Good neighborhoods in Oakland area w/ affordable homes? (schools, safe)

[NativeTexan76]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I just did a quick check of Craigslist, and there are apartments and homes to rent, 2-3 br. in good neighborhoods, for $1800-$2000, in Berkeley. OP should check for himself. Key in "Berkeley Hills" and "North Berkeley". There's also a really nice 2-br. flat with a beautiful garden in Temescal, Oakland for under $1900. OP, you may not get as much space as you want ideally, but I think with luck and persistence, you'll find something that will meet your needs.

keep in mind that anything that looks too good to be true on craigslist is probably a scam.

[Ruth4Truth]

This isn't "too good to be true". These are normal rents. $1900 for a 2-br. apartment is hardly "too good to be true".

[bentobox34]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

This isn't "too good to be true". These are normal rents. $1900 for a 2-br. apartment is hardly "too good to be true".

OP stated he was looking for 3br 2ba with a 2-car garage. I didn't see anything on the list meeting that criteria in a location with good schools.

[Ruth4Truth]

OP said 2 or 3 br. I made the point that he might not be able to get all the space he wants, but he can get something nice. The listings change all the time. When I looked a couple of days ago, there were listings in areas with good schools.

[ZorbaTheGeek]

"Oakland" and "affordable homes" generally don't go together, my good man, unless you have a very flexibly definition of "affordable", which going by your budget (I'm talking rentals), you don't seem to. Good advice given above. Check Craiglist for Rockridge, Claremont, Temescal areas. Piedmont may be out of your range, but check it out anyway, you may get lucky. Best schools in Piedmont. Try Montclair as well. 3 br. is a long shot, but a 2-br. crib is do-able.

And don't overlook Berkeley or Alameda. Good schools in north Berkeley, and Berkeley Hills (Craigslist designations). Your dollars will go farther in Albany, and I hear the schools there are OK. Give Albany a shot, you could luck out & score that 3rd br. there. Albany is served by BART and bus, and borders on N. Berkeley.

[mayorhaggar]

250k for a house? A house in the Bay Area in a decent town with good schools starts around 600k. Probably more these days with the godforsaken techie boom. The Bay Area is ok to live in if you don't have kids, but unless you're super rich it sucks to raise a family. Either you're paying through the nose to live in a good school district or you're paying through the nose for private schools. Or you're paying through the nose in terms of money and time to commute from 3 or 4 hours away. Doesn't sound like you have a job, or can you just work anywhere? If 250k is your limit then I dunno look into places like Sacramento and Modesto.

[Ceece]

I'm curious why you want to move to Oakland or to CA or the Bay Area...do you have a job lined up here somewhere? Or family? Looking for a particular lifestyle? That would matter when it comes to picking a place to live. Oakland isn't the only place you should be looking, but without knowing more it's hard to advise.

[hubbard53]

Originally Posted by Ceece

I'm curious why you want to move to Oakland or to CA or the Bay Area...do you have a job lined up here somewhere? Or family? Looking for a particular lifestyle? That would matter when it comes to picking a place to live. Oakland isn't the only place you should be looking, but without knowing more it's hard to advise.

Good point. Aside from coming here for a job or family, I can't think of why someone would choose to transplant here. One good thing I did notice is that alcohol, not just wine, is cheaper here

[Larry Siegel]

Having lived in Ohio, I understand why it's hard for Midwesterners to grasp the California coastal cost of living. A $650,000 house in Cleveland is a fifteen-room mansion at the end of a long driveway. A $650,000 house in Oakland in a good neighborhood is not large enough to raise one kid in.

However, there's MUCH more opportunity in SFO/OAK. It's hard to make enough money to buy that mansion in Cleveland.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by Larry Siegel

Having lived in Ohio, I understand why it's hard for Midwesterners to grasp the California coastal cost of living. A $650,000 house in Cleveland is a fifteen-room mansion at the end of a long driveway. A $650,000 house in Oakland in a good neighborhood is not large enough to raise one kid in.

However, there's MUCH more opportunity in SFO/OAK. It's hard to make enough money to buy that mansion in Cleveland.

It's not quite that bad. My daughter bought a 2 bdrm 1 bath house in Oakland on the hill above the coliseum last summer for $314,000. Great view, too. It's just above MacArthur, so on the edge of the hood, but safe enough.