Going to be working in Alameda starting next summer - places to live? (Oakland: apartment, for rent)

[jridg]

We are moving to the Bay area starting next summer - I will be working in Alameda and we are trying to figure out the best place (neighborhood) for us to rent - We are child-free, would love to live in the city - but it would be too expensive - we like doing things in groovy areas, my wife likes to color her hair purple - we love our dogs and know we will love the area - but will we find interesting areas to live on Alameda, or do we need to look elsewhere with a reasonable commute for me (prefer to ride the scooter, or bicycle) and enough interesting stuff for us.

BTW - our rent limit is around $3500 per month.

[ecvMatt]

I would certainly consider Alameda, it's a pretty hip place, and you can scoot to work!

[mayorhaggar]

Yeah Alameda is pretty neat and is right in between being walkable and bikeable/scootable (too big to walk everywhere but too small to really need a car to go everywhere) and has some decent shopping and eating on the island. Plus it has a beach on the western end with great views of the Bay.

[ssmaster]

consider these areas of oakland rockridge, adams point ,lakeside apartment district,or piedmont ave. walkable to some great restaurantrs ,whole foods ,trader joes ,farmers market

or
Hip means different things to different people . are you talking artsy white guys in skinny jeans,tats,peircings and ironic T-shirts ? then consider uptown or temescal.


i think alameda can be boring and small townish

[jridg]

Thanks for the replies so far - we have been trying to determine if we will be bored in Alameda - from what I can tell, there are things to walk to (restaurants and such) or bike or scoot to. We don't need to be in hipville, but it doesn't hurt if we can find fun/cool people to hang out with.

Also - my wife is a canine massage practitioner and we are trying to figure out if there will be some sort of client base in the area.

[sav858]

What kind of place are you looking for? I would think $3500 would be enough for a nice place in SF for sure.

[jridg]

We are looking for 2000+ square feet with garage and some sort of yard (doesn't have to be large) for the pups to do their business in between - wife works from home (graphic design, photography) in addition to traveling to client's homes for canine massage - so, we need some decent space and finding that in SF proper for our price is not likely.

[ssmaster]

this is a nice place in the oakland hills for rent in your price range.

you can put the puppies in the pool and have a puppy day spa !
man i crack myself up.




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[mayorhaggar]

There are plenty of houses with yards in Alameda. Housing ranges from small apartment buildings and small houses to large multi-story Victorian houses near the beach that are practically mansions. I don't know what prices are like for renting an entire house though.

I really think Alameda would work mainly because it will mean a very short commute which is always nice, and it's pretty safe. Nicer areas of Oakland that are fairly close like Jack London Square and Lake Merritt are mainly apartment buildings and condos so it would be harder to find a place with a yard. Temescal could work but has crime issues and would be kind of a long bike ride though on a scooter could be ok. Rockridge is a bit safer but further North so it would be a longer trip. I would suggest riding BART to Fruitvale from wherever you want on the BART system (Berkeley, Albany, Macarthur, SF, etc) with a bike then biking to your job in Alameda which would be very pleasant, but you can't take bikes on BART during commute hours unless it's a folding bike and those are small--a folding bike is a thought though.

The Fruitvale area I have only passed through, it looks a little ghetto-y but I don't know what it's like, it could be a place to check out. The Dimond District is nearby too but I've never even been there. Other nicer parts of Oakland like the hills and Montclair are pretty hilly so they'd be tough for biking the higher you go. Plus the longer your commute is the more annoying it is to bike/scooter in the rain in winter.

[jridg]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

this is a nice place in the oakland hills for rent in your price range.

you can put the puppies in the pool and have a puppy day spa !
man i crack myself up.




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Gorgeous - that is very much the type of place we like - don't need a pool, but you never know