Hi, I live close by and was born and raised right here. Real Estate office is on Appian way, I can tell you we feel safe, we see the Sheriif patrol regularly. There is no town that is crime free, overall a pretty good place to live.

Mike Rowland

Area law enforcement supply reports to http://www.crimereports.com. I subscribe to this service to see the crime in my neighborhood near the bay. It's free and you get a daily email with a pointer to a Google map showing recent criminal events in the area.

Not a realtor, but a new homeowner instead:

My wife and I have just moved into El Sobrante (San Pablo Dam Road), just 1-mile from Appian Way within the last 6-months and overall we both consider the neighborhood fairly safe to uncertain occasionally.

Myself, originally from the area of El Sobrante / East Richmond, I have always considered El Sobrante safe in comparison to adjacent cities (i.e. Richmond, San Pablo, Rodeo, Crocket, El Cerrito, Berkeley, Oakland). Although, like the adjacent cities near El Sobrante, the results are similar; the hill communities are safer then of the flat-lands. Look at how people upkeep their front yards, and that will give you an idea of what you may expect within the vicinity. Some "pocket" neighborhood areas on Appian (i.e. near the Capri Club, across the street from El Sobrante Library) have their problems. The further you are away from it, the less drama you may experience.

What you may not hear from a Realtor:
Besides the busy street noise, you should note the occasional shady characters from the Capri Club, unfortunately there are Section 8 apartments a few doors down and continuing to Central Foods and randomly located on both Appian and San Pablo Dam Road, then there are the multiple homeless people that live right underneath the creek overpass on the corner of Appian & San Pablo Dam Road and lastly you may note random drunks from the Rancho walking to Jack-in-the-Box at 1:00 in the morning, to the bicycle-riders that cruise the Dam Road for a little exercise.

I have lived here for years and generally the city is a good place to live. In addition, recently I have had a conversation with a police officer and he had mentioned that most crimes within El Sobrante are DUI's, drunks at bars, drug-deals, to car break-ins. Unfortunately, just a week ago, there was a fugative that squatted (in a foreclosed house) a few doors down from our home that was wanted for 3-murders. Fortunately, he got caught this week (6/1) and where one of his hangouts were, was at the Carpri Club.

Besides all this "glass half empty" talk, there are multiple (positive) reasons why I do enjoy living here. The climate conditions are ideal in comparison to other East Bay Cities; just that alone I rather live here, then Alameda, Oakland, and Berkeley for the same price. Growing crops (lettuce, tomatos, swiss chard) are easy to grow in pots and in the ground. El Sobrante is somewhat protected from the wind in comparision to parts of East Richmond on the other side of the hill. El Sobrante is center-located; 20 miles from both San Francisco, Marin County and Walnut Creek area, less then 45 minutes from Wine Country and 1-hour from the state capital. This city is next to a few large open spaces (Wildcat Canyon, Tilden Park, San Pablo Reservoir) that have multiple activities.

El Sobrante is COUNTY!, no HOA here. This is the #1 choice why we came to move here; the lots are larger then of Richmond, there are only 3 other unincorporated cities (that I know of) within the bay area (Alamo, Castro Valley, Redwood City). Within this city, you can plant a Lemon Tree in your front yard, waive an American Flag year round, have oil stains on your driveway, build a windmill, and even have a chicken-coop and no damn HOA residence is allowed to complain about it. Plus our taxes are lower then of Richmond and other Bay Area cities....

So, if you have located a nice home for a reasonable price w/in El Sobrante city limites; I would go for it. If the house setbacks about 30-50' from Appian Way, build a wall to reflect / absorb the sound, ignore the uncertain characters on bicycles to the drunks at Jack-in-the-Box, upkeep your yard and honestly speaking you should be alright thereafter.

Good luck with your choosing.

El Sobrante is one of the best kept secrets in the bay area. I am a Real Estate Broker in the El Sobrante area, i live and have lived all my life in the area. I wouldn't live anywhere else , it has a small town feel but is centrally located 19 miles from SFand less than 20 minutes to Napa. Contact me if you have any questions
mikerowland@windermere.com

Mike Rowland
Windermere Rowland Realty

I lived in El Sobrante for a few years off of May Road. Very quiet, safe, neighborhood close to all amenities.

Liz....

Great answer. Couldn't have done it better myself. Take care.

How safe.. there is crime and there is comfort level with any neighborhood. you can go online and ask El Sobrante police records what kind and how many crimes they have reported in a given time frame. Google El Sobrante Police. We usually ask buyers to go to the area on the weekends so they can assess the comfort level with a new neighborhood. Particularly helpful would be to drive around on a Friday night . Visit the area - a must. When you are comfortable, call Mike Rowland at Windermere in El Sobrante - he is outstanding. All the best. Liz Stevens