"No man's land" between Oakland and Fremont? (Hayward: rent, crime)

[citizenchan]

I've been out of the area for a while now, 3 years, and thinking of moving back after a year or so.

I see Oakland is the "It" spot right now, but what's new with Hayward, San Leandro, and the other "no man's land" between Fremont and Oakland? How's the other side of the Bay? Paly, Burlingame, etc?
I've actually heard from contacts that Fremont cleanliness/crime has gotten worse recently, despite climbing values, is that true in your opinion?

We are thinking of buying in the under 600K range, which is relatively "working class" in the Bay area.
What area do you think is poised to see more of an upturn, or do you think it'll stay just the area you drive through for the next X decades?
Do you think there any slightly more trendy, hip, or active hidden neighborhoods and mini-downtowns hidden around the central bay either side of the water between SJ and SF?

Edit:
I should note, I know W Palo Alto is not an option for us at our income, but has East Paly changed any?

[clongirl]

Someone posted a pretty interesting article about this sort of thing here.....

UC Berkeley analyzes Bay Area gentrification with an interactive map.

[Chuck5000]

For 600k+, I'd look at San Leandro, IMO the most underrated city in the inner East Bay. I think San Leandro has very nice housing stock, similar to some of the nicer Oakland neighborhoods. SL schools are so-so, but not terrible. Hayward schools are still not so good, but the town overall is probably changing slowly. They might be working on developing their downtown, not sure. Do some googling. I think the hills areas are attracting some spillover/priced-out buyers, but as with San Leandro, it's not a flood, like Oakland.

It's all reflected in pricing, btw. I hear Union City and Newark are seeing some turnover, with Union the preferred choice, but neither are hot like Fremont, which has the status of being the preferred city for those priced out elsewhere. I'd look at new BART station plans there, Warm Springs, etc. I personally think Fremont needs to plant about 5 million trees, the commercial corridors look a bit depressing to me, although it has a few very nice neighborhoods.

Burlingame has totally exploded beyond imagination, people figured out that its good schools, walkable downtown, good weather and awesome location are great, and it is now a top-tier city.

East Palo Alto is definitely changing, although I don't think the housing stock and lot sizes are particularly good. I rent in PA. Long-long term, it might be an OK bet, but I think you don't get much for your money.

[shooting4life]

I would also check out San Lorenzo, safer and better schools than Oakland/San Leandro/Hayward. The schools though are not at Fremont levels. You can still get nice 3/2 homes for 500k and some areas are within walking distance of the bay.

You will have to travel for all night life if that is important to you. But you will have to do that is just about any other area besides Oakland.

Here is a picture from the bay trail that I frequent often.

[FC76-81]

Originally Posted by citizenchan

Edit:
I should note, I know W Palo Alto is not an option for us at our income, but has East Paly changed any?

Depends on what year you want to compare it to. I'm guessing you are talking differences between now and three years ago. If so, probably not much if any at all. Now differences between now and 20 years ago.....huge difference, as in, the last remnants of what once was Whiskey Gulch is long gone (but not forgotten), Ikea, Home Depot and others have moved in just to name a few.

[bigdumbgod]

EPA still has a ways to go before it presents as a desirable destination.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

EPA still has a ways to go before it presents as a desirable destination.

I would live in EPA right now, but it is still too expensive for what it is.

It is nothing like it was in the 80's and 90's, though it still has higher than average crime and poor schools. Everyone is different in how much they are willing to tolerate.

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by citizenchan

I've been out of the area for a while now, 3 years, and thinking of moving back after a year or so.

I see Oakland is the "It" spot right now, but what's new with Hayward, San Leandro, and the other "no man's land" between Fremont and Oakland? How's the other side of the Bay? Paly, Burlingame, etc?
I've actually heard from contacts that Fremont cleanliness/crime has gotten worse recently, despite climbing values, is that true in your opinion?

We are thinking of buying in the under 600K range, which is relatively "working class" in the Bay area.
What area do you think is poised to see more of an upturn, or do you think it'll stay just the area you drive through for the next X decades?
Do you think there any slightly more trendy, hip, or active hidden neighborhoods and mini-downtowns hidden around the central bay either side of the water between SJ and SF?

Edit:
I should note, I know W Palo Alto is not an option for us at our income, but has East Paly changed any?

Just a side note...what you're referring to as west Palo Alto is actually just Palo Alto. East Palo Alto is a separate city that is separated from Palo Alto by San Francisquito Creek. Palo Alto is in Santa Clara county and East Palo Alto is in San Mateo county.

East Palo Alto is safer than it used to be but still has a considerable amount of crime. I really don't think EPA has any redeeming qualities other than its central Bay Area location. It's really not a nice place to live.

As far as Fremont goes, there have been some spikes in crime recently. I follow the Fremont PD crime blogs and a lot of the crime is committed by people who don't live in the area. They commit their crime and leave. Overall, it's still a safe city, especially considering its size. It's the 4th largest city in the Bay Area and has good and bad areas like any other medium size city.

To be honest, I wouldn't want to buy a house anywhere in the Bay Area right now that costs less than $600k. It would probably be a total fixer-upper or in a bad neighborhood...or both.

[shooting4life]

Originally Posted by mstnghu2

Just a side note...what you're referring to as west Palo Alto is actually just Palo Alto. East Palo Alto is a separate city that is separated from Palo Alto by San Francisquito Creek. Palo Alto is in Santa Clara county and East Palo Alto is in San Mateo county.

East Palo Alto is safer than it used to be but still has a considerable amount of crime. I really don't think EPA has any redeeming qualities other than its central Bay Area location. It's really not a nice place to live.

As far as Fremont goes, there have been some spikes in crime recently. I follow the Fremont PD crime blogs and a lot of the crime is committed by people who don't live in the area. They commit their crime and leave. Overall, it's still a safe city, especially considering its size. It's the 4th largest city in the Bay Area and has good and bad areas like any other medium size city.

To be honest, I wouldn't want to buy a house anywhere in the Bay Area right now that costs less than $600k. It would probably be a total fixer-upper or in a bad neighborhood...or both.

You can still find decent houses for less than 600k but the areas are getting harder and harder to find. The big thing is you cannot get hung up on being in an excellent school district. But you can find safe and centrally located for that amount.