Albany, Lafayette, Orinda, Danville, Clayton, Martinez, Pinole, Point Richmond, Crockett, and downtown Livermore and Pleasanton all deliver a small-town feeling inside a major metro. Canyon, Port Costa, and Sunol are the real tiny versions.
Small-town feel with a San Francisco job is a specific trick. Lafayette, Orinda, Albany, and Alameda can pull it off. Clayton and Crockett are small towns that expect you to live locally.
Towns
Berkeley & the north hills
Albany
A small city with Solano Avenue as its living room.
OpenLamorinda
Lafayette
A downtown you can actually finish walking, plus a reservoir.
OpenLamorinda
Orinda
A village downtown at the mouth of the Caldecott.
OpenSan Ramon Valley
Danville
A downtown main street with the mountain behind it.
OpenCentral Contra Costa
Clayton
A small town at the foot of Mount Diablo.
OpenWest Contra Costa
Pinole
Old Town, a ridge of houses, and a view toward the bay.
OpenCentral Contra Costa
Martinez
The county seat, John Muir’s house, and a working marina.
OpenWest Contra Costa
Crockett
The C&H sugar town on the Carquinez Strait.
OpenTri-Valley
Sunol
A tiny town, a water temple, and a railroad in the hills.
Open