Confused about best neighbourhoods-Please Help (Oakland, Berkeley: apartment complexes, rentals, low crime)

[NewbieSFOK]

I will be moving to CA in the next month with my small family (wife and baby) and I am looking for the safest areas close to my place of employment. I will be working close to Holy Names University(my wife will be attending HNU for graduate school). Our greatest priority right now is safety. Apartments (2-3 bedrooms) in a gated community preferred but anything in a safe part of town or safe city close to Oakland would be great. We have cars but we would not mind the BART if accessible. This is our first time in California as a whole, and we are clueless. This forum has excellent information but we are overwhelmed trying to decide.
Our budget for an apartment is $2000 (but we realize we might have to adjust...we are from MO and we estimated doubling rent budget but we might be completely off). We will rent first before deciding where to buy.

Please help with information, tips...anything for a family moving to the area.

Thanks in advance!!

[04kL4nD]

$2000 a month is really low for a 3 BR in Oakland. It's low even for a 2BR in a decent location in neighboring Alameda or the nicer parts of Oakland. You might want to try Pleasant Hill in Contra Costa County. It's pretty suburban, but it's safe, quieter, has a BART station, and it's less expensive. I'd also recommend Castro Valley, but your budget is probably too low for there too.

If you're OK with Oakland, there are PLENTY of great neighborhoods. Check out Rockridge, Grand Lake, Piedmont Avenue, Jack London Square, just to name a few.

[davdaven]

Gated neighborhoods are uncommon in urban California, but there are many large apartment complexes that have gated properties. Typically, it is not something people look for unless they live in marginal or upscale areas, so I recommend not factoring it into your apartment search.

Holy Names University is off the 13 freeway near Joaquin Miller Park, so you have several options to consider. If you stick with the nearby neighborhoods in Oakland, be sure to stay east of 580. You might be able to afford something in the Laurel or Dimond districts. Nicer neighborhoods like Rockridge and Piedmont Avenue are very likely to be out of your price range.

Next up, you should consider nicer parts of San Leandro as well as Castro Valley. Both may have options that meet your price point. With San Leandro, keep in mind that some neighborhoods are better than others.

I am hesitant to recommend any towns east of the Caldecott Tunnel because of commute traffic, especially since the more affordable towns like Pleasant Hill are quite a distance away. Closer towns like Orinda are likely to be out of your price range, assuming you can even find an apartment at all.

$2,000 should be enough to get you a 2-bedroom apartment in some of these places, but you'll definitely have to spend more to get a 3-bedroom place in a decent neighborhood. In either case, you'll have to do some research on Craigslist to see what you can find that meets your price point and is in a good area.

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by davdaven

Gated neighborhoods are uncommon in urban California, but there are many large apartment complexes that have gated properties. Typically, it is not something people look for unless they live in marginal or upscale areas, so I recommend not factoring it into your apartment search.

Holy Names University is off the 13 freeway near Joaquin Miller Park, so you have several options to consider. If you stick with the nearby neighborhoods in Oakland, be sure to stay east of 580. You might be able to afford something in the Laurel or Dimond districts. Nicer neighborhoods like Rockridge and Piedmont Avenue are very likely to be out of your price range.

Next up, you should consider nicer parts of San Leandro as well as Castro Valley. Both may have options that meet your price point. With San Leandro, keep in mind that some neighborhoods are better than others.

I am hesitant to recommend any towns east of the Caldecott Tunnel because of commute traffic, especially since the more affordable towns like Pleasant Hill are quite a distance away. Closer towns like Orinda are likely to be out of your price range, assuming you can even find an apartment at all.

$2,000 should be enough to get you a 2-bedroom apartment in some of these places, but you'll definitely have to spend more to get a 3-bedroom place in a decent neighborhood. In either case, you'll have to do some research on Craigslist to see what you can find that meets your price point and is in a good area.

I agree with everything but the bolded. Pleasant Hill has a BART station. The distance between Castro Valley BART and PH BART to SF is pretty negligible. Honestly, it sounds like the OP wants a suburban lifetsyle, so why choose San Leandro over Oakland?

[jade408]

But Holy Names isn very transit accessible. It is nowhere near BART, and that drive in the AM would be like 45 minutes. That would add way too much time in my book. If you want suburban try Castro Valley. The Oakland neighborhoods are good choices, but give up hope of not driving to Holy Names.

[04kL4nD]

Ah. I had no clue where Holy Names was. Assumed it was in the City. D'oh

[NewbieSFOK]

Thank you Jade408, O4kla4nd and davdaven. I am glad I received tips from you. You see all sorts of apartment postings online that it completely throws you off as to the right budget point to set for an apartment. We can definitely increase our budget for somewhere nice and safe, I will look at Rockridge, Piedmont Ave, Castro Valley and the others mentioned. I figured we would be driving but it is nice to know that the BART is accessible in some of the neighborhoods. Thank you once again for helping us out, my family and I are grateful and a lot less confused.

Is Alameda pretty nice all around? Would you suggest some commute friendly parts to the Joaquin Miller Park area. The gated community requirement has been dropped :-) I can add it to my list as well.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Originally Posted by NewbieSFOK

Is Alameda pretty nice all around? Would you suggest some commute friendly parts to the Joaquin Miller Park area. The gated community requirement has been dropped :-) I can add it to my list as well.

I agree, you'll be driving. It would be worth the drive to me to live in Alameda.

Alameda is really nice. It's safe, too, though you have to always be careful, etc., wherever you are, of course. But, it's got a very low crime rate compared to Oakland, even though it's so close.

It's got a lot of Victorian homes, a farmer's market, and the beach there is actually really shallow, so it gets fairly warm. This would be boring as far as adults swimming, but it's great for little kids. You don't have to worry about the ocean whisking them away lol!

Lots of nature walk options, too. And good schools. I really like Alameda.

I just retired from a job managing an apt bldg for a family that owns several rentals, including some in Alameda. They live in Alameda. I could see if they have any 2 bedrooms available. DM me if you are interested. His units are all very well maintained, but not fancy. But, the price is usually right and he's great about fixing things, giving deposits back, etc. He doesn't have many 2 bedrooms, but I can ask.

At any rate, yes, you can find a 2 bedroom apt in Alameda in your price range. Here's the search results on Craigslist for 2 bedrooms for max $2,000:

SF bay area apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

I wouldn't call Alameda suburban, but it's family oriented and really quaint and I love all the Victorian houses.

By the way, even though Alameda is an island, you'd never know it. I always forget it's an island. You get off the freeway, and drive down streets. I never even remember bridges, to tell you the truth. So don't think it's remote, etc., because it's an island.

There is a ferry from Alameda to SF, too. And it's super close to any events, entertainment you might want to do in SF, Berkeley, Oakland.

Here's some other info on Alameda:

Quality of Life | City of Alameda

Transportation | City of Alameda

Recreation and Parks | City of Alameda

Alameda Farmers' Market - Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association

Alameda Unified School District: Home Page

Alameda Schools - Alameda California School Ratings - Public and Private

Architecture - Alameda, California

https://www.google.com/search?q=alam...w=1280&bih=661

Whatever you decide, welcome!

[04kL4nD]

Overall, Alameda is really nice. The downtown area has some good restaurants and it's pretty walkable, so that's where I'd look first. I also really like the beach off of Shoreline Dr. On a (rare) hot summer day, it's awesome! The only thing I don't like about it is the traffic. There are several bridges between Alameda and Oakland and when they get backed up, it's really annoying. Especially if you're trying to get to SF and have to go over the Bay Bridge.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Sorry to spam you with links, but I was just perusing the ads on Craigslist and found this one in a gated community in Alameda. I didn't realize there were gated communities there:

2 BDR, PET FRIENDLY, GATED COMMUNITY, STONES THROW TO BEACH!