San Francisco vs Oakland (Sacramento, Berkeley: apartment, renting, condo)

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by movingoutwest

this is exactly what i am looking for. I am not a fan of clubs more of a neighborhood bar type person, and I would definitely like to not kill my wallet. Any advice for what type of neighborhoods are good? Thanks.

I'd start out with Rockridge and the Temescal. I live in Rockridge and there are always a lot of people in their 20's and 30's there, I think there are Berkeley students there, also the CA College of the Arts is in Rockridge so there's always a lot of college students wandering around to and from it. The Temescal is cheaper and feels a bit younger, it's a bit scruffier and has more crime but I don't find it's that bad, the commercial strip on Telegraph just south of 51st has some good stuff and the areas east of Telegraph would be pretty decent areas to live in, some blocks are scruffy but others are pretty nice.

Also you could look at the area around Piedmont Avenue and the areas north of Lake Merritt like Adam's Point and around the Grand Lake Theater.

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by movingoutwest

Are there good neighborhoods with a younger crowd (mid 20s). I know Berekley is right next door but do a lot of Berkeley students live in any of the oakland neighborhoods?

Scroll up. I listed like 10 neighborhoods that are pretty close to areas of excitement in/around Oakland and feature apartments/rentals.

[04kL4nD]

Rockridge and Piedmont Ave are probably the nicest neighborhoods in Oakland, but they are also extremely expensive when compared with some other neighborhoods.Temescal is patchy and there are cheap parts and really expensive parts. Adams Point/Lake Merritt are pretty nice too, but they are pricy as well. I think the Uptown area is vastly underrated and it's changed the most of neighborhoods I've seen since I moved to Oakland about 5 years ago. There are patches of West Oakland where you can get rent a decent house for less than that what you'd pay for a 1BR in Rockridge or Temescal, so keep that in mind too. Personally, I'd rather live in house than an apartment because I like my space, but I used to have a really nice apartment right off of Lakeshore Ave when I first moved to Oakland. I end up paying a lot less where I'm at now on the uptown/west oakland border for 10x the space. The neighborhoods Parti mentioned in East Oakland are fine, but they're not as close to the city or Berkeley and they have less of the hip vibe you're probably looking for.

[llowllevellowll]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

The neighborhoods Parti mentioned in East Oakland are fine, but they're not as close to the city or Berkeley and they have less of the hip vibe you're probably looking for.

Ah, I might have missed if he was going to Berkeley. Good catch.

But yeah, OP, Laurel and Dimond aren't close to BART. From most of the other neighborhoods, you can catch BART within a mile, though. On the flip side, West Oakland might be close to BART, but I struggle in calling it 'hip' lol

Just out of curiosity's sake, O4k, what's cheap to you? A 1-BR apartment can be had in Adam's Point for $900, and 2's starting at around $1100. For where AP is located, that's a bargain. Piedmont Ave has a few affordable 1s pop up here and there in the same vein, too.

My personal preference in regards to the Rockridge v. Piedmont Ave debate is that Piedmont Ave is certainly less sleepy with about 3x as much open later on a Saturday night than in Rockridge. On the flip side, OP might find it a huge plus to be able to bike up College Ave. past Claremont and into Elmwood (I still don't quite know if he's going to Berkeley? lol The whole, 'do students at UCB live in Oakland' question came a bit out of left field)

[movingoutwest]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Rockridge and Piedmont Ave are probably the nicest neighborhoods in Oakland, but they are also extremely expensive when compared with some other neighborhoods. Personally, I'd rather live in house than an apartment

When you mention expensive is that all relative compared to SF? Rockridge/Temeschel/Piedmont Ave are still a lot cheaper than living in SF correct?

Also I too would prefer a house since I would be living with a roommate. Do you think 2k/month budget I could get something decent?

Thanks all for your help.

[movingoutwest]

Originally Posted by Parti Rhinocéros

(I still don't quite know if he's going to Berkeley? lol The whole, 'do students at UCB live in Oakland' question came a bit out of left field)

Thanks for the response Parti. I'm actually not going to Berkeley. I was just curious if those neighborhoods I mentioned had a "college feel" with a lot of students living in them. I think I would still like to be around that environment. Early to mid 20s about to graduate/recent grads. it's not a deciding factor I was just curious.

[mayorhaggar]

Rockridge is cheap compared to SF but is probably one of the most expensive parts of Oakland. A very basic 1br in San Francisco is about $1400, in Rockridge it would be around $1100 and I've seen 2brs for $1250. Temescal is a bit cheaper, a 1br can be had for around $1000 or so. The Adam's Point area seems ridiculously cheap, you can get 1br's for like $800-900, but I get the feeling that it doesn't feel as happening, and it's a little inconvenient to BART, but it is close to downtown Oakland and Lake Merritt which are fun areas to hang out in.

I really like Rockridge a lot, College Ave has a lot of good places to eat in a compact area and there's two Safeways and a Trader Joe's which are super convenient, but a problem with it is that it's mostly houses so there aren't many apartments to rent. The Piedmont Ave area has a lot more apartment buildings and it's a bit cheaper too, but depending on where you are it could be a bit of a hike to BART especially the further north along Piedmont Ave that you go, but if you're down around 40th it's about a 10 minute walk to Macarthur BART. Rockridge feels a bit fancy compared with Piedmont Ave, which feels a bit more dated, it kind of feels like stuff on Piedmont Ave has been there for decades while a lot of shops and restaurants on Rockridge are new. Piedmont Ave is a lot longer than the commercial strip on College in Rockridge, but College Ave does stretch north into the Elmwood section of Berkeley, which has some shops and restaurants but not as much as the section in Rockridge.

[04kL4nD]

I live in a pretty large and nice 4BR house that's less than 5 years old and we pay $2400 a month. I'm also a grad student in my mid twenties and I don't mind having roommates that have totally opposite schedules, so it's working out for me until I graduate and get my own place. The going rate for a decent 1BR in Rockridge/Piedmont Ave is about $1200 a month, or $1600 for a 2BR. When I lived in Lake Merritt, I paid $850 to share a 2BR that was pretty decent, but when I look back it feels like such a waste of money. OP, you can find a really nice house for less than $2k a month in lots of neighborhoods close to downtown Oakland. The neighborhood isn't going to be lined with bars, boutiques, and restaurants like Rockridge, but you will probably have a lot more money to be able to go out whenever you want instead. It depends on what your priorities are and how much you have to spend. If I paid $1200 a month to live in Rockridge, I would probably never leave my apartment because I'd have no money to go out.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

I loved living in and around Oaktown in my 20s. Was good for both sides of the Bay, lots of cool things nearby and in the City as well.

[jade408]

Of the Oakland neighborhoods listed above, Grand Lake/Lake MErritt and Temescal skew a bit younger. Rockridge has more young families and Piedmont Ave has a huge mix of ages.

The Piedmont Ave area is less trendy than Rockridge, but has way more bars in the area. Younger people tend to go to Cato's, Adesso or the Kona Club (all on Piedmont Ave)

The bar scene in Rockridge is generally MIA, but there are lots of good food options and boutiques. I like the food options in Rockridge, and the activities in Piedmont Ave area.

Depending on where you live in Adam's Point, you can be really close to downtown Oakland.

If I had to take a guess, I'd saw lower Rockridge is 75% houses/ 25% condos/apartments, Piedmont Ave is 50/50, and Adam's Point is 25/75.