Reposting: Brooklyn, NY to Oakland, CA (San Jose, Berkeley: best neighborhood, apartments, rentals)

[cag122]

Sorry in advance for the long post but could really use some insight here!

My Husband and I are looking to move to the Bay Area in early July, and are seriously considering East Bay/Oakland. We are in our mid-30's sans children with 2 small, totally housebroken dogs (Boston Terriers). I am a Licensed Social Worker and recently got laid off from my job. My Husband is a pretty seasoned Graphic Designer who does mostly freelance and seems to have no problem picking up work.

We are both born and bred New Yorkers who need a change of atmosphere. We want urban (used to the hustle and bustle of the City) but safe - we've been told Oakland is kind of like Brooklyn's West Coast Cousin.

We are used to renting (as are most NYers making less than a high six-figure salary), so this is how we plan to start at least until we gain some footing. We have some savings and I've been looking at job prospects in the Oakland/SF area - not too bad in my field.

My Husband's cousin has been living in West Oakland for over 30 years (an older man). We visited him last January (2011) and he took us on a pretty thorough driving tour. He did not recommend his neighborhood as there is high crime. Some of the neighborhoods he did recommend are: Adam's Point, Jack London Square, Lake Merritt, Lakeshore, Laurel, Temescal, Rockridge, Piedmont Avenue. We didn't have enough time to explore each section in-depth so this is where I hope you can help.

Three questions to start:
1. Best neighborhood(s) for renting/urban vibe?
2. When to start contacting realtors?
3. Dwelling or job first - how to juggle interviewing and apt searching when living across the country???

Nervous but excited so please help!!! Thanks

[mayorhaggar]

I'd go with those neighborhoods you were suggested. Rockridge is awesome and so are the areas around Lake Merritt especially if you're near the part of Grand that goes north of the lake from the Grand Lake Theater. Nobody really uses realtors here for rentals, just look for listings on craigslist, everyone here uses it and it was founded and is still run in SF. I'd focus on getting a job first so you know where you need to commute to, and having a job makes it way easier to get an apartment--the rental market here is always crazy and is more crazy now than usual so landlords are very picky and will turn down people who don't have work lined up.

[daepro]

I am also a SW who moved to Oakland. You should begin a job search now. Check USAJOBS.gov for recent and upcoming SW VA job in Oakland.
By the way the areas your husbands cousin recommended are all fine and if you liked living in Brooklyn you should be be quite happy there. Good luck.

[gone down south]

Actually, Oakland is the West Coast's Philly to SF's New York.

The big city next door gets all the buzz and attention, but the smaller (culturally, not geographically) city offers some great value. Cost of living is much lower, and while there aren't as many options in any category you still get the benefit of living in an urban area for much cheaper.

OTOH, outside of some quite nice redeveloped areas a good part of the city is dirty and extremely unsafe.

[middleofmarch]

congrats Cag!.. I'm from Brooklyn, NY too, and i'll be moving there in July as well.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by gone down south

OTOH, outside of some quite nice redeveloped areas a good part of the city is dirty and extremely unsafe.

Completely disagree. There some up and coming redeveloping areas that are nice or improving. There are plenty of long established nice areas. There are areas that are pretty nice and improving. And there there are crappy areas.

There are plenty of currently nice or places that are far along on the up and coming path. The redevelopment areas are the only places with new buildings (West Oakland, parts of Fruitvale, Downtown Oakland). There are lots of well established residential and commercial districts all over town. But half of them aren't hyped by the media as being "new, hip and cool Oakland."

I think Oakland is a little dirty, but much cleaner than SF. It is a toss up on who wins the clean race with Berkeley and Oakland. Some parts of Berkeley are awful, and other parts are pretty clean, I mean the bay area cities (besides San Jose) are nowhere as clean as Toronto, Chicago or Seattle.

[cag122]

Thank you all for your positive feedback, it's so helpful! Some people have made Oakland out to be the stepchild of SF in their posts, which is sad - we loved it when we visited last year. But as the saying goes, it's all relative.

Being a resident of Brooklyn for close to 2 decades I get it - geographically Brooklyn is NYC's second largest borough and most populous, with only a percentage of it (while growing) habitable. Yet, many would agree, it is one of the best places to live culturally and for a better value than Manhattan (rapidly catching up in popularity for this reason) - it's about finding your niche.

Not to preach to the choir here, but crime and poverty are the unfortunate truths for all big cities around the Country. I'm viewing this potential move to Oakland as par for the course.

Now it's about finding a good job in this economy (thank you other SWer for the recommended site - please let me know of any other leads!)

I will definitely scour CL for apartments (I'm a big fan and use often), thanks for the heads-up. We are looking for a large 1 BR but ideally a 2 BR. What would you say is an adequate budget in one of these neighborhoods? Also any other sections of Oakland worth exploring?

Good luck fellow Brooklynite in your move to Oakland. Maybe we can compare notes sometime.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by cag122

Three questions to start:
1. Best neighborhood(s) for renting/urban vibe?
2. When to start contacting realtors?
3. Dwelling or job first - how to juggle interviewing and apt searching when living across the country???

Nervous but excited so please help!!! Thanks

Grand Lake/Lakeshore/Adams Point are cheaper and have lots and lots of young people and renters. Great vibe tons of amenities nearby. Architecture is a mix of styles from the 20th century. Glamorous buildings from the 20s. Hip buildings from the 50s and Soviet bloc looking buildings from the 70s. NExt door to this zone is Clevland Heights. Another good area, it is really bargain, and faces the Lake. It is a little cheaper because the transit isn't great (but definitely tolerable). Being on this portion of the Lake would save about $100 on rent, and you'd need to walk another 10 minutes to the amenities.

Piedmont Ave: more mixed in demographics and ages. And about 50/50 owners to renters. Lots of condos and houses, so it is a bit less dense than the area above. But one of the densest areas in the city. The commercial district has an older crowd so you'll find family stuff and stuff catering to younger people and stuff catering to retirees. It is a super bargain in my book ... considering you are living in a pretty "posh" area at an oddly low price tag. It is a little safer than the area above. (by a few percentage points) and easier to park, more building include free parking and more buildings have built in garages as there are lots of mid-century buildings. The houses are older. 1880s-1930s mostly.

**Temescal is the area between Piedmont Ave and Rockridge. It is less established than these two areas, and is commonly mislabeled for listings. It has a small commercial area, lots of hipsters and art students. You need to live east of Telegraph generally speaking.

Rockridge: this is a young families neighborhood. Lots of good amenities and one of the most popular neighborhoods in Oakland. Good transit, tons of restaurants. There aren't many rentals here. It is mostly single family homes and maybe 25% multi-family buildings. I recommend this area for young couples who want to settle down more. It is a really nice area and convenient, but it closes early and there aren't tons of young singles. That being said it is really close to other fun areas. This is usually the first area recommended to people who are scared of Oakland as it is the complete opposite of their mental picture.

Downtown Oakland (includes Uptown, Old Oakland, Jack London Square, Lakeside Apartments district): I'd recommend this if you want something new with lots of amenities and aren't afraid to live somewhere up and coming. Downtown Oakland (DTO) is pretty safe. Safer than SF downtown. But it isn't a 7-day a week neighborhood yet. It is a redevelopment area. It went from ghost town to pockets of excitement. It is great for transit, but the drug stores close early and half of them aren't open on Sunday. Just about every week something new opens, but their are dead zones and pockets of activity. Groceries are wither Whole Foods at the north end of downtown in Adams Point or Chinatown. Otherwise you need to go to one of the other neighborhoods above. A lot of stuff closes by 2 on the weekend, or 6 during the week. But in the past 2 weeks, a new coffee shop opened that closes at 11, and another one extended their hours to 9 daily which is a great sign! Personally, I have this area on my list as a place to buy in, but I wouldn't rent over here, since you can live in a more established area in walking distance for cheaper that actually has a grocery store.

Laurel/Dimond: these are pleasant middle class areas with lots of single family homes. I would not pick this area to rent. Only to buy. It is "boring" for young people.

So there are plenty of other areas, but I think these are the best for young people who still like to go out and want some nightlife. This is a good list to start with.

[jade408]

Here is the pricing breakdown approximately
Cleveland Heights < Grand Lake, Adams Point < Piedmont Ave, Temescal < Rockridge < Uptown or Old Oakland or Jack London in a new building

Studios: $700-1700

1 Bedrooms: $850 - $2000

2 Bedrooms: $1000 - $2500

[mayorhaggar]

Should be able to get a 2br for under $2000 and a 1br for under $1600, just take a look and see what you find on craigslist. Prices are going up all over the bay area though, and employers can be stingy with wages unless you work in some specialized tech field. Definitely a problem with Rockridge is that there aren't very many apartment buildings, which I think skews rents up a bit higher than they really need to be. It's mostly houses with a few apartment buildings strewn about. Piedmont Ave and the Temescal and the Lake Merritt areas will have more apartments and cheaper rent.