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We are an Indian couple currently living in the city and work in technology/software. We are looking for places to relocate to and the suburbia seems a lil bit too much of a change at this point in time...so that leaves us with Oakland (Berkeley/Albany was off the list cause I work in Foster City and the commute will be terrible..and you get less space for your money (if we are moving from the city, I would like to get more space and better weather :))
Oakland has great Elem schools but not so great Middle schools and we cannot afford private. That brings us to Piedmont..but from just seeing the house and the people who live there..it just seems too wealthy..we make decent money( 250,000 combined)..but I am guessing in Piedmont we will be pretty much the poorest..and we can only afford only a 750,000$ house (we find a few that come in the market..although very small)..but the bigger question is how comfortable will we feel there..how will our kids fit in there??..We would love to have good schools for our kids but dont want them feeling like they are the poorest or get picked on for that same reason..I am worried about it more so in Middle school..any advise will be appreciated. Piedmont will solve 3 out of our 4 problems 1) Schools 2) Weather 3) Still close to the City/Oakland/Berkeley..we can compromise on space for all these 3 benefits.
Others may question my perceptions which have been formed after two years in Piedmont, but I feel there is a lot more economic diversity than people realize in this community. There are a lot of people like me who don't make a lot (relative to the cost of living in the Bay Area) and who spend every last dime to be able to live in a community where their kids can still get a decent education.
We have had the most amazing experience with the Piedmont school system. I have kids in elementary school (Havens), Piedmont Middle School and Piedmont High School, so I feel fairly knowledgeable on the various experiences. While my income may not be in the same range as many of the other families, we share similar values (e.g. good education for kids) and that is a strong tie that binds. There are many 'snobs' in Piedmont, but I feel that mostly from the parents and not the children. As you would find anywhere, the kids know which families are very wealthy and which of those are not.
I'm keeping my post brief, but I definitely can share more of my family's experiences in a phone conversation. Feel free to call me directly if you have more questions.
Re: Moving from Spain - which neighborhood for city people?
I haven't lived in Barcelona or Buenos Aires, but grew up in
Sydney and England -- and when I moved to the Bay Area it
took some time to adjust to the sometimes 'pokey' feel of
this region. You won't replicate the feeling of a major
metropolis here (no matter what any native will say :)) and
while many Bay Area communities are wonderfully walkable,
there is nothing here like New York or the big European
cities. [...]
We ended up moving to Piedmont, a small town nested in Oakland. We are 15-20 minutes by foot from two BART stations and close to two major shopping/strolling streets. There is incredible family involvement in the public schools, which are excellent. Still, it's also not particularly urban here, e.g., we have a backyard; people have chickens, gardens, etc. Contrary to what you may hear, Piedmont is actually ethnically quite diverse; it is also for the most part a middle to upper middle class community.
I hope this helps! Miss the big, big city!
Re: New job in SF - where's a sunny place to live?
I recommend Piedmont. Your husband can catch casual carpool and be on the highway in 1-2 quick minutes. Or go to nearby Rockridge or Oakland BART stations. Berkeley is much bigger with much more stop n go traffic. Piedmont is like a small town where you know your neighbors and can walk around the whole town. Berkeley is larger, more urban, and your neighbors kids go to different schools. Piedmont is surrounded by farmers markets and groceries as well as restaurants and other such things. The absolute best thing is being able to sign your kids up for recreation dept classes and a FREE van drives the kids around! Don't believe the image of Piedmont. There are so many great and caring families here! And of course the weather is great, less fog than the Berkeley hills (where I work.) K12
We are an Israeli family with 3 kids coming for a one year sabbatical in Berkeley University, we consider living in Piedmont as we hear it's a nice area and a friendly community. We have a 14 year old boy who is planned to go to Piedmont high school, a 12 year old girl who will go to the middle school and a 6 year old boy who will go to one of the elementary schools. Our older son is a basketball player and really wants to find a team to play at and my daughter plays guitar and sing and she would love to continue to do that. If anyone can share in information about the Piedmont schools as well as their hobbies that would be great. Thanks in advance
We are considering moving to Piedmont instead of staying in Oakland and sending our son to private school. We would love to hear some experiences of those living in Piedmont (schools, neighborhoods-mid priced for area, activities for kids) Thanks! Annie
As you can imagine based on housing costs, there is limited ethnic and economic diversity. We have tried to counter this to some degree by having our kids participate in Oakland league sports.
There is also a element of keeping up the Joneses - but it can be ignored - and many people do ignore it! It really is a small town - with both the positives and negatives of that. People know everyone and that can be quite friendly. My personal experience in dealing with the city departments has been quite positive and helpful On the other hand there are families who have lived here for generations and some of them don't like seeing any change in the status quo.
On the whole, we like it very much. We are walking distance of Grand and Piedmont Avenues with access to lots of great reasonable restaurants, movie theaters, etc. The parks are good and the Piedmont Rec dept has good offerings of summer and school year classes for kids. The commute to SF is great with lots of casual carpooling and good bus transit
The Piedmont Park & Rec Department is excellent, and they offer a wide range of activities and classes for all ages. There are several good preschools in this town, and that is how we are meeting people from ''up the hill'', i.e. ones that are more economically advantaged. About half the kids in the classes are from Oakland, so there is a great mix. We live close to Piedmont Avenue, so we can walk to kinder-gym classes, grocery shopping, post office, library, coffee lucky to be here
Can anyone advise me on renting a home in Piedmont? Is there
an agency to call for listings or one specific company one
would use? Or am I basically on my own using craigslist? I am
looking for a home for my family so we can send our kids to
public school there, we can't afford to buy in.
Thanks.
moving for good schools
we are seriously considering relocating to piedmont. things i love about berkeley are 1) it's cultural diversity and tolerance, 2) there are fun educational things to do for all ages, 3) berkely is a beautiful city, 4) berkeley is on the water/close to sf, 5) people here are friendly, educated and liberal, 6) excessive materialism doesn't exist. in light of what i like about my community, i'm interested in insights into the ''community feel'' of piedmont. do you feel that the financial wealth of the community negatively impacts the children in any way, especially the high school aged children? do you think that stay-at-home parents are in the minority or majority? do you feel that piedmont is culturally diverse? do you feel that piedmont is politically diverse? are children's extracurricular activities fairly accessible in the city of piedmont? looking forward to your insights.
1) It is culturally diverse and tolerant. It's boy scout troop is reputed to be the only one in the nation that has clearly rejected the anti-gay policy, and the Piedmont choir has made a point of acting as ambassadors to countries such as Slovenia and Cuba.
2) As a small town, it's cultural options are limited, but it is accessible to all of the things accessible to Berkeley, and the recreation department and schools have many enrichment opportunities.
3) It has beautiful neighborhoods, many where kids play along the sidewalks and streets with their neighbors.
4) It doesn't have it's own waterfront, but it's not that far from Berkeley's, and it's very close to Lake Merritt. 5) There are many friendly people. It is especially easy to meet others if you are active in the schools or attend kids activities (soccer, music). There are people of all political persuasions--plenty of '60's graduates.
Disadvantages:
1) While there is plenty of cultural diversity, it is definitely an upper income community, although there are also families that have moved to the city for the schools and don't have lots of disposable income for luxuries. My kids have learned that they are not the richest by a long shot, but neither are they the poorest. However, they think the city has an image as being snobbish.
2) Education and academic success is such a concern that it can be counterproductive for some kids. Homework requirements are tough in many elementary school classrooms and at the middle school, and there is lots of stress over the college search process. If your kid is not naturally a high achiever academically, the pressure can turn them off to school. One of my children is finishing high school at a private school. A second one went to private school in 3rd and 4th grade and is now in the district's alternative highschool. On the other hand, the alternative high school is very good, and the district also has a strong special ed program. The school also gives lots of support in the college search process and has no problems with getting records to schools on time.
3) Materialism is definitely a concern, especially at the high school level, where some kids have access to cars and to enough money to support any substance abuse problem they choose (but Berkeley is hardly immune from substance abuse problems, either). Kids who are not into clothes, cars or social groups can feel pretty alienated. (On the other hand, there are many kids with many different interests, so most kids find a group of like-minded friends; my daughter is very happy with the group of students she has met at the alternative high school, after hating the middle school scene. My older son just ignored most of the social pressures and hung out with his own group of friends who had similar interests and income levels to his own.)
There are also reputed to be real differences in the three elementary schools in the area, if you have kids in that age group. Havens draws from the highest income parts of the community (and from other parts as well), and many of the social complaints I've heard at the K-5 level came from parents with kids at that school. However, our school (Beach) wasn't immune from such things as 4th and 5th grade girls talking about dating, 5th grade dance parties, catty gossip sheets etc., to all of which my children seemed to be oblivious, for the most part.
One refreshing thing about Piedmont compared to Berkeley is that the local politics are generally much lower key and more concrete. No attempts to force ''politically correct'' stances regarding our very limited retail sector, but lots of community input on resources such as soccer fields, tot lots, etc. Of course politics in the city have an irritating side as well, such as the recurring efforts to ''free'' the city from the Oakland and BAYLIS library system (I love having access to the Oakland and Berkeley libraries), the hours spent at the planning commission over remodeling issues, and controversy over the ''swim club'' facilities. A Piedmont Parent
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