Beard

Slightly run down looking and very suburban, this neighborhood looks like it jumped out of 70’s movie. In terms of homes it is just about all 70s/80s style Ranch homes and tract housing of various kinds and qualities from those that look virtually identical to the trailer park style homes. You have nicely kept sidewalks throughout and the favorite automobile here is, without a doubt, the pick-up truck in all its larger manifestations.

The main drag is Jefferson and between it and the Trancas that forms the northern border of the neighborhood, you can find virtually all the amenities you expect from the suburbs—including just about every fast food place imaginable. KFC, Jack-In-the-Box, Sizzler, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell—they are all represented here.

Napa High School is in this area. Napa is a solid school serving a diverse community of students from multiple ethnic and economic backgrounds and doing a good job of it. Although not spectacular, Napa HS’s test scores are above average. They offer a full slate of AP courses, extracurricular activities and sports and they have good facilities. McPherson Elementary is also in this neighborhood.

Home prices in the area are on the lower end of the scale with the median around $350K and the high end around $550K. Very affordable though, as previously mentioned, the homes here are mostly uninspiring.

There is nothing particularly spectacular about this neighborhood. It is mostly just a lower middle-class suburban neighborhood like a thousand others in California. Most of the restaurants are chains that you can find anywhere else (except for Trancas Steakhouse which is okay) and the entertainment are about what you would expect in this kind of neighborhood. In other words, it’s just okay.