tell me about the East Bay, CA

Exactly (I presume this is directed toward Crow). I loved my time there.

The East Bay is great.

Sexuality in the bathrooms? How can anyone insinuate this is an East Bay phenomena?

Don't live in Richmond like everyone has said. Berkeley is cool as is the Rockridge area of Oakland. If you have the money, Piedmont, Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda are your best bet for public schools. All have public schools that are ranked in the top 100 in the country. Everywhere else you would have to pay for private schools to get as good of an education. The Oakland school system is just f***ed.

As per that guy talking about all the drug problems in high school, I was in high school in the East Bay just a few years ago. The prevalence of drugs was just the same as everywhere in California and very likely the nation. In college I have talked to a lot of people whose stories make it sound like the East Bay drug problems are insignificant to where they are from.

The running scene is pretty good in the central area (Berkeley, Oakland). It is decent on the other side of the hills as well from Walnut Creek down to Danville.

Most runners seem to be from Berkeley, Oakland, Walnut Creek, San Ramon, Danville, Piedmont, Moraga and Lafeyette, Dublin and maybe even down to Livermoore. The best running trails are in these locations as well. The further north you go, people just seem to stop running.

The running scene is great in Marin as well. But as mentioned it is expensive and you will have to pay the 5 dollar bridge toll once a day.

mover wrote:

thanks for the info everyone.

I don't have to live in Richmond, it's just one work location I will have to hit. I was told that it was a ghetto nightmare previously.

I am an early 30s father of two, so not too worried anymore about the club and party scene.

I can run a 5k in 1530-1600, it would be fun to join a group. thanks for the SCTC link, any other running or cycling clubs?

Anyone have any experience living in Albany, Hercules, or Piedmont?

thanks everyone!

I was going to recommend Oakland, but given the OP is worried about living near the "ghetto", maybe not. Never mind the great access to regional parks, Lake Merritt, Lake Temescal, flat and hilly terrain, proximity to tracks (Piedmont HS and Cal), and so much more. Seriously, though, north Oakland is a great area. I live in the east, but if I had money, and had a family, I would buy in Rockridge just because it's a cool neighborhood, walker-friendly, and close to Cal (I lived there for three years and loved it). You can actually run to the hills from anywhere in the East Bay. Rockridge is nice because it's a short run up to Temescal or to Lake Merritt, and a tougher run up to Skyline Gate (Redwood Park). You can also head to the fire trail at Cal and get a good long run in if you go to Tilden.

Another good thing about living south of Richmond is that you'll have a reverse commute. 80 is bad no matter what time of day, but going east on 80 in the afternoon is terrible...terrible! In my opinion, Albany is eh--not much personality. Hercules is suburban with lots of industrial waste there, I believe. Berkeley is cool, but still very urban. Piedmont is another world and completely sheltered from reality. San Leandro is too far south and is where the real East Bay sprawl begins.

Oakland is where it's at. Proximity to everything you want--work, the City, the trails, university, and more. Our city gets a bad rap, but there's a lot of good people here. I run through the "hood" a lot, and even there people are friendly and will actually encourage you as you run by; I've never felt unsafe.

P.S. Oakland Marathon is on March 28.

The police in Oakland Richmond Berkeley are being cut loose and are getting jobs in San Jose Fresno Merced. Oakland Richmond Berkeley wants to rid the city of white outside agitators who have plagued the departments for 100 years. It's cost those cities $100M in Civil Rights fines and civil judgements. Oakland Richmond Berkeley wants police who live in town. No more outside KKK Skin Heads Nazi Zionists like that racist-Jew-pig Johannes Meserle.

Police Layoffs wrote:

KKK Skin Heads Nazi Zionists like that racist-Jew-pig Johannes Meserle...blahblahblah...homosexuality in bathrooms...blahblahblah...meth, crack, gangs...blahblahb lah...rampant corruption, Blacks, homeless...blahblahblah

Dude, go crawl back to your Cro-Magnon cave in North Dakota or something. You sound completely psychotic.

Meth in Moraga? Not a chance

Haha #2 about meth in moraga..more like high scoring SAT students and in-shape stay at home moms that spend their afternoons at country clubs. I went through the schools there and lets just say a little pot was all you could find if you were lucky.

The hills are a perfect place for meth labs. Moraga is the prime hideout for the biker gangs to cook up the juice.

son of one tree hill wrote:

I used to live in San Leandro when I was going to grad school. From my apartment it was a few minutes' run up to Lake Chabot in the Oakland hills where you can access as many trails as you could want, some paved, some fire road, some single-track. Going the other way it was just a few minutes' drive to the Bay and the flat running path along the waterfront. It was great. Quiet town, too, with some good restaurants. Porky's Pizza Palace is highly recommended if it's still there.

SL used to be a great place--i lived there for 20 years, but it's a shithole now. It's sad that the town where I grew up is becoming a wasteland and San Leandro High is considered an inner-city school. I'm 4th generation East Bay, with my 3 previous generations living in some of the wealthiest areas of Berkley--and the family has left due to increasing crime, taxation and failed political policies. Seriously, drive from East 14th in Oakland to Hayward--you won't notice too much difference. same trashy people along the whole spot.

If you have to live in the east bay (and i'd suggest against it--SL is a symbol of liberalism run-amok there, as the failed policies of Oakland and Berkley have driven the businesses to Nevada and overseas), i'd check out a place called Castro Valley. It is right off the 580 freeway, and about 30' drive to Richmond. If you have 2 young children, the CV school district would suit them well. Good students (I have cousins in elementary, middle and high schools there) and know most of the coaches in the HAAL and CV is what the rest of the league wants to be. (Unless you're moreau catholic or bishop o'dowd.)

People rave about Eugene trails and mammoth and such, but honestly, the east bay trails are among the best in the US. Lake Chabot and the surrounding trails will offer you all the training you need. and free parking if you park on the street.

people have been discussing the BART system, and while that is good for public transportation, one needs to look no further than stoneridge mall in pleasanton to see what the bart tracks have done to a once lovely town. but seriously look into CV if you must live in the east bay. good, central location, good schools, etc.

Castro Valley also has nothing but strip malls and zero character.

what about Alameda? Don't lots of people like it there? Although I guess it's probably not great for running.

I plan on making a recon visit soon.

tell me more about Piedmont--why is is "not reality", to quote another poster?

all other East Bay info is much appreciated. thanks again!

Cops and gang bangers are killed every day in the East bay. The economy is bad. People have no jobs, and east Bay cities are laying off cops. Check back in 10 years.

War Zone wrote:

Cops and gang bangers are killed every day in the East bay. The economy is bad. People have no jobs, and east Bay cities are laying off cops. Check back in 10 years.

I think you just described every city in America.

BART Police has an open license to assassinate any Black male without cause. Kenyans, Ethiopians, even Polynesians and Indians (who look African too).

mover wrote:

I plan on making a recon visit soon.

tell me more about Piedmont--why is is "not reality", to quote another poster?

all other East Bay info is much appreciated. thanks again!

Piedmont is a wonderful area in the Oakland hills. "Not reality" probably refers to the fact that this is where the richer folks live in Oaktown while "down the hill" you still have ghetto-ish areas (west Oakland, around the coliseum). Safe area, good schools, beautiful hillside views (though there was a great fire in the 1990s).

As far as "meth problem" that's all BS. Come to the Inland Empire (Riverside, Victorville) to see a REAL meth area. The homeless are in downtown Berkeley and downtown Oakland but that's about it. Richmond itself is industrial/low income. And every now and then there will be some sort of accident at the oil refinery or chemical plant in Richmond or Martinez.

Former resident wrote:

In fact they come across like the stereotypical histrionics of a Zenophone racist.

On letsrun? Nahhhh.

basically stay out of any public school in the SF bay area. the police chiefs and mayors let meth, crack, weed, alchohol and heroin abuse slide to satisfy the parents who think their kids are going to get through the drug phase unscathed. the richer the town the worse the meth is. it's not the poor kids that are bused in either, it the rich spoiled kids with mercedes benzes that are the biggest problem. the parochial and private schools clamp down pretty well on drugs and alcohol. my folks sent us off to JC when we turned 15/16. we still went to dances and the prom but we got a 3 year early jump on college.

mover wrote:

I plan on making a recon visit soon.

tell me more about Piedmont--why is is "not reality", to quote another poster?

all other East Bay info is much appreciated. thanks again!

Piedmont is gorgeous as hell. If you can afford a nice place there, go for it. It's not far from Oakland (but not walking distance from BART either, although the AC Transit bus seems to run there), and Joaquin Miller and Redwood Parks are a few miles away. Just look at all the green on google maps and you'll see why it's a nice neighborhood, it's like an enclave of gorgeous houses and streets. If you live up the hill a bit you'll have a great view of the entire bay (SF, Oakland, etc).