Lafayette offers a warm balance of comfort and elegance – a suburban city with a rich urban center. While Lafayette real estate can offer stunning homes that make use of the rolling hillsides and warm weather, a focus on kids is a big reason people move to the area. The local schools are highly ranked by sites like school-ratings.com and greatschools.org, and the Lafayette Library and Learning Center (LLLC) is a wonderful resource. It includes the Main Library, with special features like a Children’s Library, Homework Center, Teen Center, Technology Lab, Bookmark Café, Community Hall, Book Shop, Outdoor Amphitheater, and public art displays.

The LLLC shares its facilities with the Glenn Seaborg Learning Consortium, a partnership of 12 Bay Area premier education, science and arts institutions offering a variety of programs and special events at a central, easily accessible location. Theater, science, wildlife, and civic affairs are among the many choices brought to Lafayette through the consortium. The center of Lafayette’s outdoor recreational life is the Lafayette Reservoir. Here it’s all about being outdoors to enjoy the playground, hiking, boating, fishing, barbeques, and picnics. And, yes, you can bring the dog.

In the early days of California statehood, Lafayette was a stopover for the Pony Express and wagon trains coming over the Sierras, It’s still an oasis for residents and visitors. Fine dining is available at restaurants like Postino. For a casual eatery try Millie’s Kitchen. Very much in keeping with the oasis theme is the spa at the Lafayette Park Hotel. Having a boutique luxury hotel in your neighborhood offers you a convenient stay-cation spot and ideal lodging for visiting family.

While the Pony Express no longer passes through town to San Francisco, BART does. Lafayette has the convenience of its own station. BART can take you the vast variety of Bay Area dining, shopping, and arts and sporting events in Berkeley, Oakland, Walnut Creek, and San Francisco.