Antioch (California)

Antioch is in eastern Contra Costa County in California.

Understand
Antioch is one of the oldest towns in California. It was founded in 1850 by two brothers, William and Joseph Smith, who named the town Smith's Landing. In 1851, the town's new minister persuaded the residents to change the name of the town to Antioch, for the Biblical city of Antioch, Syria. Antioch is the 270th largest city in America.

By car
Highway 4 runs through Antioch and splits near the Antioch Bridge, becoming Highway 160 north towards Sacramento while staying Highway 4 south for the route through Brentwood, eventually leading to Stockton. Tolls for the bridge are collected for northbound traffic, and there are 5 exits going East and 3 exits going west on Highway 4. This is the primary route between the Antioch and the rest of the Bay Area, which leads to heavy congestion during commuting hours in the morning and early evening.

Renting
With Antioch's considerable sprawl, car rentals are the most convenient form of transportation for visitors. Local companies tend to offer better prices, but national chains might be more convenient as far as return policies and hours

By train
Amtrak serves Antioch with its San Joaquin train between Oakland and Bakersfield, via Fresno. is at 100 I St, there is no ticket booth at the station and other amnesties are limited.

Get around
Tri-Delta Transit buses serve the area; pretty much all bus lines will take you to the BART in Pittsburg. County Connection bus #930 goes to Walnut Creek. The main streets are Hillcrest, Lone Tree, Somersville, A Street and James Donlon. These streets can pretty much take you anywhere you need to go in Antioch.

By taxi
Taxi service is available, but on a much reduced scale as compared to major cities, but you won't be able to hail a cab; it is necessary to call and arrange for a taxi to pick you up. Rates are fixed by city ordinance and do not vary among companies.

Stay safe
Exercise caution in downtown during nighttime, its dimly lit and the homeless are numerous in that area. As with any city just use smart judgement and you should be safe.

Newspapers
The Antioch Press, published by Brentwood Press & Publishing Corporation. Antioch Press is a weekly newspaper that is published every Friday. The circulation is just over 4,000.

Hospitals

 * Kaiser Permanente Antioch Medical Center 
 * Sutter Delta Medical Center

Libraries

 *  Antioch Library, 501 W 18th St, +1 925 757-9224, part of the Contra Costa Library system.

In the East Bay

 * Mount Diablo
 * Martinez
 * Berkeley

Further afield

 * Go to San Francisco, which is only about 40 minutes away.
 * Sacramento is also pretty close, about 45 minutes away.