Ardith Dr, Orinda

I came to see about a place here on Ardith Drive which would have been perfectly situated for my purposes, being a block away from the Orinda Intermediate School and within my very limited budget. Unfortunately, someone snapped it up before I even had a chance to look at it.

I know Ardith relatively well however because of the proximity of the middle school. Ardith is quiet suburban street, only slightly hilly, which is pretty typical of this part of Orinda. Ardith is most made up of nice, big Ranch homes of the kind that are typical of early 1960s. (Most homes here date from 1959 to 60.) This is more of a homeowner location, than a renter area.

Most homes along Ardith typically sell for between $740K to $950K these days. (Though one recently sold for $550K--I assume due to foreclosure or some similar circumstance.)

Ardith skirts the western end of OIS (Orinda Intermediate School) though there is no access to the school from this end, Ardith being on a hill that overlooks the school. It functions as a bit as a connector between Ivy and Coral which encircle the school.

The location of Ardith makes it ideal for families who like a nice quiet area with relatively low levels of traffic (though both Ivy and Coral fill up at school arrival and dismissal times).

For commuters, Ardith is far enough where you will probably have to drive to the BART station or brave the 10 minutes of traffic to the freeways.

Orinda schools however are superb and crime is virtually non-existent in the Lamorinda area, with basically one murder in 10 years. It is basically everything you could ask for in suburban living. And you are right next to Berkeley if you want to drop down to attend the theater, see a movie, go hiking or whatever else you might want to do.

Of course, you have to be able to afford it, otherwise you will be working all the time and never have any opportunity to do any of those things, which has unfortunately been my experience of Orinda.