Living in San Pablo
Parent Q&A
A coworker of mine just closed on a house within the past few weeks for less than $500,000. He got a two bedroom home, yard, all appliances were new as of a year ago, and a lot of work had been done to the home in recent years. It is located in San Pablo just off of the Solano exit, which is an easy commute to Berkeley. Within his first week of being there all the neighbors had come to him and introduced themselves, he feels completely and totally safe in his new home. San Pablo is in the WCCUSD and has a lot of resources for kids with additional needs. However, I'm not sure of what public schools are like in that area.
Best of luck to you during this difficult time.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Moving elderly relative to San Pablo
Jan 2012
I am trying to convince my elderly aunt to move to the East bay. She currently lives in East San Jose and enjoys being active in her local parish and in proximity to many latin-american markets, but currently can't find anywhere to live in her price range. Her meager SS check would allow her to rent an apartment in the Richmond/San Pablo/El Sobrante area. I have searched the archives and google, but can't seem to find any reviews of San Pablo. I see that they have a large latino community (a plus), and a catholic church that has Spanish mass, but don't have a sense of how safe the area is for a 70-something living on her own. Any advice on which neighborhoods to explore or avoid would be very much appreciated. Thanks Fact-finding Niece
San Pablo is a relatively safe area to live and work. I grew up in Richmond and work in Richmond, and my teen daughter works in San Pablo. I never worry about her in San Pablo, and she walks about 1 mile in the city for her job. The Catholic church in San Pablo is one block from City Hall and the police administrative office. It's very safe in that neighborhood.
I think if your grandmother looks for a place around the church or east of 23rd Street, she should be fine. You can always call the San Pablo Police Dept. and ask them if there are certain areas that are better than others. west county lady
she should look in the north & east neighborhood in richmond. don't know san pablo as well but have friends there. one family lives around market and 19th, not far from the senior center. they've not had any problems. another who lives in a nicer looking area around st paul's has had problems with loud neighbors, but that could happen anywhere. richmond is ok
San Pablo is a majority Latinx community that I'm not sure is frequently represented on this forum. I would spend some time in the community on the weekends, at the lovely new library or the community park. Recreation activities are very subsidized by the casino, which is helpful from a local government revenue perspective. The schools are part of the WCCUSD, a big district that runs from Hercules to El Cerrito. The overall student body of WCCUSD is majority Latinx so I think the San Pablo schools are as well, but you can read school profiles at the district's website, with demographic info. The part of town west of 80 is more urban feeling, and east of 80 is more woodsy, winding streets etc.
Hi! I live in nearby Richmond and we love the richmond /San Pablo area! San Pablo has a fantastic rec dept and we do a lot of camps and events through the city of San Pablo. They have great family programming! The library is nice and recently updated. We use a nearby neighbor who has a lovely home based daycare. Our older daughter attends Wilson elementary, which has been a fantastic and warm community to be a part of. Our younger daughter attends part time preschool at montalvin elementary in San Pablo and it seems like a lovely school as well. Feel free to contact me if you want to talk further. :) debg325 [at] yahoo.com