Relocating to the Bay area (Oakland, Fremont: apartments, rental, condos)

[nicole1010]

Hello!

I am in the process of relocating to the bay area with my current company and my job will be located in Newark. My boyfriend lives in Oakland and I would like to live somewhere between Newark and Oakland. OR I do not mind living in Oakland, but how is that commute? In Atlanta, it currently takes me 45 minutes to get to my job that is 15 miles away from my house and it takes me 1.5 hours to get home in the evening. I say that to say that I am used to long commutes. Please let me know where some nice areas and apartments are...I have seen pics of some really old, nasty looking apartments and I would prefer not to live in anything like that.

[silverkris]

Welcome to the Bay Area.

I don't know where in Oakland you are considering, but the main highway between Oakland and Newark (and Fremont) is I-880 and it's pretty darn congested. Depending on where you are and traffic conditions, it can take anywhere from 25 to 45 minutes. BART probably wouldn't work for you because Newark isn't anywhere near a BART station (and I used to work in Newark, so I know).

Cities in between Oakland and Newark/Fremont, going southward, are San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Castro Valley, Union City. The places and amenities of these communities vary. Any particular lifestyles or amenities you are looking for? If you're looking for a more urban vibe you may want to be in Oakland but the tradeoff is commute time.

[nicole1010]

Thank you for replying! 25-45 minutes isn't too bad when you consider that I'm coming from dealing with Atlanta traffic. I would love a more urban vibe, but I'll take a safe, clean, updated neighborhood/apartment.

[jade408]

The newest Oakland apartments are mostly downtown or Jack London Square. Not sure what your definition of safe is, but downtown is moderately safe, but you need to be more aware. It is still up and coming but it is closer to up then the waiting part.

There is some updated apartment stock near Piedmont Ave in Oakland, and that's a really safe area with plenty of amenities and shops. And it is close. Commute time from either place would be closer to 45 minutes. Most of the buildings are 60s but most buildings are renovating or have renovated. My sister had new everything when she moved into her place.

If you want something newer and suburban, try Union City. It is closer to Newark than Oakland, but depending on where your boyfriend lives, getting to Oakland will take 15-30 minutes.

If you want newer stuff and something suburban, you could try Dublin. It is probably about 30 min from Newark and 20 minutes from the core of Oakland, but it is definitely suburbia.

Castro Valley, San Lorenzo, San Leandro and Hayward do not have much new apartment stock and have are really generic so I don't know if that works for you.

A good thing to note about the Bay, newer buildings tend to be in generic communities.

[nicole1010]

Thanks Jade. Looking at Google maps it looks like my bf lives in the Oak Tree neighborhood of Oakland. His neighborhood is a little scary, but he's from Brooklyn (BK before they replaced the projects with million dollar condos) so he feels at home.

I'll definitely check out Oakland and Union City.

[jade408]

He gets bonus points for being close to El Pollo Loco! You should definitely go there. TIf you lived close to Downtown Oakland, Lake Merritt, or Piedmont Avenue if is about 15 minutes (fast on the freeway, then navigating the city streets). Union City would likely be about 25-30 minutes from there.

Generally speaking in Oakland, the nicest neighborhoods are by the 580 freeway. Above 580 typically. But as you get closer to downtown and north, the "around 580" line gets broader and the line might be 1-2 mi from the freeway. Hope this helps. If you don't mind not being in a walkable neighborhood, I be you could find a rental off of Keller Ave in one of the new (2007?) condos/townhomes over there and you'd essentially be above your boyfriend's neighborhood in the hills.