated part of Alameda County. Not that that is necesarily a bad thing. Growing up, I really liked Castro Valley. Lake Chabot Park is where I caught my first fish, Cull Canyon is the swimming hole we used to go to on hot days and I still have fun dropping by Golfland mini golf for 18 holes and some coin-op video games. It's a quiet town. It's about a 30-40 minute drive to either San Francisco or San Jose (if there's no traffic, which might be wishful thinking) and it's pretty much the gateway to the valley (Pleasanton, Livermore, etc.). Castro Valley is that much closer to the mountains if you're a skiing, snowboarding, camping type. If you'll be commuting to San Francisco via BART, I do believe you're correct about the 35 minute trip and I'd say it's definitely the way to go. The hwy 580/238 interchange can be a nightmare, even during non-commute hours.

Honestly, It's been more than a decade since I lived there. The only time I go there these days is to visit family. Castro Valley isn't really a destination, but it isn't a bad place to live. If there is a bad part of Castro Valley ('bad' being relative), I'd say it's the Center St. area near the Hayward border. Ummm... that's all I can think of at the moment. If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask. I might have an answer.

I buy my guns at Castro Valley gun shop, if that helps.

Yeah, if you need guns, Castro Valley or San Leandro are the places to go. Did I mention the mini golf?

Thanks for the info! I figured it would be a sleepy little suburb, but I don't really mind seeing that I'll still be in SF every day for work. I also like that they have a Golf Land mini golf there... it reminds me of the Golf Land I went to as a kid in Sunnyvale.