Move small family to Oakland or Albany? (San Francisco, Berkeley: to rent, house) - San Francisco - Oakland - California (CA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

mayorhaggar · 02-09-2012, 10:22 AM

You could easily bike to Emeryville from Rockridge or the Temescal in Oakland, or most parts of Berkeley. And I dunno why you wouldn't consider Berkeley, for the most part it's almost identical to Albany or Oakland unless you're in downtown Berkeley. Otherwise BART and the Emery-Go-Round is definitely the best public transit option. AC Transit doesn't run their buses often enough to really be a useful way to get around, especially if you're riding it to work--riding the buses from somewhere like Crocker Amazon to Emeryville would probably suck pretty bad. Their Transbay Buses have a good reputation but they all go to downtown San Francisco.

Nineties Flava · 02-09-2012, 10:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jade408

Not many AC transit buses go to Emeryville. And the ones that do tend to originate in Alameda or West Oakland. The best bet is to get to BART and take the Emery-go-round.

Your neighborhood choices aren't really great for getting to BART or E-ville by transit, but they have a good amount of amenities in walking distance, and reasonable transit options to downtown Oakland (not sure about Glenview though). You'll probably want to look closer to Piedmont Ave or Rockridge or Temescal to improve transit access to E-Ville. Anything on that side of the Lake or beyond is trickier to get there via transit, since it isn't all that close to BART.

You'd take the 18 down Park Blvd, which takes you into downtown and/or by the Lake Merritt BART. It's about a 5 minute ride. You can also take the 18 to go up to the dining options in Montclair.

Glenview's also walking distance from Lakeshore (10 minutes).

mayorhaggar · 02-09-2012, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by empearls

I'm a touch worried that Albany/El Cerrito will just keep us in our suburban "rut" and Oakland seems a bit more gritty and, for lack of a better word, REAL. I don't want my kids growing up in a secluded environment which is one of the reasons why I prefer them to go to public school, even if we *could* afford $25K/year (soon to be $50K once my youngest is old enough) for private schools (Jewish Day Schools are $$$). But of course, I want a stellar education for my kid. I am willing to pay more to live in a neighborhood with fabulous public schools than live in a slightly cheaper 'hood and have to go private.

Again you're trying to find something that everyone in California wants but nobody can afford--great schools, a short commute, and a pretty low budget. You have to compromise on one of those things.

Honestly Albany feels a lot like Oakland, just slightly wealthier (though Oakland has a lot of wealthy areas) and less options for shopping, though Solano Ave has a lot of shops and restaurants. Same pokey old houses on small lots that Oakland has. Really, Berkeley, Oakland and Albany are pretty similar.

Oakland might be a good option if you are ok with moving to a better school district like Albany once your kids get to around middle school age, just research the heck out of the elementary schools in prospective neighborhoods.

empearls · 02-09-2012, 10:33 AM

So let's see... As I read people's responses it helps me figure out what is ACTUALLY important...

Main priorities:
great schools (API score of 8-10)
quick commute to Emeryville (BART would be ideal)

Anyone know of a map with awesome schools (and their boundaries, across school districts) coupled with an overlay of BART lines? I feel like this is what I need...

empearls · 02-09-2012, 10:37 AM

So because $2500 is apparently too low, what rental budget do you think is realistic?

I've been able to find several rentals off CL in every neighborhood (minus Berkeley) that fit my lofty housing criteria for $2500 or less...

Also, is there another rental source other than CL anyone can recommend?

Nineties Flava · 02-09-2012, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by empearls

So because $2500 is apparently too low, what rental budget do you think is realistic?

I've been able to find several rentals off CL in every neighborhood (minus Berkeley) that fit my lofty housing criteria for $2500 or less...

Also, is there another rental source other than CL anyone can recommend?

$2500 is not realistic for the neighborhoods you picked. For neighborhoods like Dimond on the other hand (middle class, 8 minutes away from BART, great public elementary schools, great private schools, extremely diverse, solid commercial district with great PT connectivity) it's more than realistic. I'm living in a 3 br/2 1/2 bathroom in Upper Dimond for well under $2,000 a month. The only thing is that there's not much of a Jewish community. The neighborhood was originally a german neighborhood and you can still see evidence of it (namely the Altenheim retirement home and the annual Oktoberfest).

empearls · 02-09-2012, 10:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

$2500 is not realistic for the neighborhoods you picked. For neighborhoods like Dimond on the other hand (middle class, 8 minutes away from BART, great public elementary schools, great private schools, extremely diverse, solid commercial district with great PT connectivity) it's more than realistic. I'm living in a 3 br/2 1/2 bathroom in Upper Dimond for well under $2,000 a month. The only thing is that there's not much of a Jewish community. The neighborhood was originally a german neighborhood and you can still see evidence of it (namely the Altenheim retirement home and the annual Oktoberfest).

Just looked up the schools in Upper/Lower Dimond and they aren't highly rated at all. The strict "Dimond District" however, is in the school boundary for Glenview, which is highly rated... (and which I've erroneously been calling Glenview because of the elementary school...)

Nineties Flava · 02-09-2012, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by empearls

Just looked up the schools in Upper/Lower Dimond and they aren't highly rated at all. The strict "Dimond District" however, is in the school boundary for Glenview, which is highly rated... (and which I've erroneously been calling Glenview because of the elementary school...)

What schools did you look at? Sequoia is an excellent public elementary school by any standard and an incredibly diverse one at that. Head Royce School is one of the top private schools in the country and Redwood Day is another great option.

empearls · 02-09-2012, 11:17 AM

I am using GreatSchools.org for my school research...

Sequoia Elementary School - Oakland, California - CA - School overview

Sequoia is only rated a 5/10. However, as I read through the community reviews, parents are raving about it, which is a good sign. It's not easy school shopping from 500+ miles away! Obviously the internet doesn't tell the whole story. I am reading through the reviews now...

empearls · 02-09-2012, 11:30 AM

I just spoke with the principal of Sequoia. She's new (been there one year) and the test scores had a blip last year but she said the school is considered a "destination school" - once teachers finally get there they never leave! So that's promising.

I am interested in hearing about another other hidden gem type schools!