MommaMitch

The elementary schools can be seen as good things or bad. They include green space and play ground equipment which people can use when school isn't open. One has a public pool that is really great, and the other has a toddler-focused play ground which is always open. On the other hand, you get traffic from both schools so the noise level and traffic levels are higher than surrounding streets.

Much of Dowling is walking distance to all sorts of places including Los Pericos Market (yum!), a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), and Safeway. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list.

Unbelievable Halloween trick or treating on this short little street. It has to be seen. Really.

More traffic and noise than the other Merle Courts (east and west), but otherwise, all of the same great things are true.

Walking distance to a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), and Safeway. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list. Right next to Roosevelt Elementary School, which is not only a great school, but has two playgrounds and lots of open space available for use when school isn't in. There is also a great public pool there (Farrelly Pool).

Walking distance to a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), and Safeway. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list. Near Roosevelt Elementary School, which is not only a great school, but has two playgrounds and lots of open space available for use when school isn't in. There is also a great public pool there (Farrelly Pool).

Walking distance to a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), and Safeway. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list. Right next to Roosevelt Elementary School, which is not only a great school, but has two playgrounds and lots of open space available for use when school isn't in. There is also a great public pool there (Farrelly Pool).

Most of Victoria Ave. is walking distance to a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), an ice cream shop and Safeway. The other end of Victoria Ave. is close to some other restaurants and very close to the 580 East entrance. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list. An amazing "block" party is held every year and everyone looks forward to it.

The circle used to be a turn around station for a train that used to run from Berkeley through Oakland to San Leandro. There are two small restaurants right on the circle (not amazing ones, but passable), a hair salon, a liquor store, and a great ice cream store. the middle of the circle is grassy with trees and on one side there is a gorgeous old wisteria growing. There are bus stops on both sides, and covered on one side. The traffic at the liquor store can be noisy some times, and so can the ice cream shop, but that's mostly held to the part of the circle that they're on, not on the areas that have houses and apartment buildings.

It's a wide street and a major street for this area so lots of traffic goes through on this street, but there are bike lanes on both sides of the street. The house prices are a bit lower since it is a busy street, but you still have the benefit of being within walking distance to a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), Safeway, and FoodMax. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list. There are some nicer old style apartment buildings as well as newer, boring, not as nice buildings.

Durant Ave is the border between Oakland and San Leandro so it tends to get ignored by both cities. For some reason this very narrow street is considered a "collector street" so lots of traffic gets dumped on the street even though two cars can't fit going different directions when cars are parked on both sides of the street. There are lots of speed humps because they are completely necessary. The FoodMax parking lot was set up so that the majority of traffic comes and goes from this street rather than E. 14th St/International Blvd even though that's a major street that can actually handle the traffic.

Walking distance to a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), and Safeway, this is a fantastic place to live. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list.

Walking distance to a fantastic coffeeshop (Zocalo Coffeehouse), some good restaurants (especially Paradiso), Safeway, and FoodMax, this true Boulevard is a fantastic place to live. Great and interesting houses built well and from different eras. A fantastic neighborhood association (thebna.org) is only $20 a year and has a neighborhood email list.