Finding the perfect apartment in Oakland, CA

August 9, 2007 3:01 PM

I am in the process of moving to Oakland (yay!). My next task is to find the perfect apartment for me and my cats. What do you know that I should know?

My three most pressing criteria: cat-friendly, no more than $1250/month (cheaper would be better), and within walking distance (< 1 mile) of a BART station.

Craigslist pulls up several promising listings, but not really knowing the area, does anyone have any tips on truly excellent (or truly horrible) apartment buildings, management companies, and/or neighborhoods? Or just have tips in general for moving to the area? Thanks!

posted by ilikecookies to grab bag (29 comments total)

Seems like there's lots of apartments around Lake Merritt and Piedmont - neither one is super BART-friendly, depending on where you live in the neighborhoods. I just moved out of an apartment on Athol Street and had a cat there for 2 years. technically, my lease did not allow it, but no one seemed to care. The building manager knew about my cat and didn't ever suggest it was a problem. Others in the building had dogs. My rent was $995 for a one bedroom and it was a pretty nice place. But I think it was about 1.5 miles to BART, unless you wanted to hop on AC Transit to get there by bus.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 3:15 PM on August 9, 2007

The magic phrase you're looking for while apartment-hunting is "above MacArthur." The opposite phrase, "below MacArthur" places you in areas where street noise, garbage covering the streets, personal safety, property crime, and crappiness of the environment in general are more likely to be issues. There are nice parts of town all over, but fewer of them "below MacArthur."
posted by majick at 3:30 PM on August 9, 2007

I would consider up to Piedmont Ave to be walking distance to BART. Other great neighborhoods to consider are Temescal and Rockridge, near Macarthur and Rockridge BART stations, respectively. I've lived in both neighborhoods and can personally attest to them as nice places to live if you don't have a car. It's pretty flat and there's lots of good stuff to walk to. Anything between Broadway and the lake would be worth checking out and I've been to some nice warehouse spaces in the area near 19th St BART, too.
The neighborhoods around Lake Merritt and Fruitvale BART can be sketchier, but people seem to like living there. I would like living there. I wouldn't recommend the West Oakland or Coliseum BART areas to someone who doesn't have a car, because they're not necessarily safe to walk around in at night.
If you come up with more specific questions, feel free to contact me via my profile. I love cheerleading for Oakland!
posted by smartyboots at 3:45 PM on August 9, 2007 [2 favorites has favorites]

I live in the Temescal area (which is directly west of the Piedmont area), right near Macarthur BART. I wouldn't walk around at night, but taking BART during the day/early eve is just fine. There's lots to do and it's centrally located. Plus, many of the apartments are charming (hardwood floors, craftsman built-ins, etc.) and recently renovated.

East of Telegraph is just fine, West is not so safe. Craigslist has a LOT of listings in the Temescal area.
posted by iamkimiam at 3:45 PM on August 9, 2007

I want to second (or third?) the Lake Merritt area - you might be a little more than a mile from a BART stop, but the walk around the lake is pleasant and there's a lot going on. I just moved into a new apartment on Athol Ave and love it.
posted by purplevelvet at 3:50 PM on August 9, 2007

The city of Emeryville is surrounded by North Oakland, has a lot of new construction (due to the housing value plateau, I'd expect many new owners to be renting), is remarkably clean and safe, and has a free shuttle to the Macarthur BART station.
posted by meowzilla at 3:52 PM on August 9, 2007

If you're not locked in to Oakland, places near the El Cerrito Bart stations aren't bad.
posted by iamabot at 3:52 PM on August 9, 2007

North Oak near Ashby BART is a great neighborhood. I live at Alcatraz and Shattuck and enjoy inexpensive rent and more safety than Macarthur area. This looks like a decent place.
posted by Typographica at 3:53 PM on August 9, 2007

I agree. Check out the area around the top of Lake Merritt on through Piedmont Ave. and over to the Temescal area.

When you're settled in, check out the farmers' market on Saturday at Grand and Lakeshore or the Temescal one on Sunday. The Parkway Theater also kicks ass.
posted by spork at 4:19 PM on August 9, 2007

Keep in mind Temescal, Rockridge, and other locations in North Oakland effectively put you closer to Berkeley than to downtown Oakland. Which is fine, if you like Berkeley. I lived on Alcatraz and Telegraph for 3 years, and it's a decent neighborhood -- anything east of telegraph there is *really* nice, and you're in close proximity to a Whole Foods and a Safeway.

Lake Merritt (northeast side) is very nice, but you're going to be riding your bike to the BART. The West side isn't bad as long as you're east of Broadway, IMO, but then again, I live two blocks from the West Oakland BART.

I find Berkeley and North Oakland are much more walkable than the Downtown Oakland area, which is better managed on a bike.

Your budget is pretty reasonable for a studio-1bd in even the nicer locations of the east bay, so I don't think you'll have a problem. Since you can live wherever, I'd probably go rockridge -- it's the 'nicest' east bay bart outside of the berkeley locations.

i've always avoided (where possible) 'apartment complex-y' type places (you know, the kind with 'luxury' amenities like free parking, a micro-gym, and asshole neighbors) -- there's not a ton of those in the east bay, but I'd recommend avoiding them unless that's your thing.
posted by fishfucker at 4:53 PM on August 9, 2007

Hey there. I can basically only echo what other folks are saying. I just thought I'd chime in because I'm looking for a place right now too. If you happen across any great 3 bedrooms, do let me know!

As for general Oakland coolness - I can give you a few ideas. Feel free to email me - address is in the profile.

Good luck!
posted by serazin at 8:35 PM on August 9, 2007

I basically agree with everything fishfucker said. Sorry this post is so long, but here is my personal block-by-block analysis. ;) Oh, and when I say a place is "nice," I'm assuming (based on literally nothing at all) that you like quiet, tree-lined streets; cafes and bookstores; WASPs and yuppies. If you prefer things that feel like downtown, industrial chic or "urban wastelands;" ethnic neighborhoods (eg, Chinatown) or being around working class families, I'd recommend different stuff.

The best area is basically south Berkeley. Start around College & Alcatraz -- great access to corner groceries, flower stands, etc. This is a neighborhood where a lot of Berkeley grad students live. Head south to "Rockridge," the area centered around the Rockridge BART Station, along College Avenue. Eg, this studio. Your quintessential "puppies and strollers" type of neighborhood. If instead of going south, you headed north on College toward Berkeley, the neighborhood around Ashby & College called Elmwood is also very good. Need some organic cotton yoga clothes? They've got you covered. The only problem there is that you might have to ride your bike to BART, and you'd be near a lot more undergraduates (oh, and you'd probably have crossed out of Oakland, too).

From your start point of Alcatraz & College, if you headed southwest along Claremont (street a block south of Alcatraz), you end up in Temescal, centered around Telegraph & 51st. I wouldn't enjoy that area so much because Claremont is such a wide and fast street, but a few of my friends really like it. From 51st & Telegraph, though, if you headed a bit further north, that neighborhood between Shattuck (w), Telegraph (e), Ashby (n - or even further north is great) & Alcatraz (s), has no real name (that I know of), but it's a very solid choice. A lot of old single-family homes, some of which need painted, so there aren't quite as many restaurants and cafes, but you'd again be in really easy walking distance of both BART and a grocery (Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods). Eg, this place. Technically, these may be in Berkeley. The neighborhood starts to change a bit as you cross Alcatraz heading south -- plus you're getting further from groceries and BART. Around, say 59th & Dover, you're in a fairly quiet neighborhood that's a mix of (mostly) black families that bought a long time ago, and some undergrads that rent rooms.

Generally, what you want to do is stay east. North of Stanford, stay east of Sacramento. (And definitely do not live where Typographica suggested. That is my neighborhood. It's not as bad as the links make it sound, especially the first, and I love it nevertheless, but it is probably not going to be your first choice.) South of Stanford, stay east of MLK. Things get nicer the more east you are. From what I hear (and I don't know the area right there very well) I wouldn't head too much further south here, and I would not move to the immediate neighborhood around Macarthur Station. No easy grocery, no cafes (right?), not that safe.

Jumping around now to places I know less well -- tied for second best choice for nice living, walking to a movie theater, and takeout restaurants is the northeast side of Lake Merritt, near Lakeshore and Grand. This is only if you don't mind biking to BART, or if you could take AC Transit instead (if you're headed downtown near the Transbay Terminal, that neighborhood is really convenient for bus travel). The area immediately around the Lake Merritt BART Station is not that good though.

Jake London Square ... might work for you. The feel there is not old Craftsman or Victorian houses -- it's industrial chic, condos and converted warehouses near a ferry and waterfront revitalization. Chain retail and biking to BART, but some nightlife. The most livable place near downtown Oakland. Downtown Oakland itself (around the 12th & 24th St. stations) is going to be an awesome downtown in about three years, but it's still pretty deserted there at night right now.

A very tricky question is the West Oakland BART Station. I love the neighborhood, and it's only a 12 minute BART ride to the city, and there's going to be a limited grocery there soon. But the crime rate is still really high. It used to be one of the city's most dangerous neighborhoods, and it's now in transition.

Then, I'd pretty much avoid anywhere south of the Lake, especially International Blvd. down in the avenues. Anything calling itself "East Oakland," probably not good. Down that far south, you'd have to be east of Macarthur, at which point you'd have to drive everywhere. I don't know about the Fruitvale BART Station -- anyone?
posted by salvia at 8:46 PM on August 9, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Wow, great information! I'm an East Bay newcomer who lucked into good temporary housing, but I think I'll be revisiting this thread in a few months.

I just wanted to get back to the cat. I don't know where you're coming from, but my sense is that it would be very difficult to find a big, expensive metropolitan area that has a more cat- and dog-friendly rental market. Craigslist.org, where all the apartment ads are, allows you to filter for offers that are cat-friendly. Good luck
posted by gum at 9:25 PM on August 9, 2007

I'm now worrying about coming across wrong. I should've just said "this is what I think most people consider 'nice,'" since I know I don't know what you like (except cookies!). I used to live in Rockridge and Elmwood and North Berkeley for about 5 years total, so the reason I make fun of them is that I got sick of them. And this sentence -- "A lot of old single-family homes, some of which need painted, so there aren't quite as many restaurants" -- got garbled: it is the single-family-ness, not the house disrepair, that reduces the number of restaurants there (fewer residents in the immediate neighborhood = fewer people to eat in them).
posted by salvia at 12:15 AM on August 10, 2007

Well, here's some very insider info. My brother is about to move out of an apartment (within two weeks) in the Lake Merritt neighborhood near the corner of Grand on Perkins. It's a two bedroom for around $1200, but they also have 2 or 3 one bedroom places for around $900 (I think) that have been empty for a while. They don't seem to advertise online. Just a sign in front of the place. It's actually a couple of houses that have been converted into multiple units (two two-stories and one one-story with a shared yard). It's a really great place and location. Catty-corner to Lakeside Park, and .9 miles from BART. Liquor/Grocery across the street. The only problem is the gas station next door and the folks who love the late-night booming bass. Email in profile if you're interested. The signs they've put up say no pets, but my brother has a cat. They just made him pay more on the deposit to cover the inevitable carpet damage. It's a family owned and inherited place. They're mostly just happy to find people who aren't crazy and/or drug dealers.
posted by team lowkey at 12:52 AM on August 10, 2007

Salvia - are you near Alcatraz and Shattuck? I've lived here for 3 years, and yes, there are some spooky-looking people in this hood, but it's busy and light enough that my walk from BART to this corner never feels scary.
posted by Typographica at 2:06 AM on August 10, 2007

Typographica, I'm sorry, did I make it sound like I disagreed with your entire comment? My bad, sorry.

The only part where I really do disagree is with that apartment you linked to. There were two murders within a 1/8 mile radius of that house in the past month (the ones they're linking with the Black Muslim Bakery raid), and 62nd in particular sketches me out (maybe for no reason) because it isn't a through street. I mean, I live about four blocks away and continue to live here happily, since I don't think the violence was at all random, but I also have a high tolerance for such things, and some of my friends won't come visit after dark.

I think the Shattuck & Alcatraz neighborhood is pretty good -- the Nomad Cafe is great, and you're not far from BART. I once had a good friend at 59th & Dover and basically lived there for a month while moving, and I never felt personally unsafe (though their house did later get broken into three times).
posted by salvia at 9:42 AM on August 10, 2007

The neighborhood that I live in is awesome. It's between two BART stations (19th st and Lake Merritt), friendly, diverse, a block away from Lake Merritt, close to Downtown and Chinatown. It's called the Lakeside Neighborhood, and it is basically a neighborhood of apartment blocks from different areas. Pet store, cafe, natural food store too. Right by Laney College and the Oakland Museum (which shows outdoor movies every first Friday). I can't recommend it enough. It's not well known, so prices are not too high. The area itself is between 14th and 19th st, and Alice and Oak. It will appear on Craigslist as "Lake Merritt", but that description encompasses all of the Lake, so look on the map for this area. It's also pretty safe. A number of the people in our building have moved in from other apartments in the same neighborhood- people tend to stay here because it's affordable and cool and pretty friendly.
posted by oneirodynia at 12:51 PM on August 10, 2007

I have to disagree with Jack London Square and the Warehouse Waterfront District as being the most liveable place near downtown. It's not bad, butt's very empty at night, and IMHO, pretty soulless. You're not going to find many rentals there; most of the buildings are newer "live-work" luxury condos. Personally, I find them pretty uninspiring, aside from the proximity of the Bay itself, but there's not much grocery shopping right there, aside from the farmer's market. But YMMV. I also happen to like the Fruitvale Neighborhood, but I'm willing to suffer a bit of uneasiness now and then in favor of vitality and diversity, and really amazing food. Very big Hispanic population, families, older Victorian and Craftsman homes, people up and down International Boulevard at night.

I also have to disagree with the logic of "above MacArthur" or "below MacArthur". It absolutely does not work in many cases.
Maxwell Park is below MacArthur, and it's lovely (but requires a bike for BART), while Market above MacArthur is miserable. So please don't use that metric to rule things out- I think all the other advice upthread is very accurate.

(Forgot to mention, there's a new Whole Foods being built at 27th and Harrison, which is a long but doable walk or a short bike from my neighborhood).
posted by oneirodynia at 1:12 PM on August 10, 2007

When is that new Whole foods gonna be completed? It seems to keep getting pushed back. There's also a supposed Trader Joe's project to fill the Albertson's on Lakeshore, but I haven't heard of a solid date for that yet.

That's the one major downside of the Jack London area: no grocery shopping.

As for dead at night ... well. you have to know where to go. (hint: merchants or first and last). It ain't downtown Berkeley or say, the Mission, but I don't think there's really any place in Oakland that has a bustling nightlife (Ok, *maybe* Grand and Rockridge).
posted by fishfucker at 1:34 PM on August 10, 2007

also, I agree that the general area oneirodynia referenced is awesome. I had a friend who lived near Ruby Room for many years and it's a pretty cool area. (Though, IMHO, also dead at night, aside from Radio and Ruby -- unless you like broadway crackheads.).
posted by fishfucker at 1:35 PM on August 10, 2007

fishfucker, they're painting the outside now- though I don't know what that means in real time. It actually looks like it should open before Christmas, at least.

I hear you on the late night thing... there are at least people walking their dogs around here, FWIW... which is more than I can say for some of the other places I've lived in Oakland. And on the first Friday every month Critical Mass, the Art Murmur, and First Fridays at the museum mean there's not a total absence of vitality. I agree that Fruitvale/International, Grandlake, Piedmont and Rockridge are really the only places in Oaktown that have consistent humanity after dark, but we're so close to BART, all those places are easy to get to by train or bike. At least the cafe next door is open every day 'til 8:30 now. ;) It's a lot more interesting than it used to be in Downtown, but it still has a long way to go.

I admit to scanning craiglist recently for live-on boat rentals- if I was going to live at Jack London, that's what I'd do.
posted by oneirodynia at 1:55 PM on August 10, 2007

Oh and: ilikecookies, welcome to the East Bay! I was born in the Bay Area and have lived in Oakland for almost 10 years. I really like it, and hope you will too.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:01 PM on August 10, 2007

yeah, jack london could really go either way in the next 5 years. If they get a grocery store and maybe add some more high-end restaurants (without going totally 'yupster'-style like Old Oakland), another liquor store or two, and maybe one or two more bars, i think it could really be the best place in Oakland.

Already they've got Yoshi's, a comedy club coming soon, some decent 'chain-style' food options (tony roma's, sfo pizzeria, everett and jones), late-night food (nation's, buttercup, chicken and waffles), a semi-regular band venue (forget what they're called, but they do a lot of metal shows), best oakland dive/faux-dive (merchants), the coolest cop bar I've ever been in (the Warehouse -- moustaches wall to wall), one of the better unique-y bars (first & last, which you'd expect to be a mess of tourists but is really a nice locals-only sorta place in the evening). A couple nice coffee houses. I mean, there's really a lot of cool shit, it's just tucked away in this failed 'retail' district (uh, yeah, barnes and nobles as an anchor? i don't think so). Secret ultra-cheap burger joint (J&A burgers, where $4 buys you a veggie burger AND fries). All this stuff is totally stumble/walk-able.

Transportation-wise they've got the train and the ferry -- the big bummer is that the walk to 12th street bart is along a pretty dead corridor. Also, yeah, the apartment scene is totally lame. Either complex-y places or fake 'historic lofts'.
posted by fishfucker at 5:11 PM on August 10, 2007

oh, and let's not forget the bev mo! with parking!!!
posted by fishfucker at 5:12 PM on August 10, 2007

Thanks everybody! Just knowing what neighborhoods are called is very very helpful. Keep the info coming! And just to add a little bit more information, I'm coming from D.C. so am used to and love living in diverse neighborhoods. I am not so much a bike rider (phobic actually) but can walk and walk and walk and love to run. My desire to live close to a BART station is one of safety more than anything else as I've been known to get a bit stumbly with my friends (in D.C. I lived around the corner from a metro station) but there is also a pretty good chance I will be working on the other side of the bay. Your responses thus far have been great, I can't wait until I get there for good!
posted by ilikecookies at 5:18 PM on August 10, 2007

Lake Merritt is walker/runner central. If you don't mind a bit longer walk to BART, teamlowkey's insider info is in a pretty cool part of the lake. Very disappointing FYI: the BART train stops running at midnight, but now there is an hourly bus that stops at all BART stations between 12 and 3am, I think. Maybe even later in the morning, but it's certainly not the same thing as hopping on the train. The drunk bus (aka night owl service) runs all night from the City to the East Bay.

fishfucker: rode my bike around JL the other day, and they're doing a lot of revamping/renewal in the annoyingly white bread "mall". Maybe there will be a grocery store... still, I have a hard time getting over the fact that all the development in JL seems to be geared toward people who want to live in the City, but can't afford it, rather than making it cool for Oakland residents. At least the indie cafe' to Starbuck's ratio is very good, so there's hope.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:21 AM on August 12, 2007

oneirodynia: I'd recommend this east bay express article on the planned development for Jack London square.

it sounds like it's not going to happen (overly ambitious, doesn't understand their audience, developers are clearly jackholes who are going to bungle any deals), but i like some of the ideas. however, it looks like if they put in a grocery store there, it'll be more boutique than supermarket -- ie, you can buy capers but you can't buy milk. i definitely wish they were going a little less high end -- more valencia street than the ferry market -- but i'd probably be happy enough just to see a little more of *any* type of retail down there.
posted by fishfucker at 9:23 AM on August 13, 2007

update: that trader joe's opened awhile ago, and it's right next to a walgreen's (or is it rite-aid? whichever) -- with Safeway a little drive down grand, I'd say the northeast part of Lake Merritt is well set up for shopping now. it's freeway accessible too -- the 980 to 580 gets us from West Oakland to TJs in under 10 minutes.

oh, and that whole foods opened.

i've also been hearing that the stretch of mandela parkway in West Oak is slated for even more development projects, so that area is really going to come up in the next few years. If we get lucky and Oakland does get stupid, maybe the co-op grocery that's trying to open around there will succeed.
posted by fishfucker at 5:49 PM on December 7, 2007