SFandBeyond

I like Glenview, Reservoir Hill is next door and cheaper. Are the areas so different?

Work in SF. Couple with 6 year old needs to find cheapish rent away from SF. Trying to get to know Oakland. Love the info on this site. Why isn't the Reservoir Hill area listed on the main areas map? Are there other E. Oakland areas broken out on this site? Thanks!

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KathleenMunnelly 2yrs+

Glenview is a wonderful neighborhood, with an excellent elementary school, lovely Craftsman houses, friendly neighbors, and a main street (Park Boulevard) with lots of great restaurants, a yoga studio, and shops. It's a very family-friendly neighborhood filled with young children. For commuting to SF, there are express buses and a casual carpool stop on Park Boulevard, and easy access to the 580 if you need to drive.

The south side of MacArthur (which I guess they're now calling Reservoir Hill) is different and varies block to block. There are some lovely blocks, like Sheffield, where some friends of ours live. But there have been a lot of burglaries there in the past year. Our friends have not had any trouble, but they also have two enormous dogs. Away from Sheffield, the area gets seedier, and the school options are not great. I'd advise staying north of MacArthur, in Glenview proper.

Good luck!

-Kathleen

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NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+

Hey, you might also try Berkeley--especially North Berkeley and Albany there are some pretty nice places around there and other parents (as opposed to all the college students that make up South Berkeley). It is pretty nice up there, walkable, pretty good schools, etc.

And you still feel like you are in an International City with great resatuarants and the rest. Anyway good luck. (You also might try Padmapper.com; they have a great mapping function and listings from sites that sometimes don't make it on Craigslist.

Okay, have fun apartment hunting.

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NightOwlnOrinda 2yrs+

As far as Oakland neighborhoods go, I personally like the area from Piedmont down to where the 580 and 13 meet. The triangle is a little quieter overall in terms of crime and so forth than west of the MacArthur Freeway. Reservoir Hill is about the same but it is much closer to areas that are pretty dangerous.

You might also consider Castro Valley, depending on where you work. I personally would prefer to live over in Contra Costa County in somewhere like El Sobrante, Martinez, Concord or Walnut Creek where schools are stronger and rents still managable for apartments and you can take BART into the City. But it depends what you are looking for.

Good luck. (I dig the Three Stooges avatar. Nice.)

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SFandBeyond Awesome advice Nighty. Sorry for the delay. I really enjoy your posts on here, they help me figure out Oakland a lot. I would have never looked into that triangle you describe. On Craig's List that means i have to choose East Oakland and then use the map view to see what is for rent in there. Previously i would never select East Oakland when searching.

I hear what you're saying about Contra Costa and the schools. I do work near Civic Center Bart. But if the thought of moving away from SF to Oakland freaks me out, the thought of moving to the 'burbs is almost unbearable! I don't even have a car, how can i apartment hunt?! Thanks again and look forward to discovering more in the land away from the ocean.

Best, Curly

2yrs+

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