Where to Live in East Bay, Accessible to South Bay
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Where to Live in East Bay, Accessible to South Bay
May 2010
I know this question has been asked a million times, and I
have combed the archives, but I'm hoping a few people will
be able to give some suggestions on my specific criteria. My
husband and I have a 2-year-old, and jobs in Oakland and
Richmond. Our top criteria are:
1. Good public schools
2. Short commutes (30 minutes or less)
3. Proximity/easy access to regional parks
4. Family friendly neighborhood
5. Prefer peace & quiet & nature over urban setting
6. We'd like a 3-, or preferably, 4-bedroom house
The final kicker is that my family, which helps out with the
toddler sometimes, is in the South Bay, and we'd really like
to be below the maze for that reason. I lived in El Cerrito
for a couple of years, and while it's a great town, it made
it very difficult to get down to the South Bay at times.
However, if our (pipe?) dream neighborhood is above the
maze, so be it. Any thoughts?
happy to be househunting
You have described Alameda perfectly. We are walking
distance to great schools, the beach, movie theaters and
lots of coffee shops. It is very, very much a community
feeling yet has many of the desirable aspects of suburban
life. Lots and lots of fantastic parks (I use to drive her
for the parks/playgrounds when I was 20 minutes away.) We
love it and can't say enough about it. Alameda has the
reputation of being faraway but it actually takes me LESS
time to get into the city. Good luck with your move.
lovin' la vida Alameda
Albany meets all of your criteria perfectly, except that it
is above the maze. I think Piedmont would too, but it's
pricier. Albany mom
I'm a realtor with an urban planning and environmental
analysis background, so spend a lot of time mulling the
short commute/good neighborhood/good schools equation. I
LOVE Rockridge for its quick commutes (including a reverse
commute on I-80, the meanest of the commuter freeways), and
lots of usable public transit commute options (BART to
downtown Oakland and SF, casual carpool to downtown SF).
Chabot and Peralta Elementary schools are fantastic, and
Claremont Middle School is strong. A bit higher in the hills
('upper Rockridge'/'Claremont Pines' neighborhoods) are good
elementary and middle schools. Crocker Highlands, Glenview,
Oakmont and Montclair are other Oakland neighborhoods with
good public elementary schools. Piedmont is in a prime
location, though the public transportation options (for
commutes) are more limited than in Rockridge. Home prices
are higher than in Oakland but your kids can stay in
Piedmont public schools through high school, and get into
good colleges - well worth the premium house prices.
Berkeley is another place to think of, but enough detail for
now...! I can give you more specific reference material and
infirmation if you'd like it. Email me if so. Lucy
Although there are several very lovely Oakland neighborhoods
along the 580 and 13 freeways, I think they wouldn't work
for the South Bay commute. Here's the thing: we live in
northern San Leandro near the 580, and the only time my
husband makes it to work in Sunnyvale within 40 minutes is
at noon or midnight. On a good day with a commuting buddy
he can make it a bit under an hour, but generally it's a
60-70 minute drive. (If your South Bay commute is to Santa
Clara, Foster City or Palo Alto you might be able to knock
10-15 minutes off of that time.) If you were to live further
north (Rockridge, Temescal, even the Laurel District), this
would only get worse.
I dearly miss living in Oakland, but
we found it was simply not a viable option with the South
Bay commute. As for driving north, I can't recall which
city you wanted to commute to, but in zero traffic it takes
me 15 minutes to get to Emeryville; if you add in a drive
north of the maze, well, I expect you're looking at a 25-30
minute drive in zero traffic and a 35-45 minute commute in
traffic. To even out the commute you might consider living
further south in San Leandro near where the 580 and the 238
meet. There aren't really any 'neighborhoods' down that way,
though, just general suburban sprawl.
Your other option is to find a place along the 880 corridor.
For this, I'd like to second the recommendations for
Alameda. My husband and I would move there in a hot second
if we weren't committed to keeping our son in the local
school district for a couple more years. I'm not actually
sure how long it would take to get to the South Bay from
Alameda (though I'd suggest living in the Southwest quadrant
of the island, and driving the back way past the airport
before hopping on 880), but I suspect the commute would be
similar to our San Leandro one. If you were looking to keep
both commutes truly equidistant, your best bet would
probably be Southwest San Leandro or San Lorenzo, but again
those are not areas that appeal to me. My personal
preference would be for Alameda, just because it's such a
lovely place with great restaurants, stores, coffeehouses,
and people.
- Alameda fan
Feb 2010
Ask for your suggestions and opinions! I work at Richmond
and my husband works at Sunnyvale. We both like our jobs and
we have a kid! Now I have to make a decision where we should
live and this really cause me a headache!! I want to buy a
house or a townhouse and live there for at least 5 years as
I've moved too many times and I really hate it. I just
moved from other states so I don't know much about bay area.
Here is something in my mind:
1) the place is better within 30 min driving from Marina
Bay,Richmond (where I work).
2) Safe area, family and kids friendly and public
elementary school is fine--may be not a great school but
at least is a good school.
3) better to have some Asian families in that area. (I am
a Chinese)
4) the house is better within 30 years old but could be
within 50 years
5) our budget is $800,000
Is there a place like what I described or I am just
dreaming?
thank you!
Eve
We live in Richmond View (Also called Mira Vista
neighborhood)...It's East Richmond unincorporated county.
The local school is Mira Vista Elementary School...Some
things about MV are fabulous, and it has it's problems like
most of our public schools. My kids went to MV in younger
years adn you can't ask for more dedicated wonderful
teachers. Next year MV will start a 7th grade class and the
next year 8th grade so ultimately it'll be K- 8. We're
about a 10-15 minute drive from Richmond Marina. Up the hill
from 80. Close to Del Norte BArt. This neighborhood is
older...houses built mostly in late 40's and on. Great mix
of ages, cultures, lots of kids around. I know all of my
immediate neighbors. Houses range anywhere from
$400-$650,000 or so. We've been in our house
for about 21 years and are very happy here. Feel free to
e-mail me for more info too, Good luck. Tough decision.
Albany is an easy drive to Marina Bay, though it's not easy
to Sunnyvale! And (for California), the public schools are
good. R.K.
Sunnyvale and Richmond are at the opposite ends of the Bay
Area. Commuting from the East Bay (Richmond, Berkeley,
Oakland) to the West Bay is an arduous process. Although you
are looking to buy, it might be a good idea to rent for a
year or two, and see if you can end up with jobs that are
closer together. You might consider Fremont -- it has decent
schools, although you both would have long commutes from
there (about 45 min each.) I commuted from Berkeley to
Newark for a couple of years, and if I left very early in
the morning it took 35 min; I also commuted from Oakland to
San Jose (about the distance to Sunnyvale) and that took
about 75 min. One of you could combine transit with leaving
a junker car at one end which would reduce the stress a
little. work and live in the same town now
It sounds like Albany could be a good fit for you. It fits
most of your criteria:
- Very close to Richmond (far from Sunnyvale, though)
- Safe area, family and kid-friendly, great public schools
- Plenty of Asian families (and mixed families, too)
- Plenty of houses for $800,000 or under (nothing huge, but
plenty of room for a family of 3)
The only thing that would be tough to find in Albany is a
newer house... many of the houses are older, but many of
them have also been partially or totally remodeled in recent
decades.
Good luck with your search!
Happy Albany Resident
the Mira Vista neighborhood, also called Richmond Heights,
is a lovely place to live. We are a cohesive neighborhood
with neighborhood meetings and care about the area. It is
close to highway 80, close to Del Norte Bart, and close to
numerous AC transit bus lines. We also have a small dog
park below Mira Vista school that is fabulous.
Sandra
Dec 2009
We are moving up from Los Angeles. I will be working in
Oakland and my husband might be working in Hillsborough. Our
daughter will most likely go to daycare near my job. We
would like to take BART. Ideally, we want to be in or close
to San Francisco but we are open to suggestions. We don't
have high incomes, so a lot of SF is out of our range.
Pam
I highly recommend Alameda.
It is close to BART and also to the freeway (#880)
going either to SF or Hillsborough. I have lived here for 22 years, raised my
kids here and have found it to be a wonderful community.
good luck!
Welcome to the Bay Area! Lots to consider. I recommend that you look FAR beyond
day care when considering where to live. If you plan to go to private schools
later on and have the means, you can chose your community without regard to
public schools. If you plan to go public, that should be the driver of where you
decide to live. There is good day care and preschool everywhere. Public schools -
ALL THE WAY THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL, need to be considered before you settle. You
build your friends and community through the families you will meet at day care
and preschool/elementary. You do not want to move again once those important
networks are in place. You will find yourself deciding between moving to an area
with a public high school you like - and severing ties with wonderful freinds, or
staying put and shelling out for private. You don't want to end up in that
position. We live in Berkeley.
Public schools are very good, some of them excellent. The High School is world
class. There are also many private schools in the area. I know there are many
good public schools in Oakland but you have to get comfortable with every school
in your child's path. Skyline High I believe is considered the ''best'' public
high school in Oalkand.
Figure out what the catchment area is for that High School and what the
elementaries are that feed into it. Pick your favorite elementary among them and
check out housing in that school's area. On the other side of the Bay, I am not
very familiar. I am sure there are quite a few districts/communities with good
schools, but housing prices can be very high. I used to live in an SF
neighborhood called ''Dolores Heights''. It's above the Mission, below Noe Vally.
I have NO IDEA about the schools, but it's cheaper than some areas around it, has
the BEST weather in SF (protected to the West by big hills that block the fog)
and has all the best SF can offer - great food, views, a very diverse community,
and an urban vibe without an edge.
Good luck.
Happy in Berkeley
If you want to live on the Peninsula side, the cities that are close to BART
are Millbrae, San Bruno, and South San Francisco and Daly City. They have
easy access into San Francisco. In the East Bay, you may want to consider
Castro Valley, Alameda, or Berkeley. I work in real estate so if you have
question on locations I would be happy to try and answer any questions.
Good luck.
WC
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