Tell Me About the Oakland Hills! (San Francisco, Hayward: cul-de-sac, real estate, apartments)
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I asked about this deep into another thread but I think it got buried w/o much reply, so I figured it deserved it's own thread.
Quick blurb about myself: 40-yr old, single (and looking), straight, professional guy (self-employed in marketing consulting / Google advertising / copywriting - i.e. I can work from anywhere, but it's good to have clients nearby for on-site meetings). I'm an active-lifestyle (hiking, biking, sports, etc.) city-guy originally from the Midwest (lived mostly in STL & CHI) but I also lived in Tahoe for a few years in the mid-late 90's...loved every minute of it (well, except for the working 2 jobs part as a non-trust funder)...and have been wanting to get back to Northern California ever since. I've been back here taking care of my elderly father who recently passed away, and am now clearing the path to get back to NorCal...finally!
I've done a TON of research both on here and other sites, and have pretty much decided that, the East Bay (Oakland specifically) seems to be the right place for me. Denver / Boulder also made a strong case though...if anyone has experience with both cities, I'm still interested in hearing comparisons.
So there is a lot of excellent info on this forum about various Oakland neighborhoods (I've determined that Rockridge, Piedmont Ave, Temescal, Adams Point, Grand Lake could all be a decent fit for me)...thanks so much especially to mayorhaggar, jade408 and others for sharing your wisdom on these. But it's a little harder to find detailed info on here about the Oakland Hills...specifically the North Hills, from Hiller Highlands to Montclair to Piedmont Pines.
Can anyone provide me with some details on living in the Hills, especially for a single, 40 y.o. professional guy? I'm interested in the Hills because I really enjoy being close to nature (the regional parks look amazing!) for hiking / biking etc., and I would love to have a great view of the bay (someday )...but I also understand there would be a tradeoff in being more remote from the happening parts of town, social opportunites, etc.
As for living situation...ideally, I'd like to rent an in-law quarters (w/private entry) in a house with at least somewhat of a yard. A great view would be a massive bonus. I could pay up to $1,500/mo for the right set-up. I haven't found much like this yet on craigslist...if someone knows any good Oakland apartment / room-in-a-house renting sites, please share.
My specific questions would be: What are the demographics of the North Hills? Is it essentially all families and retirees, or do at least some single professionals call them home? Where to do folks living in the Hills tend to hang out socially? Maybe Montclair B.D.? Is there a sense of community, or more isolated in terms of the neighborhoods? Are there any cool, walkable districts up there with bars, music venues, (local) coffee shops, etc? Or is it mostly Safeways, Starbucks, and Applebees?
** What I'm really trying to get at is: Despite the obvious benefits of living in the Oakland Hills, is it too seperated from the Oakland social / community scene for someone who is new to town and will be looking for cool, new people to hang out with, and a community to be a part of?
OK, sorry if this got a little long, just trying to clear about what I'm looking for...thanks for reading!
Those areas are suburban, and may as well be in another city they are so far from the rest of Oakland socially and even geographically. You have also pretty much defined the area destroyed by the Oakland Hills Fire of 1991.
I moved out a few years later, and have been back to see that most has been rebuilt, hopefully in a manner that would minimize the chances of that happening again. I think you would be happier in Rockridge or College Ave areas for the cool places to hang out, the hills have little or no commercial areas.
Hmmm...ok, thanks bisjoe for the input. That's what I was afraid of. But good to know.
Any dissenting views...or did bisjoe nail it on the head?
I'm still enticed by the Hills' views and proximity to the regional parks...but maybe some years down the road after I'm more established in town would be the time to move there.
Rockridge does sound great, but there seems to VERY little available apartment wise / in-law quarters, etc...
Also, yes I read a little about the tragic fire of '91...but I have to wonder: that was 20 years ago - hasn't the area pretty much recovered by now? Does it still somehow have an impact on the daily lives of residents? There's always the threat of it happening again, I suppose.
As a side note, I currently live within what is considered "tornado alley"...2 miles from my house, subdivisions were leveled by a tornado this year on Good Friday (also on Earth Day, just depending on who or what you believe is more pi$$ed off ). Miraculously, no one was killed. FWIW, I don't scare easy by the threat of natural disasters...you just have to have an emergency plan in place. Different parts of the country, different perils.
Montclair doesn't have very many apartments but it fits the rest of your criteria to the T... there's a hiking trail directly above the downtown area that gives some nice views of the area.
Other neighborhoods you should look at are Oakmore and Glenview... there are plenty of apartments in the Glenview area and you can do plenty of urban and nature hiking in the surrounding Oakmore; the Dimond Canyon Park trail is right up the block. Glenview has its own small shopping district that has a couple very good restaurants and grocery stores, and you can always take the 18 up to Montclair for more shopping.
The drag is that you'd be pretty far away from BART; you'd have to ride the 18 all the way down around the lake to the Lake Merritt BART which would be about 20 minutes.
EDIT: As far as what Bisjoe said, he's correct that there's not much shopping in the hills; Montclair is the default for many who live in Piedmont Pines, Woodminster, etc. However, Montclair's not THAT far away from Rockridge; I've walked from the heart of Montclair to College Ave in a little over an hour and I was snapping pics the entire time so it would probably only take about 40 minutes at most if you're not stopping a lot.
And unless you lived here when the fire happened, you would never know... I have trouble telling where the fire struck and where it didn't.
I just found 2 other North Oakland areas that look good geographically, but in reality I have no idea what they're like: both sides of College Ave - north of the Grove Shafter Freeway but south of the Berkeley border. According to the map, these neighborhoods are identified as Claremont (east of College) and Fairview Park / Bushrod (west of College). Looks like the RR Bart stop is a manageable walk from those.
Any thoughts on these areas? Again, looking for safe, walkable, stuff to do, singles, sense of community, etc...
The damage done by wild fire to Montclair, Glen Arms, North Oakland Hills, parts of Rockridge, etc, go more to dictating vegetation control and the odd, combination of custom home builds more than anything else. Residents of this area don't fear another fire - local city ordinances have corrected many of the errors in ignorance that helped fan the flames. For instance, in Montclair, you have mandatory tree trimming and foliage clean-up and if homeowners don't do it, the city completes it to the cost of that homeowner.
I wouldn't worry about it in the least. Of greater concern to homeowners is the Hayward Fault Line, but fire? That we have a great deal of control on.
Anyway, I've never lived in the hills. The most popular place in the hills is Montclair and if you're looking to rent a small condo/apartment, in the Montclair Village, there's a grouping of townhome-style condominiums on Lucas Avenue. If I were renting in the hills, I'd probably choose this if I saw something available. You've got quick access to the Montclair Business District - grocery, dining, shops, etc, and you're but a short bike ride to Snake Road for an insane climb ascending toward Skyline. Every Sunday there's a popular Farmer's Market in Montclair.
Obviously, you know quite a bit about Rockridge, Piedmont Ave, Temescal - all great places, a big younger in age than Montclair. If you were shopping for real estate, I'd mention Redwood Heights, Grass Valley, Sequoiyah Heights, Eastmont Hills, and Dimond as having some bargains real estate-wise, but since you're renting and looking for something safe and walkable, still try Dimond - there are occasional vacancies scattered throughout - there's a hidden-away twelve-plex on Canon Avenue that has a vacancy here and there. It's not the North Oakland Hills but a quick drive up Lincoln and onto 13 can put you in Montclair in about 5 minutes.
Adam's Point is your most affordable bet, but it's a bit of a bike ride up to the hills. 2-bedroom apartments for as low as $1100 and you can get a 1-bedroom in the 900s. Not far from Grand Lake - a plethora of shopping and ultimately, not that far of a hike from the 19th Street BART. Very safe.
Holy Cow, Nineties...great photo spread on Montclair! With all those images, you just saved me about $500 in airfare...lol.
Montclair looks like an amazing neighborhood (reminds me a little of where I used to live in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago - minus the hills)... although maybe too rich for my blood! ( ~ $1,500 / mo is max. monthly rent at this time). A neighborhood like that is almost exactly the opposite of what I would think of when I would think of Oakland ...until I started looking into it, that is.
I'm assuming most of those shots of the commercial stretch were in Montclair business district? My favorite is the shot of Peets Coffee and Noah's bagel's a few doors down from each other. Where do i sign?
Thanks, too for the Oakmore and Glenview ideas...I'll have to add those to my short list, which isn't so short anymore. btw - I'm assuming any of those districts that are NE of the 580 are safe enough, walkable? (Even though they're not far from East Oakland)
Thanks, Parti Rhinocéros...again, lots of great info.
Yeah, I'm definitely renting at least for a couple years...but would like to buy eventually. After I ramp up the biz for a few years, it should be doable, for a place I would actually want to live in that is. Hopefully the market stays flat-ish until then. Speaking of which...we are still cratering here...has Oakland SFR bottomed yet? Looked like there were still a lot of foreclosures when I was looking at realtor.com.
Great info too on the potential Lucas Ave rentals...I'll check that out along with your dimond suggestion. And I understand that Montclair will skew older than the other areas closer to downtown...it's ok - I'm no spring chicken myself.
Along those lines, and sorry if this is repetitive, but I'm still trying to drill down on the Hills (i.e. Montclair) demographics...I understand it's a more upscale area, but is it essentially all families or wealthy retirees, or might there be at least some single professionals...say 30's thru mid-40's?
Socially and culturally...it sounds like Montclair Village is the hub for that area, and the Hills in general. C'est vrai, Parti?
I just found 2 other North Oakland areas that look good geographically, but in reality I have no idea what they're like: both sides of College Ave - north of the Grove Shafter Freeway but south of the Berkeley border. According to the map, these neighborhoods are identified as Claremont (east of College) and Fairview Park / Bushrod (west of College). Looks like the RR Bart stop is a manageable walk from those.
Any thoughts on these areas? Again, looking for safe, walkable, stuff to do, singles, sense of community, etc...
Thanks!
I think "Claremont" would just be considered part of Rockridge. Maybe the definitions of where Rockridge started and ended used to be different but I think today anything in the area north of 51st and east of Telegraph is considered Rockridge or at least Rockridge-y. In any case those areas are pretty similar to Rockridge--a mix of young professionals and young families with some older residents.
The "Bushrod" area is mostly west of Telegraph, and in North Oakland anything west of Telegraph is pretty sketchy. The sections between Telegraph and College are alright though.
My specific questions would be: What are the demographics of the North Hills? Is it essentially all families and retirees, or do at least some single professionals call them home?
Well, Im a 36 yr old single male and I live in Upper Rockridge which is in the area your talking about.
Nearly the homes on my cul-de-sac and in the surrounding blocks were rebuilt after they burned down in the 1991 fire. Im the only non-married person on my block.
The North Hills is a hodge podge of people. You have your reclusive uni-bomber types all the way to champagne sipping jetsetters...and everything in between. The vapidity factor in the Hills is pretty low tho.
Its very quiet, but that's what I was looking for to be honest.
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Where to do folks living in the Hills tend to hang out socially? Maybe Montclair B.D.?
Montclair, Grand Av, Lakeshore Av, Piedmont Av, College, Av, Telegraph Av, etc. Also, San Francisco and Berkeley.
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Is there a sense of community, or more isolated in terms of the neighborhoods?
Yes there is a very strong sense of community, but its also very quiet for the most part.
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Are there any cool, walkable districts up there with bars, music venues, (local) coffee shops, etc?
Apart from Montclair, not that I know of.
Quote:
** What I'm really trying to get at is: Despite the obvious benefits of living in the Oakland Hills, is it too seperated from the Oakland social / community scene for someone who is new to town and will be looking for cool, new people to hang out with, and a community to be a part of?
In a word, Yes.
You can make friends and can be a part of a community because people are friendly, but if you want an active social life without having to ever leave the North Hills-its going to be difficult for you to find satisfaction imo. That's just not the nature of the area.
You dont have to live in the Upper extremities of the hills to enjoy nature or even views. I think you would be much happier in Lakeshore, Grand Lake, Cleveland Heights, Adams Point, Piedmont Av, Temescal or Rockridge.
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)...but I also understand there would be a tradeoff in being more remote from the happening parts of town, social opportunites, etc.
). Miraculously, no one was killed. FWIW, I don't scare easy by the threat of natural disasters...you just have to have an emergency plan in place. Different parts of the country, different perils.
