from rural michigan to Oakland area (San Francisco, Fremont: for sale, real estate, foreclosures)

[sandraann]

My husband will be taking a position connected with the port of Oakland. We are from a small town 45 miles north of Detroit and have 2 children (middle school @ high school). My main concerns are schools and safety. Please send some advice on where to live and what the commute times would be to get to and from the port. News hasn't been kind to Oakland but it can't be all bad.
Also, If anyone could recommend someone in real estate who could help with a search it would be appreciated. I think I would prefer to rent for a while before buying.

[CGwife]

Fremont is south of Oakland and is a decent area. Berkeley is nice (more expensive) and has a great hospital if you're planning on giving birth while you're there. I lived in Alameda (a teeny island off the "coast" of Oakland) which was nice enough, but you have to go into or through Oakland to get to most shopping. I've lived all over the Bay Area and don't put much faith in "bad reputations" like Oakland has, but honestly I would never consider living in Oakland, ever. Their reputation is well earned and even if it wasn't so bad there the traffic/parking/driving in is particularly bad.

[City Boy]

I don't think Oaklands reputation is well earned at all. You can thank San Francisco and Politics for the negative reputation of Oakland. The media has everybody thinking Oakland is like Detroit. Not even close.

[sandraann]

thanks for the info. How are the High schools in Fremont? Everything Ive seen about Alameda seems great. Are there many rentals available there?

[capoeira]

Alameda and Castro Valley are the two obvious choices for good schools plus a shorter commute. San Ramon might also be a reasonable choice and is reachable by Crow Canyon Road in addition to the 580(which is a traffic nightmare).

You can use the California school ratings site for additional info on schools. You will be looking in either Alameda County or Contra Costa County.

California School Ratings - Alameda County

California School Ratings - Contra Costa County

[sandraann]

I figured Oakland couldn't be too bad - Detroit wasn't as bad as they've made it out to be either but with the economy they way it is things are getting worse every day. thanks for the imput. still looking for the best school districts in that area.

[artemis78]

Sandraann---no, it's not all bad, as City Boy notes. There are also other nearby cities that are great as well. Some key considerations: what's your budget? How much space do you need (indoor and out)? Are you planning to send your children to public school? Do you like the small town feel you have now?

If it meets your other criteria, though, Alameda might be a good bet. It is trafficky, but it's soooo close to the Port of Oakland that it might be worth it (especially if you live on the cheaper West End of the island, near the port). Schools are generally pretty strong there, but you'd have to look at specific options based on location. Fremont is a pretty icky commute to the port.

[sandraann]

I have to admit that living on an island sounds too good to be true for someone from Michigan. I have been looking at the houses for sale and to be honest it seems crazy that the prices are where they are! for $500,000 or $600,000 I thought I would at the very least be getting a built in pool in a good sized yard. When did the market go crazy over there and is it at the bottom or still going down? I've got a home here I purchased a yr ago at what I thought was a great deal but prices keep falling. Thank goodness we will be getting a corporate buyout or we'd never be able to sell. Where I live a 2400 sq ft home with nice amenities, 3 br + den(office), finished basement, 2 car garage, 160 x 210 lot can go for under $200,000. sometimes Well under due to foreclosures. 10 acers with a 2400 sq ft house is $300,000 right now.
Why don't more homes have the pools? Almost seems like we have more pools here and we only get to open them for 2 to 3 months out of the yr

[artemis78]

The market here went crazy in the mid-2000s; it's been on the way down for the past couple of years, but probably not there yet (or anywhere near, depending on who you ask).

Pools aren't a big asset in most parts of the Bay Area; unless you're out east of the Oakland Hills or down in the South Bay, it doesn't get hot enough to use them most of the time. (Summertime temps in most parts of Oakland, for instance, are generally in the 70s, with occasional jumps up into the 80s; Alameda is even cooler. The flip side is that it doesn't get very cold in the winter, either---pretty temperate year round.) You do see a number of homes with hot tubs, though.

Alameda is a nice little town, but only a few parts of it actually feel like living on an island. (Not surprisingly, they're the most expensive parts!) It's actually a peninsula that was carved out into an island for shipping commerce many moons ago. The East End is generally a bit more upscale than the still-developing West End, so houses go for a lot more on that end of the island. (West Alameda was a navy base until about ten years ago, so it's been a hotly contested development project ever since then.) There's a tube on the West End that connects it to downtown Oakland (and gets jammed in traffic---but again, just a mile or so from the port, so the commute would still be better than many, with no freeway involved) and two bridges to the east that connect to various Oakland neighborhoods and freeways.

[sandraann]

this is very helpful. Renting for awhile may be the best approach. Alameda's weather sounds perfect. I'm a great lakes girl - just need to have water close. As hard as it is to think about leaving friends and family, I am feeling like this is going to be a great move for us. I can't stand our winters anymore-nothing but ice and snow. Thanks again. I'm going to spend a little time in Alameda to get the feel of it. Island feel or not - its the closest I'll probably ever get to that island living dream.