All the places you mention are indeed along the BART line (Bay Area Rapid Transit) but they'll be too cool in the summer for you. I live in Berkeley and my tomatoes aren't even ripe yet due to too much summer fog.

To get nice and toasty in the summer, you have to go to the other side of the hills that block the cool air coming off the bay. It's also more affordable.

Try looking at the communities further east (inland) of Berkeley and Richmond--specifically Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill or Concord. Walnut Creek is very upscale and less of a commute from San Francisco, hence more expensive of these three choices (but still cheaper than S.F.). Concord is several more BART stops further so housing is less.

Or go a bit south and look at Pleasanton and Livermore. Pleasanton particularly has a lovely old-fashioned downtown and nice residential areas. BART is available to this location too. Four more miles past the BART station is Livermore which is just about the warmest spot in the entire Bay Area in the summer and it has many wineries and rural areas .

here are some pics of our Richmond yard:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d905b3127ccec4e58046aa9d00000040O08SYsWblo3B7efDQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d905b3127ccec4e53e5c2be800000040O08SYsWblo3B7efDQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d905b3127ccec4e59ddf6ba200000040O08SYsWblo3B7efDQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b8d905b3127ccec4e52317ea0500000040O08SYsWblo3B7efDQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D480/ry%3D320/

Our lot is probably about the size of your current lot? Not sure.

We live near the Bay in Richmond. While it is cold, our fog burns off by midmorning. When we drive down 580 through El Cerrito/Berkeley/Oakland, the fog is crazy. We can see the band and it's depressing driving into it. I would say that all of them are warmer than the city, but Richmond seems to be the sunniest of the ones I listed and possibly the warmest. However, I do agree that to get truly warm, you have to go over the hills or south. But then you're living in the desert, which is hardly better, in my opinion. I'm able to keep my garden alive with saved shower water because it's not 105 everyday here. That's a good thing with our severe water restrictions. But I don't venture out much here, so take my prejudice with a grain of salt. Maybe I'm wrong. I've just been to Walnut Creek a couple of times in the summer, and I was burned to a crisp before I could get from my car to the door of the mall.

One thing I will say about Richmond and Oakland is RESEARCH your neighborhood. You can go from nice to Baghdad in a couple of blocks. Oakland seems to be melting down right now, but it swaps the most-violent-city-in-the-nation title so often with Richmond, that I wouldn't consider one better than the other (both are consistently in the top (bottom??) ten).

I pay around $7.50 to BART into the city every day. It's around 45 mins. Oakland is closer and cheaper, but we fell in love with our neighborhood, and couldn't find anything in Oakland we would be willing to take.

Get the EBMUD book on gardening in the area, it's very very helpful--had detailed climate maps--will give you information on what grows best where and you can pick your spot based on that.

Here is a link that might be useful: EBMUD book on gardening in the bay area

While it is true that you won't have any early tomatoes in Berkeley, I happen to feel that it is an ideal gardening climate because it is generally so mild that it seldom freezes in winter, and the livability of Berkeley offers the diversity of San Francisco, without the potential crime problems of the least expensive parts of Oakland and Richmond, and the weather in summer is less cold and foggy than most of San Francisco, while a bit cooler in winter. As long as you don't resent the fact that it will never be shorts, bare feet and tee shirts after dark in summer in Berkeley, the cool summers aren't really so bad. The cost of living is pretty extreme here in the SF Bay Area, but the prices of homes are actually still dropping, and I have been amazed to see that you can actually see homes that have recently sold in parts of Oakland and Richmond for less than $200,000, although I doubt that I would want to live in those neighborhoods. Better neighborhoods almost anywhere in the SF Bay Area will more likely cost you $400,000 and above. You might be better advised to move here, rent for a while, and figure out for yourself once you get here what your preferences will be.

Berkeley is a university town. I went to college there. The city starts at the sea level of the Bay and rises up into the Berkeley hills. Some parts of the city have great architecture and beautiful gardens. The climate there is fine in my opinion, especially so in the Fall & Spring.
San Mateo is south of SF. I don't think fog is a big problem there, but it might be a bit milder than cities further south down the peninsula. It is an older town, perhaps more affordable than cities further south. Belmont, San Carlos & Burlingame are also similar cities in that vicinity. I know Cal Train, which goes to SF,
services these cities, but I'm not sure about BART.
Oakland & Richmond? I would not go into either of those cities after dark. Sad, but true.
If you like heat, go to places like Livermore, Walnut Creek and out that way. Too hot for me. In Summer take SF's temperature and add 20 degrees usually.

Thank you everyone so far; this has been quite helpful. I've been aware that the weather changes rapidly as you go inland, but I'm learning more about getting away from the bay and house affordability (which to me = how much garden can I have!).

My suggestion is that you rent before jumping in to buy. It is very likely the housing sales will not pick up until 2009 and this will give you the chance to look around carefully to decide what works best for you.

Unlike Juno we ended up in the Oakland hills. We find the traffic on the 580 freeway faster and less clogged than any other EBay freeway, an important consideration when it can take you over an hour to go 35 miles at peak commute times. We live in an older neighborhood where lots are large, crime is moderate (lots of 'casual crime' but virtually no 'heavy' crime) but the mailman can leave pkgs on my front porch at any hour and no one takes anything. OTOH, it will cost you between $450K-$500K to buy a 2- or 3-bdrm older cottage in any reasonable shape.

Our lot is 5600 sq. ft. with a small cottage - 2bd 2 ba with attached 1 car garage:
{{gwi:535162}}

Many Bay Area cities are under mandatory water rationing. You will need to learn an entirely new way of gardening with a wider variety of plants than you are accustomed to. I second the suggestion of EBMUD's 'Dry Climate' book, it's one of the finest available for our area. The Sunset magazine and garden books are also essential info sources.

Consider resale carefully here. Some stay here forever, some move around a lot. Buying the wrong location can really hurt when you realize your house would be worth $100K more if it was located 2 miles away. Or that it takes you so long to hassle with the daily commute, you hardly have any time to garden at all!

Sorry, one add-on to my message above that I forgot:

Our 2bd 2ba, 1 car garage cottage on a 5600 sq. ft. lot, approx 1500 sq. ft house with all systems remodeled, is worth about $535K to $545K in today's market (very few of these older cottages have updated everything - most are a pastiche of small remodeling projects).

On average, depending on those important local neighborhood markets, our house would cost:

$650K in San Mateo/Burlingame
$575K in Berkeley
$475K in Richmond

I can't speak for the Livermore, Dublin/Pleasanton, or Walnut Creek/Concord areas in Contra Costa County. At one time they were all farms and small cottages, but are now well developed areas. They have some fairly upscale neighborhoods in those zip codes, so they distort the median house price. It is considerably warmer and drier on that side of the hills, but we have almost none of the hideous summer humidity of Chicago (I'm from the Hyde Park area, myself, but also lived around Wrigley Field my last few years there), so you would probably enjoy the weather over the hills the most.

Good luck!

We're on 580 in the Point. Zero traffic. Stay away from I-80 at all costs if you want to drive anywhere ever. It's the most miserable highway I've ever been on at pretty much all times of day, and I'm from Atlanta (birthplace of the traffic jam).

I wouldn't rule out the cooler gardening climates in the bay, you can grow a lot more variety than you might have been used to in Chicago, and there's something to be said for doing harder garden work in pleasantly cool weather (I'd rather do that than garden in 100°F weather!). The variety of flowers is nothing short of astonishing, and they last longer too!

--Ron

Midwest natives usually have no concept of gardening with NO rain from May till November. The amount of water allowed per household becomes a HUGH impediment to gardening as you have in the past. The further from the bay and the summer coastal fog, the more hours of daily sun and the greater dependence on applied water. Al

I might add that the gardening year and best planting season gets shifted here in California if you want to garden yet still save on water. The best time to plant is after the first of the fall rains have softened up the soil, and the hoped for winter rains will keep things watered and allow the new plants to get rooted in before the dry season returns. The only exception is for plants that are not cold tolerant, such as subtropicals. You can even have winter color from annuals if you plant in the fall, and will use much less water this way. Other garden concepts that take on even more importance here are to use mulches to both conserve water and inhibit weeds, and utilize drip irrigation and avoid wasteful spray irrigation, especially in windy conditions.

I think you will find that anywhere in the SF Bay Area is a great climate for gardening, the decisions on exactly where to relocate will have more to do with your ability to afford certain neighborhoods, your tolerance for commuting and traffic, and your personal comfort level around wanting summer to feel like summer, or whether you prefer your summer nights with an outdoor fire and a sweater rather than in shorts.

You might find it useful to get an idea of how people garden here to look at issues of Sunset Magazine or Pacific Horticulture Magazine, or the Journal of the Mediterranean Garden Society.

jkom51, your front garden is beautiful!

jcom, I agree, your garden is wonderful!

I live in Kensington, next door to Berkeley and I find that my micro climate (and there can be many in the Berkeley area) is perfect due to the siting of my home, weather, lack of wind, etc. Not only can I garden, but I do not pay for any AC, and I can keep my home below 70 degrees in the winter (in fact my back door is often open in the dead of winter).

I think Oakland is an excellent alternative as it runs about 10 degrees warmer, but does not seem to get those really hot, high degree days that are found over the hills in Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, etc.

I was in Chicago on business last November and what struck me most was how bleak it was at that time of year. I do more gardening in the winter months and early spring and I have year round flowers, color and fruit.

Hey, you can't go wrong, but if you move here, prey for rain.

Carol

You make me want to move up there. Can I come up?