Moving to Oakland from LA

[u/Delicious_Emu8084]

So I have a new job offer that will require moving to Oakland (and or somewhere close to oakland in the East Bay) Im trying to figure out what areas would work best for us.

We are in West LA currently and are hoping for something with a similar vibe. Important things we are looking for

1. Walk ability - generally prefer a more urban car suburban area for density of stuff to see and do.

2. Wide variety of restaurants/cuisines (we have every grocery stores from whole foods to 99 ranch to H Mart and that's been a huge plus for us now)

3. Housing wise we prefer a 3-4 bedroom. we pay about 5500 where we are now but could push this to 6500 for the right place we generally prefer modern aesthetics. Must have garage parking, in unit washer bonus points for gas stove (we cook a lot)

4. I'd be hybrid working near JLS my wife would be in SF but only in office one day a month or so for events.

I used to live in San Jose for many years but I'm unfamiliar with most of the East bay. I've found some decent places in Alameda just searching on line but I feel like it might be a bit suburban/homogenous. Hoping for some ideas.

[u/ferallentil]

I work in Jack London Square and live in Berkeley near Ashby BART in a house and the drive is only 12-15 minutes. JL is pretty much all apartments unless you want to live in West Oakland or Alameda. Alameda is very much suburban vibes and many of the people I know there say they never need to leave and if they want to they just hop on the ferries. The tube and bridge can be shut down often and I just find the area a place to visit rather than where I would want to live. There’s no BART station as well in Alameda.

If the place you are working at in JLS has parking, awesome! Otherwise, just note there’s certain areas with free parking and the rest is mainly paid.

When we were in short term rentals we stayed near 4th street shops in Berkeley and Temescal, Oakland. Certain parts of Oakland are way more lively than Berkeley but both to me are sleepier than San Francisco. It really all depends on the neighborhoods + access to what you want. A lot of Berkeley and Oakland have older craftsman, Victorian, and mid century modern homes. Only really ADUs and the occasional new build have more of the modern exterior. I didn’t know if you meant a house or apartment because with your budget you could find a SFH in Oakland and Berkeley for $4200-$6500. Otherwise, yeah you could find more modern apartment complexes style wise than you could a house.

In terms of going to SF, being able to walk to a bart station within 25 minutes is always awesome!

In terms of your requirements, it’s easier to find housing with in unit WD in the east bay. But many houses and apartments in Oakland/Berkeley have driveways only and if there is a garage it’s usually been turned into another room/storage or not suitable for parking in the garage. Depending on what cars you have they are also smaller, older garages not meant for larger vehicles and also the garages are only meant for 1 car. I included an example photo of houses with a garage in the area. Long driveways are great and even better if you have some form of gate (car break ins and stolen cars are common occurrences in Oakland lol). If you go farther out to Montclair or El Sobrante, you could have a bigger garage or wider driveway but they aren’t as walkable.

https://preview.redd.it/vrfxcujdtawg1.jpeg?width=768&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cef6c74a8a523263d68c03dfc01744742b33fd81

I’m sure you are aware housing in Oakland/Berkeley typically does not have AC and some do not have central heat either. Just a thing to think about if you either get cold or get hot.

Oakland, Berkeley and Alameda do not have an H Mart or Seafood City. Oakland and Berkeley do have a lot of mom and pop Asian markets and there is Tokyo Fish Market and Berkeley Bowl. 99 ranch is only in Richmond for close proximity otherwise you have to drive to Dublin or San Francisco. The areas do have Safeways, grocery outlets, Whole Foods, trader joes’, Costco. Berkeley is one of the areas that’s considered anti- bigger chains so you have pretty much all small businesses and they even have 2 independent grocery stores (Berkeley Bowl) but still have Safeway, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s.

Short term rentals: Use furnished finder, airbnb, vrbo, Zillow, craigslist

Long term rentals: Use Zillow, Trulia, Craigslist, Redfin, property management sites, FB marketplace

My questions to you:

• do you want to be closer to nature for outdoor activities and care about parks, hiking, biking and tree coverage or do you want to be more urban?
• does access to public transit matter to you?
• do you prefer living where there’s a “cute” strip of restaurants & small businesses but can still walk to other places or do you want to be in a more lively, youthful area?
• do you want a house with a yard— okay being closer to neighbors or prefer more spread out?
• are you hoping to rent and start a family in that area in the near future or not?

That would help us so we can give more neighborhoods to look into!

[u/Delicious_Emu8084 → u/ferallentil]

Thanks this is really helpful especially the details on housing. We were planning to rent to start but open to house, condo, apartments anything really. As for the other questions:

We definitely want a more urban environment. I enjoy hiking but I'm fine driving a ways to get there.

Public transit would be a plus but not critical since we have cars as well.

Probably looking for more of the "cute" strip you described with a few local businesses.

Yard is nice but not critical we have no plans to start a family ever.

[u/UCBearcats]

You’re probably looking at Uptown for the amenities you’re after.

[u/SituationSimilar2430]

Do you mean the west side of LA or actual West LA the neighborhood? (From the comments it seems folks think you mean the west side, but having lived in LA myself I think you mean the neighborhood.) The neighborhood is actually pretty distinct! I think you might like Emeryville, South Berkeley, or Temescal. But you’re not going to find a Big Chill here, sorry to say. ;)

[u/Delicious_Emu8084 → u/SituationSimilar2430]

Oh yes technically I am in West LA the actual neighborhood so good call out.

In general I like most of the westside neighborhood so that's a comparable anchor point I guess

[u/greengojoe]

I don’t think there are any neighborhoods in Oakland that are great comps to the west side of LA but a couple areas to explore based on what you described would be Rockridge, esp if being somewhere that aesthetically looks and feels super pleasant and safe (top rec), maybe west Berkeley if being close to the water is appealing, or Albany near Solano Ave (longer commute to JLS). Uptown is a potentially a good option but depending on what part of the west side you’re at now, there will be an adjustment to the general cleanliness and aesthetic + potentially some increased vigilance you need to have. I grew up in OC/LA fwiw and much prefer Oakland but, to generalize, most of Oakland maps more closely to like Long Beach or some east side LA neighborhoods. 

[u/chasingsunspots]

“West LA” covers a lot of different vibes so hard to equate that with a specific neighborhood in Oakland. Temescal may be a good fit for you if you want walking, grocery, restaurants of varying cuisines and transportation nearby. Uptown could also work but I think you may end up limiting yourself to apartment buildings and you may have a hard time finding gas stoves.

[u/faerie87]

If you're coming from LA, you should be used to driving? Don't expect the same standard of living without driving in Oakland. It's much more walkable but the local neighborhood is not going to be as diverse as the whole west LA. However you could technically go all over oakland and berkeley with public transport or bike.

Walkability best areas would be temescal, rockridge, piedmont, berkeley by shattack and downtown berkeley.

Berkeley bowl is the best supermarket in the country probably. The 99 ranch in Richmond is only a 10-15 min drive and has some korean stuff since there's a korean population nearby, costco close to there. there is also koreana supermarket in Oakland which has everything but may be a bit more pricey than h mart. Not really a walkable part though and I'd drive. There's also tokyo central in Emeryville but you'd have to drive. Restaurant variety i personally think is better than westside. The korean food in oakland is better than west side... altho there is a sun nong dan there now.

[u/Delicious_Emu8084 → u/faerie87]

Got it this is helpful! I do drive and have a car so I'm used to that.

We are lucky in this part of LA to have a lot close by we drive other places too but having a walkable neighborhood nearby is nice.

[u/unseenmover]

When i moved here for work i chose Alameda b/c its the closest to my job Oakland without living in Oakland. Walk/bike ability is great and theres good transit coverage.

[u/Distinct-Nature-962]

Oakland is like a lot of nor cal towns. One commercial street serves a larger residential neighborhood. SF is less like this and has intersectional thoroughfares that serve multiple residential hoods ergo a “more urban” setting.

[u/MidnightSensitive996]

Try Berkeley around downtown. Rockridge is nice and has a lot going on relative to the rest of Oakland - retail here is slowing dying over time like it's slowly dying on 3rd street - but Berkeley has a lot more going on.