Ellis Lake

If you don’t live in Concord, you might not even be aware that there is a lake here. Concord, being sort of flat and packed, just doesn’t seem like the kind of place that would have a lake. Yet right by the heart of Concord and right by the heart of this neighborhood is Ellis Lake.

Now this is not exactly Lake Geneva or anything like that—it basically looks like a marshy overgrown pond with a bunch of balconies from boxy 1970’s style apartment complexes staring out onto it. It is definitely not the most stunning of areas, but it does add a little bit of variation to a city that is in serious need of something unusual to differentiate it from its neighbors.

For those looking for relatively inexpensive apartment living Ellis Lake is their neighborhood. You can get a 2-bedroom apartment here for around $1250/month, which isn’t too bad. There are a lot of apartments for rent here—especially along Clayton Road. Most of the apartments are of the older boxy 1970’s variety, but there are also some newer ones, especially on the eastern edge of the Ellis Lake area as you get near the center of Concord.

As far as entertainment and that sort of thing, you are within walking distance of the Brendan Theaters (the big movieplex in Concord), the restaurants and shops along Willow Pass and the nice quiet “downtown” area that surrounds Todos Santos Park, with its Spaghetti Factory and all that. Put simply, this one of the better spots in Concord to live if you want to live cheaply and are okay with living in an apartment.

In terms of raising a family here, that doesn’t seem as strong an option, mainly because of the schools, which range from being average like Mt. Diablo High School, to below average, like the local elementary school.

If I were single I suppose I might check it out.