"Fire kites drifting through the skies / Up on high I see it all the time / And from the tip top of every mountain view / From the roof I spy on room to room / Take me home / Walk the night in the valley - oh ohh oh - 'til everything is fine." (Eisley, “The Valley”)
This part of California used to be the New Spanish State of Alta, California, and this particular city is situated on land that was granted to the Mission San Jose in 1797. Despite having more than 60,000 residents, Castro Valley has never been officially incorporated as a village, town or city in America. Because of this, Castro Valley citizens are legally governed by Alameda Country, as if they were farmers living a mile apart from one another. Incorporation has been brought up in community referendums, but residents keep on knocking the idea down. Maybe they just like the idea of living off the radar, with no local police force in place? Nah, can't be that.
There are plenty of famous people who came from this make-believe city, including athletes, news anchors and musicians
"Fire kites drifting through the skies / Up on high I see it all the time / And from the tip top of every mountain view / From the roof I spy on room to room / Take me home / Walk the night in the valley - oh ohh oh - 'til everything is fine." (Eisley, “The Valley”)
This part of California used to be the New Spanish State of Alta, California, and this particular city is situated on land that was granted to the Mission San Jose in 1797. Despite having more than 60,000 residents, Castro Valley has never been officially incorporated as a village, town or city in America. Because of this, Castro Valley citizens are legally governed by Alameda Country, as if they were farmers living a mile apart from one another. Incorporation has been brought up in community referendums, but residents keep on knocking the idea down. Maybe they just like the idea of living off the radar, with no local police force in place? Nah, can't be that.
Castro Valley: Where Celebrities are Bred
There are plenty of famous people who came from this make-believe city, including athletes, news anchors and musicians. Among the remarkable long, long list of notable Castro Valley residents are Major League Baseball players Greg Tabor, Ed Sprague Jr., Kevin Mass, Bryan Keyser and aptly-named Jason Castro. Castro Valley has also been home to professional skateboarder Amy Caron, professional drummer Mike Bordin of the band Faith No More, and big-time musical comedian Kyle Glass of Tenacious D. Plenty more athletes were born and bred here, so it's a pretty good sign that Castro Valley is a town full of people who put a lot of effort into sports teams. You might even think of this town as a special sort of hot-house for growing talented, successful people.
Cool Stuff in Town
When you first come into Castro Valley, you'll see a sign bidding you "welcome". This sign has a certain quaint 1970s charm that seems to be smiling widely at you, beckoning you to come in and start a new chapter of your life. Of course, feeling welcome is all well and good, but you'll need to entertain yourself in your new home town.
Once you have found a rental home here, there are lots of places to visit and spend your free time. Movie lovers can check out the Chabot Theater, where that certain small-town charm translates into one-screen cinema. When you only have the choice of seeing one movie at a time, you'll find that it becomes a more special event. Like in the 1960s! Buy a movie ticket and reminisce in high-definition with a bucket of popcorn and your favorite candy bar.
Are you a golf nut? If you're going to live here, maybe you should look into becoming one. The Willow Park golf course is the perfect way to spend some time in the California sunshine and connect with the real physical world around you. It's also a great way to unwind after a long week of work, or to hang out with your friends on a golf cart with a couple of drinks. Creative parents might consider showing their teenagers how to pilot a golf cart before letting them at the family car - just a thought.
If you are digging the old-school romance of Castro Valley, you can also check out local square dancing lessons or punish the aforementioned teenagers who trashed a local golf cart by bringing them to a formal lesson. If the lessons go well, you can congratulate him or her with a nice trip to Lake Chabot for fresh air, fishing and no silly outfits.
The Climate in the Valley
First things first, this is California, and in general, the weather here is nothing to complain about. Castro Valley specifically enjoys summer highs of around 76 degrees Fahrenheit, with winter lows around 41 degrees Fahrenheit. Usually, August is the hottest month of the year and December is the coldest. This may come as a shock if you are moving here from somewhere in the Southern Hemisphere, but rest assured, this is perfectly normal weather behavior. Enjoy the sunshine!
Finding Your Nighttime Escape
As is often the case with unincorporated towns, the population and housing opportunities are fairly widely spread across Castro Valley. It's still a little bit like traveling from farm-to-farm at times, with a mile or so between residential centers. In the more highly-populated center of town, rents are cheaper and easier to find. To the north and northeast of this urban center, the rental costs are slightly higher as well as fewer and farther between. Rental condos and apartments in the center of town are more difficult to find than rental houses, which increase in price the farther they are from the center of town. Why the difference? The more expensive options are generally newer, larger and allow their residents more privacy in a sparsely populated part of town.
Homes here are beautiful and often quite new or remodeled recently, with interesting architectural flare thrown in for good measure. If you like eccentric homes, chances are good that you can find something to your taste here in Castro Valley. You can choose from a variety of architectural styles, from the more conservative box-style home to a modern, spacious, orange-toned esoteric wonder.
