Whitman / Mocine

The Whitman-Wocine neighborhood in Hayward is perhaps best known as the home of Tennyson High School, one of the high schools in Hayward. Like Hayward High, Tennysons is a solidly middle of the road high school, which may sound unremarkable and would be if it were not for the very bad schools that feed into Tennyson and Hayward, most of which have API’s in the low 1-3’s. So whatever it is that Tennyson is doing it seems to be working.

The same can be said for the local elementary, Bowman, whose API is only 2.

Like in much of Hayward, most of the homes here is Whitman-Wocine date from the Post-War Baby Boom period, though here in Tennyson there is also a significant minority (maybe one in three) that were built in the last 30 years.

The median selling price here is around $275 K, with the low range being around $175 K and the ceiling being $500 K.

In terms of crime, the Whitman-Wocine neighborhood is pretty mild. There have been no murders in the last 6 months and only about a dozen assaults. That is not the height of safety but it is definitely not the sort of neighborhood that you fear getting killed by a stray bullet.

This is also a great spot for commuters from which you can reach all of the major hubs in the Bay Area from SF and San Jose to Berkeley and San Ramon within an hour (with the exception of Walnut Creek--though many do not consider that a major hub anyway). The Hayward South BART station is right on the southern border Whitman Wocine. So this is a perfect spot for DINKies (Dual Income No Kids). It is also a great spot if you are a consultant who has to be at different locations depending on the gig.

As to things like nightlife?

There are lots of ethnic restaurants around (mostly Indian, Chinese and Mexican) and a handful of bars like the Dirty Bird Lounge--which a pretty cool bar. There is even a hookah lounge. You are pretty close to Cal State East Bay but this place definitely does not have a college vibe to it at all.

Overall this is a pretty good spot to live if you don’t have young kids and a family. If the schools were a little better it would be fine for that purpose as well though.

The Whitman/Mocine neighborhood has it's good and bad. One of my favorite things about this neighborhood is the fact that it is so close to San Fran. San Fran is a vibrant city and also the city where I go to school. Being close to the Pacific is another plus. A downside to living in the Whitman/Mocine is the number of theft crimes that happen every year. The apartment complex that I live at was having petty car breaks in all the time last summer and you can't ever miss watching the news without hearing about some form of robbery. There are plenty of apartments in the area which make it somewhat affordable for students and even more so with a couple of roommates. There is also a variety of different cultured restaurants. My favorite place is called Bijou Restaurant & Bar which has French food and good drink specials. I would say that the Whitman/Mocine area is more of a younger haven than a family haven.