Chrystal Ulanday

The parks are BEAUTIFUL. My boyfriend lives in one of the gated communities and the trail right behind his house is wonderful. There are various parks along the trail, including dog parks, and a wonderful view of the bay. One of the parks actually has a designated area where a large flock of ducks reside. The area is off to the side and a nice spot to take your kids. I've yet to be attacked by a duck so they're fairly friendly. Lots of joggers, bikers, and families going through the trail.

The neighborhood is notorious for "gating off the ghetto." It is Richmond so if you take a ride down the street, you may find yourself in a less safe neighborhood, however so far I've been able to avoid it. Overall it's a good area. You get the historical aspect with the old shipyard and Rosie the Riveter museum, and the view of the bay makes it a nice spot to live.

watch out for the Costco though, it's always packed it takes you longer to get through the line than it does to actually shop.

I live near Lorenzo Manor Elementary School (I also attended it previously). It's a fairly small town, majority of your neighbors will be elderly retired people, or non-english speaking hispanics (not that that bothers me at all). I've lived in the same house for about 6 years now and have a very good relationship with my neighbors, they're all friendly people, they house sit for us when we're out of town and come over when we're BBQing. It's a quiet neighborhood.

Shopping options are low, as is the quality of stores. You'll have to travel to Pleasanton for a clean good quality mall, however Southland serves the purpose if you're just trying to quickly pick something up. Food is the same, although there are a few AMAZING neighborhood stops. Stop by Buon Appetito if you're into Italian, or the local Frodo Joe's if you want a quick coffee or crepe. Those establishments are neighborhood gems... There are several farmers market's throughout the city on Saturday mornings, so that's very convenient for the organic eaters out there.

Nightlife is dead. If you drive around this town past 2am, the streets will be empty and all you'll see the Jack In the Box drive through line going crazy (people have to have their $1 tacos...).

I actually graduated from every public school in this town. The quality is going down, but I blame budget cuts more than the educators. You can tell the public schools are trying. Chabot Community College was named one of the best Community Colleges in California, so there's always that. Chabot has also had a lot of construction done recently, so the campus is very beautiful.

Safety wise is a little hit and miss. I can't say I know anybody who's been shot, but there are certain streets I wouldn't walk around on at night, nor would I go jogging in my neighborhood after dark. During the daytime it's a cozy quiet town. Not much to see.

It's a nice place to live if you're single and just settling down, not sure if I'd recommend raising a family here, but it'd definitely a good starting place.