Moving to Livermore is something that a number of people consider every year. We did some research and compiled many facts here to help you make your decision. How big is Livermore? About 86,000 people live there, and approximately 70% of the population is white with about 20% Hispanics. The remainder is Asian, Black or Pacific Islander. How is the weather? The highs can reach 100 or more during summer, but humidity is usually low. In winter, the lows may dip to 38. Each year, there are only about 15 inches of rain. The rest of the year the weather is mostly moderate. (The Bay Area in general experiences a rainy season beginning in October, and it might last until February, or into March.) How much is housing? In Livermore, the median home value is a little over $700,000 and the average rent is about $2,000. While the median home value might seem high (because it is) you may be able to find a condo for less than $400,000. There are also mobile homes for less than $300,000. The median home value in San Francisco is about $1.1 million. For renters, if you are open to a shared situation, you may be able to find a room for $700 or more. In some rare cases, you might also be able to identify an in-law apartment which will probably be around $1400. How are the schools? The public schools in Livermore are rated 8 out of 10 by Great Schools. It isn’t that common for a public school system to have such a high rating. For adults, there is Las Positas, a 2-year community college and the University of Phoenix, which grants 4-year degrees. Are there jobs? Some of Livermore’s top employers are: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Valley Care Health System Livermore Unified Comcast Cable Sandia National Laboratory FormFactor Wente Vineyards Kaiser Permanente City of Livermore TopCon US Foodservice Las Positas College WalMart Costco Target Valmark Industries Bridgelux Lowe’s. How is the food? Livermore has many restaurants that offer a range of food types, here are some of them: Petra-Middle Eastern Cuisine Posada Restaurant Caraway Indian Cuisine Wasabi Bistro De Afghanan Kabob House First Street Alehouse Hop Devine Demitri’s Taverna Rockhouse Sports Pub & Grill Uncle Yu’s at the Vineyard Korean BBQ and Tofu The Restaurant at Wente Vineyards Tin Thai Kitchen Viet Noms Mario’s French Dips Ofelia’s Kitchen Clay Oven Restaurant & Bar Rubio’s Coastal Grill Thumbs Up Grill Denica’s Real Food Kitchen Melo’s Pizza and Pasta Matsuyama Restaurant Sanctuary Ultra Lounge T4 Livermore Teriyaki New Oceanic Restaurant Sansar Indian Cuisine Cholula’s Cuisine Sushi Zone El Caminito La PanotiQ Bakery Cafe China Garden Restaurant Canton Village El Castillito Taqueria Quickly Sammy Sushi Grocery stores Trader Joe’s Contreras Market Safeway Lucky Nob Hill Foods Grocery Outlet Juju’s Nature Foods Van’s Health Foods Are there parks? Livermore is a small city setting in something of a rural area — at least it used to be rural. In fact, originally the land was agricultural, and there is still some open space. Livermore also has a number of dog parks, if you are a dog person, or just like to watch the dogs. Del Valle Regional Park Cayetano Community Park Sycamore Grove Park Al Caffodio Park Holdener Park Lester J. Knott Park Pleasure Island Park Morgan Territory Regional Preserve Robertson Park Allows dogs: Bruno Canziani Neighborhood Park Vista Meadows Dog Park Max Baer Dog Park Marlin Pound Neighborhood Park. Is there access to nature? Livermore is close to Ohlone Regional Wilderness and Sunol Regional Wilderness. Each can be visited and you may see a variety of wild animals like the acorn woodpecker, black phoebe, titmouse golden eagle and turkey vulture. Magpies and hawks are fairly common too, as are ground squirrels. Mt. Diablo is within easy driving range and it is the tallest mountain in the immediate area. Henry Coe park is near Morgan Hill, and it is more than twice the size of the wilderness areas mentioned above. If you want to drive to the SF Bay, it is about 25 miles. Moving to Livermore would not result in being isolated from nature, in fact, it would probably be more satisfying than living in Oakland, San Leandro or Hayward. The San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge is about 36 miles distant, and this area is known for its wetlands and birds. Yosemite is pretty much a straight shot to the east of about 120 miles, so Livermore is well-situated for taking trips into the Sierra Nevada. Sonora is even closer — about 90 miles. If you are a Tahoe fan, it’s harder to get there than it is to Yosemite because the distance is a little over 200 miles. Moving to Livermore might be a good option for someone who is interested in the outdoors, or who wants closer access to it. How is the transportation? Livermore is located near 580 so you have direct access to Castro Valley, San Leandro, Hayward, Oakland and the rest of the East Bay. You can also go East to visit Tracy and Manteca. 580 turns south into 5 so you could drive all the way to San Diego if you desired. For public transportation users, there is a BART station in Dublin/Pleasanton, so you can connect to the East Bay and San Francisco. Having BART close by is very convenient and most helpful for people who commute to work, instead of having to drive every day. BART is the only train you can use in this area, there is also the Altamont Corridor Express which you can ride to San Jose or east to Stockton. Livermore has an ACE station near its downtown. One might think of Livermore as being isolated, but there are some transportation options. For air travel, the closest major airport is in Oakland. Moving to Livermore could be a viable option for someone wants to be close to city culture while remaining at somewhat of a distance. Are there places of worship? Livermore has a number of Christian-related churches but does not appear to have any synagogues or Buddhist temples. Celebration Christian Center St. Michael Catholic Church Cornerstone Fellowship Livermore World Conquerors Church Unitarian Univeralist The Well Christian Community Asbury United Methodist St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Valley Bible Church Trinity Baptist Church Calvary Tri-Valley Is there entertainment? Livermore 13 Cinemas has multiple screens showing typical Hollywood movies. The Vine Cinema and Alehouse shows more off-beat films and serves food and beverages. For live shows, the Livermore Valley Performing Arts Center regularly hosts a variety of artists. Live music, dance, theater and stand-up comedy. Moving to Livermore is not that likely to be disappointing unless you are accustomed to Broadway shows. Of course, San Francisco isn’t terribly far away, if you want more culture. UC-Berkeley is closer and offers many shows and performances each year. Is there storage? Yes, we have several storage facilities in Livermore and can answer your storage questions. What is nearby? San Francisco – 44 miles Oakland – 35 miles Manteca – 34 miles San Jose – 33 miles Walnut Creek – 26 miles So, after reading this information are you still interested in moving to Livermore? Image Credit: LPS.1, public domain