Moving to Livermore: 15 Things to Know Before You Do
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