F St, Martinez

I’ve recently developed an even greater appreciation for Martinez. Perhaps it is because of my imminent divorce and the new financially strapped situation in which I find myself. Finding a place to live in the Bay Area where you still feel relatively safe while not paying a gazillion dollars in rent is actually fairly difficult. I actually have no idea how people manage it.

Martinez is one possibility. I came to see an apartment here on F street the other day. This was not a huge apartment but it was well kept, newer, and in very nicely kept facility. In addition, it was right at the end of F Street, where it runs up against the hills.

Now this is in the part of Martinez that is north of Highway 4, which is generally considered the less desirable area of Martinez. It is right by Alhambra High School which is not the north end of the street (you can see the pool right from the sidewalk.)

The homes in this location are usually pretty old. This is certainly the case on the rest of F Street. You get a ton of homes dating from the pre-WWII period. They do look their age. These are homes with wooden panels and walk-up steps and tiny front yards. You get your share of white picket fences as well.

By Alhambra Avenue, there is a lot of traffic (Alhambra is the main artery north-south in this part of Martinez). This is also where you find a Safeway supermarket and the other sort of amenities that you would expect along the main drag of a location.

That is also where you will find the Martinez Adult School facility. Martinez Adult Education has been around for almost a century, having been created by workers at the local Chevron plant way back when. It offers mostly vocational training for adults including subjects like Microsoft Office, BIM and career counseling. There are also GED classes and some personal enrichment classes like photography.

Although homes get a little ramshackle in spots, this is actually not too bad of a place to live.