Millsmont
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Great for
- Neighborly Spirit
- Parking
- Internet Access
- Clean & Green
- Cost of Living
Not great for
- Schools
- Childcare
- Nightlife
- Pest Free
Who lives here?
- Professionals
- Families with kids
- Retirees
- LGBT+
- Students
Got a burning question? Why not ask the locals! Simply ask your question below
Reviews
Millsmont
rating details
2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Safe & Sound
- Clean & Green
- Pest Free
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Shopping Options
- Gym & Fitness
- Internet Access
- Lack of Traffic
- Parking
- Cost of Living
- Resale or Rental Value
- Public Transport
- Medical Facilities
"I Kind of like it here"
I bought a house in the Millsmont neighborhood in 2015. I have to admit it kind of scared me moving here, there are a lot of stories about Oakland. I have been here over two years and I am really liking it. My neighbors are mostly older and very folksy and friendly. I live by Evergreen Cemetery, if you have never walked through there you should it is a very historical place, the stones date back to early 1900s lumberjack era of Oakland, there are also many historical sites like Black Panther leader Newton's grave and children who drank the coolaid at the Jim Jones cult. The cemetery creates a nice buffer from what people call "the flatlands" which is where alot of gang activity has historically taken place. I am only about two miles from Coloseum BART a quick Uber ride away and AC transit picks up right by my house which is really convenient and a super comfortable way to get into SF (you always get a nice seat! which is rare on BARt). Alot of new people seem to be moving in and East Oakland is really changing even since I have been here. Still, I have to be honest, every once in a while a sketchy person walks by or sometimes someone starts yelling from an adjacent street. There are some layers to the neighborhood which I often forget about until they remind me they are here. I think the secret to living here is in scouting out your immediate neighbors and building a network to look out for your place. It is lovely to walk up the hill and watch the fireworks from the Coloseum! My home has gone up quite a bit in value, almost half, which is extraordinary, but as we saw in the 2009 crash, what goes up does come down. I love my house, it is pretty cool and historic with some authentic features dating back to the bungalow days when folks came to Oakland to escape to the countryside and get out of the city. How times do change. If you are considering moving here, i would say go for it. There are some great people in this neighborhood and you should not be fearful of living here. One bit of advice also, Oakland has very high property taxes plus ballot measure add ons so just be aware of that when you are purchasing.
Pros
- many awesome neighbors
- Public Transportation
- Rising neighborhood
Cons
- Some sketchy people
- Need for neighborhood watch
- Needs to renovate Eastmont Town Center
Recommended for
- Professionals
- Singles
- Families with kids
- Retirees
- LGBT+
- Hipsters
- Students
Millsmont
rating details
2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Safe & Sound
- Clean & Green
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Shopping Options
- Gym & Fitness
- Internet Access
- Lack of Traffic
- Parking
- Cost of Living
- Public Transport
- Medical Facilities
"Little known, great in some areas"
The closer you are to the ridge, the quieter and safer it is, but you must always remember that this is Oakland. A very neighborly place, people are friendly and helpful and it seems that it's slowly becoming a "couple with a kid" destination. The houses are charming, all sizes, styles and conditions are here. Many houses have incredible views either to the bay, the Oakland hills or into lush greenery and woods; there's even a real creek here. The ridge area doesn't have sidewalks and has a rural feel, the roads are somewhat rundown but are clean. It really is quite special and an odd find in east Oakland that we luckily stumbled into. We really like it here.
Pros
- Affordable Housing
- Okay School
- Woody
Recommended for
- Professionals
- Families with kids
- Retirees
- Students
- Country Lovers
Millsmont
rating details
2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Safe & Sound
- Clean & Green
- Pest Free
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Shopping Options
- Gym & Fitness
- Internet Access
- Lack of Traffic
- Parking
- Cost of Living
- Resale or Rental Value
- Public Transport
- Medical Facilities
- Schools
- Childcare
"A Tale of Two Neighborhoods"
Located just to the south of Mills College, Millsmont is an unusually varied neighborhood that you could really divide into two sections with Oakdale roughly running as the dividing line.
Those to the east of Oakdale Ave. find themselves in the hilly woods of what is basically the southern section of the Oakland Hills. If one were dropped into this area without any sense of where one is, you might be forgiven for believing that you are relatively far from any metropolitan area, in the underdeveloped suburbs of a ranchy area. You might even expect to see someone on horseback coming around the next corner. That is the kind of neighborhood it is. You do have a fair number a Ranch style homes and picket fences and dirt in the place of sidewalks.
This section of Millsmont is basically a middle-class neighborhood. The school at the southern end of this section is also one of the better schools in Oakland. Burkhalter Elementary scores slightly above statewide test averages, but has shown a great deal of improvement over the last year. Overall, of the schools you could send your kid to in Oakland, it is one of the better choices.
But when you cross over Oakdale into the western section of Millsmont, you find a completely different kind of a neighborhood. Here you find lots of somewhat run down California bungalow style homes. The neighborhood is on a slight incline but the streets are fairly straight and you don’t get the feeling of being far from civilization at all.
The biggest issue here is the out of control crime. In a three-year period, 12 people were killed here. Given that the population of the whole neighborhood is only about 5 K, this is almost one in a thousand, pretty bad odds. If you look even more closely into and divide things up according Oakdale, you will find that 10 of the murders happened to the west of Oakwood (although two did happen in the eastern section of the neighborhood). This is simply too much violence to feel safe living here, I think.
Despite the dangers, there are some destinations worth braving your life for. For example, you can find a great Thai place on Macarthur—Old Weangs—that is really great and cheap. There is also a hoagie shop there.
Those to the east of Oakdale Ave. find themselves in the hilly woods of what is basically the southern section of the Oakland Hills. If one were dropped into this area without any sense of where one is, you might be forgiven for believing that you are relatively far from any metropolitan area, in the underdeveloped suburbs of a ranchy area. You might even expect to see someone on horseback coming around the next corner. That is the kind of neighborhood it is. You do have a fair number a Ranch style homes and picket fences and dirt in the place of sidewalks.
This section of Millsmont is basically a middle-class neighborhood. The school at the southern end of this section is also one of the better schools in Oakland. Burkhalter Elementary scores slightly above statewide test averages, but has shown a great deal of improvement over the last year. Overall, of the schools you could send your kid to in Oakland, it is one of the better choices.
But when you cross over Oakdale into the western section of Millsmont, you find a completely different kind of a neighborhood. Here you find lots of somewhat run down California bungalow style homes. The neighborhood is on a slight incline but the streets are fairly straight and you don’t get the feeling of being far from civilization at all.
The biggest issue here is the out of control crime. In a three-year period, 12 people were killed here. Given that the population of the whole neighborhood is only about 5 K, this is almost one in a thousand, pretty bad odds. If you look even more closely into and divide things up according Oakdale, you will find that 10 of the murders happened to the west of Oakwood (although two did happen in the eastern section of the neighborhood). This is simply too much violence to feel safe living here, I think.
Despite the dangers, there are some destinations worth braving your life for. For example, you can find a great Thai place on Macarthur—Old Weangs—that is really great and cheap. There is also a hoagie shop there.
Pros
- Okay School
- Woody
- Affordable Housing
Cons
- Crime
- Dirty
- Run Down
