Sausal Creek
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Great for
- Parking
- Public Transport
- Parks & Recreation
- Clean & Green
- Cost of Living
Not great for
- Nightlife
- Gym & Fitness
- Childcare
- Resale or Rental Value
- Safe & Sound
Who lives here?
- Professionals
- Singles
Got a burning question? Why not ask the locals! Simply ask your question below
Reviews
Sausal Creek
rating details
2yrs+
- Neighborly Spirit
- Safe & Sound
- Clean & Green
- Peace & Quiet
- Eating Out
- Nightlife
- Parks & Recreation
- Lack of Traffic
- Parking
- Cost of Living
- Public Transport
"Grungy neighborhood"
Sausal Creek is a thin strip of residential neighborhood squeezed in between Meadow Brook to the west and Fruitvale Avenue to the east. It walks the line between lower middle-class and lower-class, with the only helping cause is its residences grouped on the northern edge of the community and its proximity to Central Reservoir Recreation Area. Little commercial activity takes place within the district’s limits, except for a few neighborhood restaurants (Joshua’s Seafood, Pizza City, etc.), delis and urban shops. However, storefronts are mostly unwelcoming, with bars strewn across windows and sheltered gates enclosing after hour joints. For better shopping, locals travel to Tresle Glen or Cleveland Heights, which can be a good 10-15 minute drive.
Fruitvale Avenue acts as the main drag in the neighborhood. Here, the streets are lined with lush trees but are sometimes overlooked by a cluster of less than mediocre and sometimes unsafe apartment buildings. As you get into the side streets, residences are plotted on small and narrow parcels of land with shallow front gardens. Homes are small and boxy in shape, with many of them suffering from a lack of maintenance and upkeep while others just need a quick paint job. Driveways are also skinny, running along each houses side yards and into the back. Street parking comes easier along the side streets and is typically lined with old, dirty cars. However, those that drive to work have the convenience of Highway 580, which skirts the northern border of Sausal Creek.
Gladman Mental Health Rehabilitation Center is the most notable attraction in the area, lying smack dab in the middle of Sausal Creek. If you’re looking to spend time outdoors, WD Wood Park is a nice escape in the rather grungy district. The grassland which straddles the northern edge of Sausal Creek offers picnic tables and flat hiking trails. For better outdoor recreation, head towards Central Reservoir Recreation Area, which lies just outside the district’s borders.
Fruitvale Avenue acts as the main drag in the neighborhood. Here, the streets are lined with lush trees but are sometimes overlooked by a cluster of less than mediocre and sometimes unsafe apartment buildings. As you get into the side streets, residences are plotted on small and narrow parcels of land with shallow front gardens. Homes are small and boxy in shape, with many of them suffering from a lack of maintenance and upkeep while others just need a quick paint job. Driveways are also skinny, running along each houses side yards and into the back. Street parking comes easier along the side streets and is typically lined with old, dirty cars. However, those that drive to work have the convenience of Highway 580, which skirts the northern border of Sausal Creek.
Gladman Mental Health Rehabilitation Center is the most notable attraction in the area, lying smack dab in the middle of Sausal Creek. If you’re looking to spend time outdoors, WD Wood Park is a nice escape in the rather grungy district. The grassland which straddles the northern edge of Sausal Creek offers picnic tables and flat hiking trails. For better outdoor recreation, head towards Central Reservoir Recreation Area, which lies just outside the district’s borders.
Pros
- Affordible Rents
- Diversity
- Variety of Homes
Cons
- A Bit of Crime
- A Bit Rundown Near Foothill
Sausal Creek
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 Tour of California Residential Architecture"
This thin slip of a neighborhood stretches along Fruitvale Avenue from Foothill to the MacArthur Freeway. The neighborhood is also distinctive because its northern border is largely demarcated by a row of trees over Sausal Creek.
Down by Foothill, the neighborhood is a densely packed and a bit rundown looking. There are a mix of boxy apartments, an equally boxy looking residential high rise, and a number of older Victorians. Much of this section of the neighborhood dates from the pre-WWII period and it definitely shows on the wear and tear of the buildings here.
Along the brief stretch of Foothill that is contained within the neighborhood there is a taqueria and a nail salon. This section of Foothill has a sort of Southwest feel to it here—more as if you were in New Mexico than in Oakland.
As one starts moving up into the hills and towards the reservoir and freeway, the homes start to become progressively more well-kept. First, the apartment buildings quickly give way to Victorians. In addition, the Victorians a few blocks up from Foothill are much better kept than those just off of it. These are not cutting edge modern structures, but simply well-maintained homes kept that way by the diligence of caring tenants.
Near 27th Street, the Victorians give way—for the most part—to Ranch homes and Prairie homes—with even an occasional Mission Revival or even a Cape Cod with its distinctive gambrel roof. These are not the larger Ranch homes but squatter 1950’s style Ranch homes with their limited plot size.
At the corner of 27th and Fruitvale, there are a number of stores, including a coin laundry, a Asian food place (I think it’s a Thai place if I remember correctly), a barbecue appliance store and an actual barbecue. If this were not considered the Fruitvale district, this would probably be a more popular spot for people to grab a bite.
As one moves even farther, the Ranch homes give way to cozy California Bungalows in various styles. The streets here get fairly leafy and are reminiscent of the popular residential areas in north Berkeley. Very quaint.
The bungalows are followed by a wave of Prairie Homes. All very well kept.
And just before the freeway there are a gorgeous few blocks with very nice—though small—homes with Mission Revival style facades (some even having the rounded, tower like feature that works so well with this look) lines the horseshoe shaped streets.
Rents climb accordingly as you go farther up and up the hill, but, again, because this is an undesirable area of the Fruitvale District, rents remain affordable throughout—rarely climbing above $1,000.
This is also as diverse a neighborhood as you will find anywhere, being home to equal numbers of Whites, African Americans, Asians and Hispanics—a real tapestry of American life.
Down by Foothill, the neighborhood is a densely packed and a bit rundown looking. There are a mix of boxy apartments, an equally boxy looking residential high rise, and a number of older Victorians. Much of this section of the neighborhood dates from the pre-WWII period and it definitely shows on the wear and tear of the buildings here.
Along the brief stretch of Foothill that is contained within the neighborhood there is a taqueria and a nail salon. This section of Foothill has a sort of Southwest feel to it here—more as if you were in New Mexico than in Oakland.
As one starts moving up into the hills and towards the reservoir and freeway, the homes start to become progressively more well-kept. First, the apartment buildings quickly give way to Victorians. In addition, the Victorians a few blocks up from Foothill are much better kept than those just off of it. These are not cutting edge modern structures, but simply well-maintained homes kept that way by the diligence of caring tenants.
Near 27th Street, the Victorians give way—for the most part—to Ranch homes and Prairie homes—with even an occasional Mission Revival or even a Cape Cod with its distinctive gambrel roof. These are not the larger Ranch homes but squatter 1950’s style Ranch homes with their limited plot size.
At the corner of 27th and Fruitvale, there are a number of stores, including a coin laundry, a Asian food place (I think it’s a Thai place if I remember correctly), a barbecue appliance store and an actual barbecue. If this were not considered the Fruitvale district, this would probably be a more popular spot for people to grab a bite.
As one moves even farther, the Ranch homes give way to cozy California Bungalows in various styles. The streets here get fairly leafy and are reminiscent of the popular residential areas in north Berkeley. Very quaint.
The bungalows are followed by a wave of Prairie Homes. All very well kept.
And just before the freeway there are a gorgeous few blocks with very nice—though small—homes with Mission Revival style facades (some even having the rounded, tower like feature that works so well with this look) lines the horseshoe shaped streets.
Rents climb accordingly as you go farther up and up the hill, but, again, because this is an undesirable area of the Fruitvale District, rents remain affordable throughout—rarely climbing above $1,000.
This is also as diverse a neighborhood as you will find anywhere, being home to equal numbers of Whites, African Americans, Asians and Hispanics—a real tapestry of American life.
Pros
- Variety of Homes
- Diversity
- Affordible Rents
Cons
- A Bit of Crime
- A Bit Rundown Near Foothill
Recommended for
- Professionals
- Singles
