Ivy Hill Neighborhood of Oakland, CA
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Ivy Hill Neighborhood of Oakland, CA
March 2011
Hi There,
We are considering moving to the Ivy Hill neighborhood of
Oakland...basically neighborhood behind old Parkway Theater.
I haven't seen any old postings about this neighborhood.
Do you live there? Like it? Does it feel neighborhoody? Do
you feel safe there, are there fun things to do, places to
walk to/bike to?
We have a 9 month old baby, but probably won't move until
she's around 1 year.
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
moving from berkeley to oakland
My family and I live just up the street from there, near 7th
Ave. and Park Blvd. I love living here but I keep my eyes
open, because we do have muggings and car thefts. I'm active
on the email mailing list for our police precinct. None of
the elementary schools around there are very good except
Cleveland Elementary, which you'd have to enter the lottery
to get into (that's what we did). There is a sweet
preschool near there, which is very affordable, called East
Bay Academy. Stay away from 15th to 19th if you can,
because there is a lot of crime there. Check this site for
crime reports: oakland.crimespotting.org Oakland mama
I lived and had my daughter while living in the Ivy Hill
neighborhood. It isnt a terrible neighborhood, but it can
be a little sketchy in places and at night. we lived on 8th
ave and E19th. We loved being so close to the lake, its
definitely walk-able to the farmers market, and woody's
coffee shop. If you can stay away from the mega-apartment
complexes thats good, I saw some drug dealing while I lived
there. And the more easterly you go, the worse it seems to
get. dani
I have owned a home in the Ivy Hill neighborhood for 6
years, after renting here for 7 years. I really like it. It
is generally safe, although there have been some incidents
over the years (e.g. there was a spike in robberies when the
economy tanked, but the police caught the guys). The
neighborhood is rated medium-density residential, and most
of the lots have more than one unit--either a duplex, or a
single-family home with a cottage, or a small apartment
building (up to 8 units). The high rates of rentals makes
the neighborhood a bit less stable than one where most
people own their homes, but it also makes it more
affordable. The neighborhood is a mix of ethnicities with
Chinese, Vietnamese & other Southeast Asian, Hispanic, black
and white.
I don't know what you consider walking and biking distance,
but there is a Lucky's and a Walgreens on 18th near the
lake, along with a number of restaurants. Champa Garden, an
increasingly popular Lao/Cambodian/Thai restaurant is on 8th
@ E. 21st street. It is pretty easy to bike down to Lakeside
Park and its playgrounds and ducks, or to the Oakland main
library (14th & Oak Street), which has a very nice
children's room. Bella Vista park is also nice. Also
reachable by bike (within a couple miles and mostly flat)
are Downtown, the Grand and Lakeshore districts, Jack London
Square, and at least 4 BART stations.
Neighbors, for the most part, are neighborly, and my 6 year
old has friends in the neighborhood that she plays with.
Schools, if you are planning to stay that long, are pretty
good but not in the 'top tier' of Oakland schools.
Depending on where you settled, either Bella Vista or
Franklin would be your local elementary school. Both have a
lot of kids classed as socioeconomically disadvantaged, but
both schools seem to be doing a good job of addressing that
challenge. Cleveland elementary is on the other side of
Park, and is very good. Carrie
this page was last updated: Sep 12, 2011
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