Reviews & Comments
Livermore, CA
Which wine would you like with that? -
9/5/2008Livermore is 80,000 people at the east end of a valley. There are no adjacent towns to the north, south, or east. The hills are visible from every direction. There are 30 wineries in town and grape vines everywhere, sometimes within housing developments. The wineries have free tastings with many open 7 days a week. The main city festivals are based upon wine - "Art in the Vineyard", "Honey and Wine Festival".
Livermore is the only place in the country with 2 nuclear weapons labs but it also means lots of people with PhD's live here.
Downtown has been completely redone including a free parking garage downtown next to the 800 seat theatre that opened in 2007.
Parks are constantly expanding. Bike trails link the park system and there are bike lanes on the main streets.
Livermore is part of the larger San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland area. The closest bay area train station is a 15 minute drive. Downtown San Francisco is 45 minutes away. Napa is an hour drive.
Since Livermore is at the end of the valley, there is abundant wildlife including hawks, mountain lions and eagles.
There is an interesting mix of people -- PhD scientists, wine makers, ranchers, and Silicon valley commuters.
The housing is expensive but we are talking San Francisco, not Detroit.
Livermore, CA
A great spectrum of opportunities -
9/4/2008Livermore has about 80,000 people. It's located at the end of a valley. There are no adjacent towns to the north, south, or east. The hills can be seen from all directions. There are 30 wineries in Livermore and almost all of them have free wine tastings every day. There are vineyards everywhere - sometimes within housing developments.
Most of the local festivals have related to wine - "Art in the vineyard", "Wine and Honey Festival". The park system is constantly growing in size. There are lots of bike trails through the parks and bike lanes on the main streets. The
downtown has been completely redone with large water fountains and a new large free parking garage downtown next to the 800 seat theater that opened in 2007. City leadership is progressive and responsive to the citizens.
The largest winery here is Wente. They run a very deluxe restaurant with an outdoor summer concert series with artists like Boz Scaggs, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, and Foreigner performing for 1500 people enjoying their wine.
The golf course next to the restaurant is on the PGA tour.
There are urban growth limits which preserve the view of the hills to the north of town.
Livermore is the only city in the country with 2 nuclear weapons labs. But don't worry much. They don't build bombs here but they do have Plutonium. A positive effect of the labs is the very large number of PhDs living here.
The Altamont Hills are to the east of the city and it is home to one of the largest windmill farms in the country.
The BART train stop is a 15 minute drive. BART is the main bay area transit system connecting San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland.
Livermore is part of the greater San Francisco-San Jose-Oakland area.