As far as running and parks goes in the East Bay, I would go with either Berkeley (Tilden), Castro Valley (Lake Chabot), or Walnut Creek (Mt. Diablo open space). With these three parks you can run miles and miles and not touch pavement. Good luck with your search. Where are you moving from?
We aren't white trash...for one thing we aren't even white. We aren't from the midwest...we are from the coast and we aren't bible thumpers either (I'm not christian at all). 65k is a great starting salary for your early twenties. We have put ourselves through many years of school to become respected scientists... We are not drug addicts, nor have we ever done drugs. So what have you done?...your mom and dad (or grandparents) probably busted their asses so you could live a priveledged life and grow up as a racist and a bigot believing that you are actually an accomplished person and that the world owes you something. I used to think that runners were the more respectable athletes...but the many comments in response to our request for a little help, are quickly changing that.
I would vote for Walnut Creek. Live closer to downtown and you can walk to most places. Major shopping area and close to BART for commuting to Oakland. Trails on Diablo, Briones and Las Trampas are all accessible. Also have the Ironhorse for flat tempo type runs.
low chances of surivving oakland. better to stay home back in the louisiana swamps. stay out of the bay area. we don't want your type of low life bring crime to our already difficult city of oakland.
Check out San Leandro. Near Oakland, lots of apartments and houses for rent, lots of running options -- SL Marina/bay trail, lake chabot, tree-lined streets, hills, etc. Schools aren't great, but aren't the worst. (My kids went to Catholic school.) Close to Berkeley/SF/South Bay.
dude, don't sweat the trolls. Real Californians don't give a f*** where you're from.
Walnut Creek is good for lots of reasons. The schools are pretty decent, lots of good trails to run (though you'll have to drive most likely), and there is good BART access from there to Oakland (straight shot, no transfers). IMHO, though Walnut Creek has no soul, so if you're looking for a place that is not a shiny plastic yuppie wasteland, go elsewhere.
Piedmont is nice, probably more expensive, and closer to work. You can drive up into the hills and hit some trail running in redwood/joaquin miller fairly easily.
I believe Pleasanton has access to some pretty good trails, open space areas, but I'm not as familiar with that area. Also is probably pretty damn expensive and will be a bit longer of a commute.
Emeryville is close to everything, but seems like the equivalent of living at a mall to me. It just seems like condos, business high rises, and shopping. It's also probably pretty expensive, and a little further from the trails as some of your other choices.
Personally, I think Piedmont is the coolest place of all the ones you mentioned, with WC second, Pleasanton 3rd, Emeryville 4th, and Dublin 5th.
You might also consider Montclair area, which is pretty close to Piedmont. I have no idea what the rental prospects are like around there, but it's an alright place that's close to a lot of things.
the other kids at school will laugh at how poor your kids are. 65k is alot in Fayetteville, but you need 200k to live in the Bay Area. it's best for your kids if you stay put in Fayetteville.
Those east bay areas are overpriced and 1/10th are forclosed now because of the sub-prime scandal. Many families are homeless and living in their minivans in the supermarket parking lot near my house. You see the flashlights are niie. Some run portable generators all night to stay warm. The police feel so sorry for them they won't kick them out of the lots even though it's private property. Make sure yoyr wife has two jobs before moving here, and buy her a hand gun, or a taser.
you will have shopping access most places just fine, cost of living will be high everywhere.
access to bart and access to trails without driving will be tough. that being said, look at montclair area of oakland. you can take a bus down to rockridge bart and running trails are about as plentiful as it gets. elementary schools are good, but beyond that, look elsewhere.
Lakeshore/Crocker Highlands area of oakland is pretty good, but not that close to Bart.
north berekely/albany are nice for bart and schools, but actual trails are farther away. there are bike paths within runnable distances that aren't too bad, though.
Lafayette/Orinda area is nice, but will be more expensive, probably.
Crime in Oakland (the kind you hear about on the news) is pretty much concentrated in the flatland area west of Hwy 580.
good luck
the police won't stomp down on druggies in the white high schools of the east bay because of the ex-hippie yuppie parent's, so there is a major drug epidemic in the high schools, junior high schools, and even elementary schools. it's getting out of hand. it draws the other elements in from the poor white trash areas, barrios, and ghettos. there's no safe place around here for hundreds of miles. the closest safe public schools are in boise, idaho.
the mission district
-access to BART= Rockridge(College avenue), Walnut Creek, Lafayette
-shopping, supermarkets, etc.= Anywhere is going to be fine, except maybe in the outskirts. But Rockridge, Montclair, are exceptional in this category.
-access to trails, hiking, etc.= Montclair is close to Redwood park which has somne of the greatest trails in the world. All the subarbs in the east bay will have plenty of trails but in the summer they will get to hot to run except very early morning or late evening.
-low crime
-good schools - Oakland Public schools are not great, but the elementary schools in Rockridge(Chabot) and the schools in Montclair are top notch. Alameda has a great school district, but it is not close to BART or TRAILS.
-cost of living= good luck on this one, the further away from Oakland/SF and Walnut creek the better. The east bay is pretty rich and in the HS's there is hella alot of Drug use and Drinking. But the best XC programs are out there. Well Campolindo is pretty good. Both of Saint Mary's in Berkeley's teams got 2nd in state this year in Div 4.
I think Rockridge would be a great fit, Rockridge is in north Oakland and is safe, has its own bart station, good schools (I went to them and am going to an Ivy League), the running trails are withing 15mins to both Tilden and Redwood, Berkeley Marina and Lake Merrit.
Ask any other questions and I'd be happy to asnwer.
drug use is really bad in palo alto too. pa h.s. (across el camino real 1/4 mile from the stanford track) is a drug haven for teenage pots smokers, meth addicts, etc. gunn high school is also a dopers paradise. the pigs leave the students alone cuz the chief and the japanese mayor both want to keep their jobs in foo foo palo alto.
hello sir.
I live in Fremont, and although it's perfectly nice and has great BART access, there are probably better places to live for your situation. As others have mentioned, you will have a hard time buying a house in a good school district for less than $700-800k, at a minimum. But you can always rent, or look for somewhere with a good elementary school (there are pockets of good elementary areas everywhere, including Oakland itself) and deal with the bigger school issue later.
Pleasanton is pretty far and spendy, but nice, with good city trails and access to Pleasanton Ridge. Dublin is a closeby alternative that is a little more affordable. Castro Valley has decent schools and Lake Chabot, but not great BART access. I love the Berkeley and Oakland hills, and you can get a good elementary school if you do your research. Check out the Kensington area, just north of Berkeley.
Really, unless you have close to a million dollars to spend on a house, you're not going to get a great school (that's even the case down here in Fremont). So find a city/area you like and deal with schools later. Also, keep in mind that demographics are changing rapidly. Our neighborhood school hasn't been good in the past, but now that lots of the new "middle class" families like us are moving in (our income is $150k and we live in a tiny 1955 tract home), the school is improving every year with involved, educated parents.
nothing to do....bunch of chinese, I wouldn't spend 150k to live in that shit hole
We actually spent $650k, and our neighborhood is pretty diverse. I can get from my front door to a trail head in 3 minutes, so I'm happy.
Oh Gaw, Fremont sucks. M.C. Hammer had his mansion up in the hills of Fremnt, spent his wad, and went bankrupt. He's the most famous son of that dead town. The most important landmark is the Toyota plant which is a daily reminder that GM and the U.S. Auto industry sucks and that the Nips won WWII. The only other place in Fremont is Tri-City sporting goods, which constantly advertises on T.V., and is infamous for supplying 1/2 the murder weapons for the northern half of California. I can't think of a worse place to live. Fremont, what a dump.
The East Bay is nobody's first choice. Really. It is, if not flyover country, then at least drivethrough country. You have to pass through it to get to Tahoe - unfortunately. It's a bunch of hicks of all colors in pickup trucks. Very little civilization. Not all of it is a cesspool like Oakland, but even the alleged nicer parts are just bland suburban nothingness.
