Have you lived in or visited Alameda County? Tell us about it!
Oakland
June 2018 —The City of Oakland is located in Alameda County in Northern California. Oakland is a mid-sized city which is diverse. The 1970’s was a unique time to live in the City. The City was growing in size, but was also experiencing some of the downsides of growth. The City had developed a new subway train called BART, short for Bay Area Rapid Transit. It brought people closer to the nearby City of San Francisco and also resulted in the beginning of the loss of the downtown area. Yet, there was growth because of the opportunities. The City also experienced unrest. The growth of local terrorist organizations such as the SLA lead to the death of the school superintendent and the arrest of Patty Hearst and others. Oakland was the home of two community colleges and had a strong public education system. In the middle of Oakland is a man-made lake where families can visit Fairyland and also soak in delights of living in an area where the weather is never extreme – no snow, no excessive heat – but mild almost all year around. There were local Five and Dime stores for the kids and every neighborhood had restaurants, shops, movies and grocery stores. The local bus system stopped everywhere and it was easy for everyone to get around.
Oakland
April 2018 — I live in Oakland, California, United States. Oakland is a great place to live. The weather is probably the aspect that most people would enjoy. It’s temperate all year round and slightly warmer than its counterpart, San Francisco. I would estimate that there are over three-hundred days of sunshine a year, so the city really facilitates an outdoor lifestyle. Another aspect that makes Oakland unique is its diversity of people. Along with cities like New York, it is one of the more diverse cities on earth, where whites, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latinos all co-mingle (relatively) peacefully. Oakland’s vibe or energy is a happy medium between the hustle and bustle of San Francisco and the sleepy energy of outer Bay Area, California suburbs. While Oakland certainly isn’t as energetic and vibrant as San Francisco, that can be a good thing as it allows for a nice mix of energy and down time. There’s also the food. Any relatively large city within the Bay Area, California is going to have really good cuisine. With its racial diversity and emphasis on food culture, the Bay Area facilitates a climate for fantastic restaurants, and Oakland is no exception. Although Oakland is a relatively small city, at around 400,000 residents, it would literally take an entire lifetime to do an exhaustive survey of all the great restaurants throughout the area. Finally, Oakland is bordered by some really fantastic regional parks which feature redwoods, awe-inspiring views of the Bay Area, hiking trails, and low-lying mountains. All these aspects combine to make Oakland a very livable, fun, and enjoyable area in which to live.
Dublin
April 2018 — I live in Dublin, California and our zip code here is 94568. It is a suburban city that is located near three large cities: San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. Dublin is a great city whether you’re single, couple or a family. Dublin is safe for the most part especially when you compare it to other cities nearby. Dublin has great top-rated public schools. The city is family friendly with many public parks, hiking trails, and the town puts together many events for families like their Easter egg hunt. Dublin also has a variety of restaurants and shopping so there’s something for everyone to do. The negative aspects of living in a place like Dublin is that the town is fairly expensive especially when you compare it to other places like San Diego. For such a small city, it is very expensive to live here and very competitive. For example, the average price of a home in Dublin is around one million dollars and the market here is so competitive that homes don’t last on the marker for longer than a week. Also, the city cannot keep up with the many people who are moving to Dublin so it always feels that there is simply too many people in such a small city. This translates to congestion on the streets and busy restaurants and shopping centers. Overall, I would live and retire here if I could because it is a great family city, but it is simply too expensive so my family and I will relocate to somewhere else we can live comfortably.
Hayward
May 2018 — Living in Hayward is an interesting experience. This city is always changing. There is always a new business or restaurant opening up in Hayward to explore. I have lived here for 22 years. It is a medium city and to be honest, it was pretty boring when I was in high school. There were very few restaurants and only one movie theater. The entire downtown has been rebuilt including a new movie theatre and a ton of new restaurants. We now have a Farmers Market, Zucchini Festival, car shows and other fun events. The high schools have new track and football fields and the University underwent a name change and a huge remodel.
I love that there is so much to do here and it is a great place to raise a family. My daughter loves the parks and events, they are currently rebuilding the library. What I don’t like about the city is the Hayward loop. Hayward is very central to the San Francisco Bay Area, so to make the city more accessible to traffic passing through the city, city planners decided to create a loop downtown which is a series of one-way streets so all 4 or 5 lanes are open to traffic passing through. While the loop cut down the traffic downtown, it made it very difficult for residents to get to some of the businesses downtown. We literally have to drive in circles to reach certain places. There were several accidents downtown when the street directions first changed and some smaller businesses were forced out of business because it became so difficult to park near them. But, overall it is a great city to live in.
Hayward
March 2018 — I live in Hayward, California, United States. It is a city, but pretty small at 150,000. I generally like the city, though there is not much to do here. Hayward is surprisingly large in terms of area; it is very sprawling, which makes it difficult to get around without a car. Public transportation is decent, though I would not want to be alone at any of the BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) stations in Hayward alone at night. The malls in this area are not upscale and have few stores, though they are being renovated to include more popular stores like H&M. However, downtown Hayward is very nice. The movie theater is very popular and is beautifully decorated with murals on the outside, and it is located next to a great sushi restaurant. That area also has a ton of other delicious restaurants and food joints, including non-Starbucks cafes, bakeries, savory sandwich shops, and burger joints with particularly good fries. There are many cute boutiques that I enjoy exploring, including this really cool retro vintage shop. The library is also a great place to visit and always has the newest books. Outside of the downtown area, there are plenty of cool parks to go visit, including one that has a petting zoo and train; I hold fond memories of this park and like going there to relax with friends and family. The one area of Hayward that I am apprehensive about is Tennyson, which tends to have more crime.