4 minute read
Meet the Gomez Family: Rooted in Northgate
www.NorthgateLivingCA.com @NorthgateLivingCA #NorthgateLivingCA
Photo by Julie Cheshire Photography
Story Kara Navolio, Resident since 1991
It is not uncommon to find Northgate residents who, like Jon Gomez, grew up in the neighborhood and have returned to raise their own family here.
Jon moved to the neighborhood as a Walnut Acres first grader. He and his two brothers attended the neighborhood schools, played in their backyard tree house, grew up and moved out of Walnut Creek. The 2000 graduate of Northgate High School attended San Francisco State University, preparing for a career in law with a degree in Criminal Justice. After college, he took the summer off to work in a bike shop in Sausalito. As life often does, this “fun break” led Jon on a new path. It turned into a 10-year career in the bicycle industry. Eventually he turned his love of selling bikes into a love for selling homes and is now part of Climb Real Estate, a boutique brokerage that is housed in a converted cottage on N. California St.
Jon met Tyler through friends in college. He had a circle of friends who came from Sacramento where Tyler grew up. The two crossed paths a few times through these mutual friends. But it was years later, when Jon started living with some close friends of Tyler’s, that the two really connected. They were married in 2009.
Tyler worked in restaurants all through her teen years and after high school was managing restaurants in Sacramento. After trying out some other career paths, Tyler found her passion as a hairstylist. She thrived at a salon in Oakland for six years; and then two years ago opened her own salon in Walnut Creek, Hearten Salon.
Although Jon never imagined returning to the neighborhood he grew up in, when he and Tyler were searching for a place to raise their two daughters they were drawn back to Jon’s childhood home. It worked out since his parents were also looking to move to a smaller home. “We sold our house in Oakland and took the chance to move in to my childhood home as a way of dipping our toes in suburb life, something we still weren’t sure was for us. Turns out “suburban life” is AMAZING, and we could not be more thrilled with the day to day lifestyle this neighborhood offers us. We love the feel of the wide tree lined streets filled with beautiful homes, the network of trails, the parks, and how close we are to twelve years of fantastic schools. Add to this equation all of the amenities available within a couple of stop lights from home: all of the food and beverage choices and shopping options,” says Jon.
Milo, their oldest daughter who proudly states her age as 8 and a half, attends Walnut Acres just as Jon did. Milo’s 2nd grade teacher was also a Northgate High School grad. Jon loves running into people he knew growing up, who have also decided to return to the neighborhood. Milo is now in 3rd grade. After trying out T-ball, soccer and basketball, she has found a love of gymnastics and takes classes at Encore. She also enjoys performing in theater, crafting, baking, riding her bike and swimming.
Their youngest daughter, 4-year-old Frankie, attends a play school in the Diablo Shadows neighborhood lovingly run by another Northgate alum. Jon says, “Chances are you have seen a woman pushing a fiveseated stroller on Oak Grove on the way to the library or bagel shopthat’s the Mini Me Play and Learn crew!” For now, Frankie spends most of her time trying to keep up with her big sister.
Sprinkles, the cat, is the 5th member of the Gomez family, and Milo is planning on adding dogs in the future.
Summertime fun includes swimming in pools, rivers, and oceans and doing flips off the diving board at Oak Grove Swim Club. They love Tahoe and Hawaiian vacations as well. In winter, they embrace snow sports like skiing, snowboarding, sledding and snow ball fights. Although Jon used to ride fast road bikes, he now cruises the neighborhood with the girls.
They also enjoy camping and meeting up with friends at Calicraft. Jon has recently taken up golf, enjoying our local course Boundary Oak. Tyler is involved with a local book club, enjoys spin classes and as Jon says, “teaches our girls to be brave and strong.” Both volunteer at Walnut Acres and cheer on the S.F. Giants and Golden State Warriors. But more than anything, the family enjoys spending time with friends and the large extended family they are blessed to have. “We have realized that so many of the families that have come to this special corner of Walnut Creek share many of the same passions and values as us, and are working hard to make the most of life while being kind and caring to those around them. We love that, with the age of our kids, we know that we will be part of this community for many years to come, and that many of our friends and neighbors will be doing the same. We love the network of families who can lean on each other for help, whether in a real emergency or a borrowed tool or missing ingredient. Even in just the five years we have been here we feel like we have really woven ourselves into the fabric of this community, and we are excited to see what the next fifteen years bring.”
A favorite story from the neighborhood that Jon enjoys telling is one of a new friend Milo made at school. It turned out that this friend was the niece of one of Jon’s childhood friends. Like Jon, the father of this girl has returned to Northgate to raise his kids in his childhood home. It was a special moment when he dropped off his daughter for a play date at the same house his parents had dropped him off at years ago.
