Balhan Ct, Mid Clayton Valley

Balhan Court is a cul-de-sac in Clayton. I recently came here to check out an apartment that is within my price range--which this definitely is at $1000/month for a 2-bedroom. It is close to where Ygnacio Valley Blvd. hits Clayton Road which, for those coming from Walnut Creek is past the Cal State East Bay campus.

Balhan Court is basically an apartment row filled with boxy 60’s era apartments. It is a bit run down looking on the end, with peeling paint on the outside of buildings and leftover ez chairs sitting outside of some buildings. From the look of most of the cars--older model econo cars, you can tell that the residents around here are mostly working class paycheck to paycheck, so given the current state of things for me, I should fit right in.

Many of the apartments however are fairly nice, though old.

Of course, when the rent is this low you worry a bit about crime. Crime in Clayton is amazingly low--one of the safest area around. Balhan is right on the border between Clayton and Concord, where crime is comparable to the national average. You get less than 10 murders per year in a population of more than 100,000. That is not too bad.

Of course, commuting from here is a bit of a pain since you hit all the other commuters heading in this direction. But overall, this is a really affordable spot. As affordable as it gets without heading into Antioch and Pittsburg.