Simone Spotlight | The Best East Bay Neighborhoods

In today’s blog learn more on the rich tapestry of neighborhoods that make up the East Bay. There is something for everyone in the East Bay. Choosing which neighborhood is best for you and your family is as important decision that needs research and time to make sure you locate and move into the neighborhood that is perfect for you.

Oakland

Oakland is one of the most desirable cities in the entire Bay Area, and professionals with careers based in San Francisco are flocking here for more than just cheaper rent. “The Town” is full of local art, and culturally diverse cuisine, and has the perfect mix of urban city life and calm suburbia.

As Oakland Museums curator Drew John said, "It is a classic story of the second city”, (or Oakland is the classic second city) which has been overshadowed for years by San Francisco's fame and glamour. This second city has welcomed growth with open arms over the past fifteen years and now offers an appealing mix of new housing options and charming single family homes in walkable neighborhoods with access to BART and rents at double-digit discounts to San Francisco prices.

The burgeoning restaurant scene, numerous BART stations, annual cultural festivals, music venues, and local pride add to Oakland’s growing appeal. Below are some recommended neighborhoods if Oakland is on your list of East Bay cities of interest. Each neighborhood has its local restaurant scene, demographics, and vibe, much like San Francisco neighborhoods but with a lower price point.

Adams Point

Adams Point is situated just East of Uptown Oakland and North of Lake Merritt. This neighborhood offers all of the conveniences and walkability of living Downtown but is more family-friendly with great access to locally-owned cafes, restaurants, Oakland's parks playgrounds, and BART.

The area is convenient and just trendy enough to make working parents still feel like they have a bit of an edge. Despite its reputation as a hipster neighborhood, there are lots of young families here meeting up with their kids at parks and community events and parks in the area. Three playgrounds, including the newly renovated Snow Park, are within a 20 minute walk; and Lake Merritt, the “crown jewel” of Oakland, provides Adams Point residents with three-plus miles of continuous waterfront access.

Other amenities in the area include the Lakeview Library, the Junior Center for Art and Science with drop-in hours throughout the week, the newly renovated Rotary Nature Center, the beautiful, serene, and free botanical garden, and Lake Merritt’s landmark, Fairyland. The nearby YMCA offers swim lessons and childcare while parents work out and just a 7-minute drive away is the amazing Oakland Museum of California, enjoyed by locals for the food trucks and half off admission on Friday nights.

Rockridge

Bordering Berkeley, Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood is conveniently centered around Rockridge BART Station and College Avenue, the district’s popular commercial thoroughfare. Rockridge blends the lively charm and foodie vibe of Berkeley with the funkiness and diversity of Oakland. Once a sleepy collection of cottage style homes and bungalows with residents who preferred the quiet life, Rockridge has evolved into one of the most desirable neighborhoods in Oakland for a variety of reasons.

It’s a prime example of an urban-suburban mix that offers fine dining options, and a walkable environment of cafes, groceries, and local bookstores. College Avenue is peppered with homey cafes for locals and university students alike, specialty shoe stores, vintage clothing jewelry, and home decor boutiques. It also boasts several options for grocery shopping easily accessible to residents. You'll see established, tree-lined streets with Californian craftsman-style bungalows and pre-war homes with vintage details and backyard gardens.

Alameda

Alameda is an island situated just off the shore south of Oakland that is accessible by bridge, tunnel, and ferry, with the same family-friendly feel as parts of Oakland, but not as expensive. This island city attracts many young families for its small-town vibe, affordable housing, small beach areas (yes, beaches!), dog-friendly parks along the shore, good quality schools, and a safe and charming downtown.

Many professionals choose to live here and commute to SF via ferry, express bus, BART (via a bus transfer), or car. Any way you travel, you can usually get to the City within 25 minutes. Alameda is also popular for its sweeping views of the SF skyline from the shoreline areas.

There are two charming commercial districts on either side of the island with locally-owned restaurants, a weekend farmer’s market, and celebrated local breweries and distilleries from repurposed military warehouses.

Berkeley

Berkeley is one of the most eclectic cities in all of the Bay Area. This medium-sized city is home to a large and diverse population of students, university staff professors, families, and young professionals. Berkeley has a deep love of the arts and is an intellectual, political, foodie, and environmental character supported by multiple farmers' markets, a great network of libraries, and resources available to the community.

Berkeley’s rich architectural tradition includes U.C. Berkeley and renowned architect Julia Morgan’s hand in many of the unique historic buildings important to civic life in Berkeley. In Berkeley, you'll find a dense collection of apartments, townhomes, small-lot family homes, and college housing in “the flats” and larger, single-family homes in “the hills”, and although Berkeley is one of the most economically- and racially-diverse cities in the Bay Area, the hills have a very different atmosphere from the flats. Still, Berkeley’s housing options reflect the diversity of its residents and Berkeley has strict rent control.

Despite this, Berkeley is somewhat of a "slow-growth" city that limits development, so housing is scarce. Access to public transit in Berkeley is easy, including three BART Stations within city limits, a robust bus system served by AC Transit, and shuttles. And with a relatively flat topography the city central, Berkeley has an extremely bicycle- and pedestrian-friendly street network.

Lafayette/Orinda

Lafayette and Orinda are popular towns located through the Caldecott Tunnel, just east of Oakland. This area is renowned for its excellent schools, rolling hills, and quiet, peaceful residential neighborhoods. These towns have their own unique set of characteristics, school districts, and housing options but offer similar lifestyles and qualities of life.

Orinda's town center has two sides bisected by Highway 24 and the Orinda BART Station. On one side, you’ll find a small commercial district, a community park, a golf course, access to the San Pablo reservoir, and a recreation center. On the other side, you’ll find a cinema, local shops, restaurants, and cafes that anchor Orinda’s community.

Lafayette is also served by a BART Station, but unlike Orinda, Lafayette has had better success over the years in developing housing around BART. This makes Lafayette popular for families and young professionals (those who wish to work in SF but like the slower pace of life) alike. Lafayette has a sizable, picturesque downtown with plenty of shopping, dining, and grocery stores centered along Mt. Diablo Blvd.

Walnut Creek

Nestled in the rolling foothills of beautiful Mt. Diablo, Walnut Creek is a bustling regional hub in the greater East Bay, making it a great option for those who work in San Francisco but want the quiet comfort and space of a suburban center. This idyllic yet large city is centrally located and offers extensive highway and two BART connections to Oakland and San Francisco to the west and the Dublin/San Ramon employment center to the south.

Walnut Creek is known around the region for its active downtown, shopping, and dining, but the city is beloved by its residents for its quaint neighborhoods, access to parks and open space, and high-quality schools. Walnut Creek is just east of Lafayette and people throughout the Bay Area choose to shop at Broadway Plaza, the luxurious large, and well-planned outdoor shopping, dining, and cultural center of the city rather than taking the long trip to Downtown San Francisco.

In the older part of downtown beloved by its residents, you’ll find an extensive farmers market on the weekends and impromptu bands playing music outside coffee shops.

Piedmont

Piedmont is an incredibly desirable city with mature tree-lined streets, large luxury homes, and the local distinction of being surrounded in all directions by Oakland. With Oakland's historic Grand Lake District to the southwest, the Montclair District to the northeast, and the Crocker Highlands and Glenview Districts to the south, Piedmont is an almost entirely residential city with a very small commercial area and precious few multi-family dwellings.

Once dubbed “the City of Millionaires,” Piedmont’s early 20th century mansions still stand among larger, architecturally unique, and pricier homes that draw executives looking for luxury, prestige, and high-quality education for their children. These top-rated public schools have a private school feel and are located on spacious and idyllic grounds.

Fremont

Fremont is the fourth most populous city in the Bay and provides the easiest access by car to Silicon Valley. It also boasts a BART line and two stations (with a third on the way) into San Francisco. Fremont is so south in the East Bay that some consider it a part of Silicon Valley, and is a multicultural community rich in history and taking pride in its diversity and contributions to the Bay Area scene. Tesla and Kaiser have campuses here employing thousands of Bay Area residents.

This also drives up real estate prices through the creation of high-paying local jobs. Still, savvy professionals in a two-person household or roommate situation know that they can live in Fremont where one commutes to SF and one works in Silicon Valley, and pay significantly less rent than living on the Peninsula.

Fremont is separated into distinct neighborhoods that offer quite different lifestyles, price points, and housing options: from the Mission Valley, Warm Springs, and Weibel Mission Hills neighborhoods to the flatter parts of the city located near the Dumbarton bridge, so it is good to have a guide when looking for homes here.