Moving from North Bay to East Bay - where to live?? (Oakland: calculated, income)

[eastbayhopeful]

I currently live in the North Bay and am looking to move to the East Bay. I love the diversity after growing up in boring white bread land and have recently gotten a job in the Corte Madera area. I'm originally from Napa but currently stay in San Rafael. I'm tired of everywhere from Petaluma north and the commute that way is so nasty. I like Marin, but I'd rather not spend that huge of a chunk of my income on rent. Plus it's kind of family oriented, and that's not something I really want. So where should I go? I don't really need somewhere with a huge nightlife, but a few bars would be nice. I have a car so no worries there.

My budget is a max of up to $1200 and I have a cat. I'm really interested in hearing more about Richmond and Pinole/El Sob/etc. Would Albany be a bad commute? Also, it would be nice to be accessible to a really decent shopping center, one that's not a total zoo but I can deal with busy. I'm used to having to drive everywhere after growing up in Sonoma County, so that's not a problem. However I'd love to be near a BART station or somewhere I can park and commute into the city on evenings and weekends. I'm also fine with the toll on the Richmond Bridge, I've calculated that into my budget.

Thanks in advance for your input!!

[DocGoldstein]

$1,200 is not going to get you far at all. You're looking at bad parts of Oakland, Richmond, Pinole, Hercules, and Vallejo. Out of those, only Oakland and Richmond have an actual BART station. You're in a tough position.

Are you open to roomies?

[eastbayhopeful]

Roomies aren't ideal, but a possibility. I don't need more than a 1 bedroom or studio. My price range seems to be OK for that. I'm just starting out so I'm realistic in that I know I probably won't be in the nicest part of town. That's totally fine, I just would like to live somewhere I feel comfortable - that takes precedence over aesthetics.

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by eastbayhopeful

Roomies aren't ideal, but a possibility. I don't need more than a 1 bedroom or studio. My price range seems to be OK for that. I'm just starting out so I'm realistic in that I know I probably won't be in the nicest part of town. That's totally fine, I just would like to live somewhere I feel comfortable - that takes precedence over aesthetics.

Well Richmond is... a big culture shock especially for someone coming from San Rafael. I think in your price range, you're looking at the hood. I would stay out of Richmond.

Pinole is fairly burby as well, but definitely working class, but IMO not entirely bad at all. I think it's safe (except during Football games at Pinole High, stay away from those). It's close to the city (probably 25 minutes), and if you need to use BART, El Cerrito isn't far away (neither is the Richmond BART). I don't know much about El Sobrante so someone else can chime in. I just like the cool looking Sikh Temple that you can see from I80. Other than that, it looks fairly small and burby as well.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by eastbayhopeful

My budget is a max of up to $1200 and I have a cat. I'm really interested in hearing more about Richmond and Pinole/El Sob/etc.

Considering your job is in Corte Madera, Id say Point Richmond would be great for you. Its not as diverse as what you are looking for but your commute should be a breeze and its a very charming area.

Ironically, marinlike.

[NJudah]

The commute from the East Bay to Marin isn't that bad in my experience. The worst part would be the 580 / 80 interchange and the 80 in Berkeley. I would consider parts of Oakland if you're looking for something less suburban.

[eastbayhopeful]

LOL, yeah, I'm kind of expecting a culture shock anyway but I think anywhere pretty much would be given where I'm from. Even Marin kind of was at first so I probably can't use that as a deterrent. I hear you about Richmond, I was more curious about the "nicer areas" anyway. Plus the commute would be pretty cool. Thanks for your thoughts on Pinole - I will definitely look into it.

I'll have to check out Pt. Richmond, it sounds like it meets a lot of my checklist. I don't mind Marinlike at all, I would probably even stay in this area if it wasn't so expensive!

I have been to some really nice areas of Oakland and would be totally open to living there, but I ruled it out because of the commute on 580/80. Same with Berkeley, although budget also had something to do with that as well. That overpass right by Golden Gate Fields (580/80 interchange?) always seems to be slow on late weekday and even Saturday evenings. I could deal with that amount of traffic if that was rush hour, but I can only imagine that area during peak commute times.

Thanks for the responses! What about Hercules, El Sob, El Cerrito, and Albany? I think Albany would miss that traffic I mentioned, but is it really much worse during commute times?

[DocGoldstein]

Hercules is similar to Pinole. Small working class burby community.

Albany doesn't have a BART station, but it's nice. I personally like getting deep dish pizza there.

[ssmaster]

how about the solono ave area in albany?
i think the commute would be ok and you could get to berkeley or oakland nightlife,music ,dining etc.

[eastbayhopeful]

Will definitely have to check out Albany, it's very near where I would ideally like to be and prices don't seem so bad either.