5 Notable Neighborhoods

I found Oakland Magazine about 6 months ago by accident and as soon as I did, was so excited about it that I decided to subscribe - for two years. I read every month hoping to find something or somewhere described in the pages as dare I say [ehchem] new and different to explore in this urban mecca. But every month I am somewhat disappointed.

The Zine can be read from cover to cover in about an hour (which is a drag in and of itself). But read three issues and you begin to see a trend: the magazine's primary focus is on advertising the hip-happenin'-expensive-see-or-be-seen places around the city. Almost every issue contains a review of a pricey College Avenue, Solano Avenue (this is not technically Oakland but it fits the previous description perfectly), or Piedmont Avenue Restaurant. And every issue devotes a fair amount of the rest of the pages available to activities that require a certain degree of privilege and hard cold cash to participate in (wine tasting, restoring homes in the more 'desired' neighborhoods, or attending local benefits for around $200 per plate, etc.). Even the advertising is directed toward certain people - those looking for a night out on the town, a good Realtor, or private schools - you know the drill.

I have been known to frequent those neighborhoods, to eat at those pricey restaurants or buy certain goods and services in those locales. I'll even admit that Wood and I rented an apartment a few short doorsteps off of Piedmont Avenue for a few years. I have been known to donate some of my 'extra' cash to charity. I went to a good suburban public school, Hubbie went to boarding school in High School, and we aren't shy about the fact that we want a great education for Twig. And yes, Hubbie and I want to 'restore' - even update - our 1938 bungalo. But reading Oakland Magazine sometimes makes me feel a little 'less than' everyone else. We just can't consistently afford the "Good Life" presented in the articles contained upon it's pages.

It may go without saying then, that when Wood and I were looking to buy a house in Oakland we searched high-and-low in all of the more 'desirable' neighborhoods. The ones with good schools, lower crime rates, even the up and coming places. We soon realized that we couldn't afford to buy in the neighborhoods we "wanted" to live in and have a reasonable quality of life at the same time. The one house that we did make an offer on (great neighborhood, great schools, great house) went to bidding-war and we had to bow out. So we expanded search. We found a fabulous affordable fixer/starter - with character - below Mac Arthur. It's nothing like Montclair.

We likely deal with a bit more uncertainty in our neighborhood when it comes to safety, break ins, theft, violence, etc. than in some of those regularly featured and revered districts of Oakland. This isn't a Rockridge experience. As our fabulous Real Estate Broker said of her West Oakland neighborhood; "It's Complicated here." We deal with more of the reality of day to day life in an urban city... There have been several murders within blocks of our house, our cars have been broken-in to on more than one occasion, and our neighbor across the street recently had his house broken into during broad daylight.

But we are a very diverse group. We are Black, White, Jewish, Hmong, Chinese, and Mexican - all on the same block. There are 12 houses on the street. Eleven are owner-occupied. We all know one another by name. Between everyone, there are 14 school aged children that live on our street. They play together. We know one another's work, home and cell phone numbers and don't hesitate to call if something is out of order. We eat meals together. We care for one another's pets when someone's on vacation. We look out for one another. Our neighborhood is Old-School.

People that frequent the other districts don't know much about ours. It's kinda fun to tell people that we live in the San Antonio District. They ask "where is that?" and we get to teach 'em something about the Town and tell them that it's below Mac Arthur between Highland Hospital and Fruitvale Avenue.

It's gritty, seedy, diverse, and full of activity in our neck of the woods. Yep, we thought that this was going to be a transitional neighborhood - we'd sort-of talked about planning to move to a locale with better schools and such when we needed to. But about a year ago, something really cool happened and it all changed. Farmer Joe's, a tiny Oakland institution of a grocery store at the corner of 35th Avenue and Mac Arthur expanded into a huge new location. As they constructed it, I told Wood and anyone else that would listen that this would be the turning point - our neighborhood was soon to be a destination.

A couple of weeks ago we learned that Peet's Coffee and La Farine are moving in right across the street from Farmer Joe's.

That ROCKS!

But hey, what's better than Peets and La Farine right across the street from Farmer Joes (all by the way, are within walking distance of my house)? Oakland Magazine was delivered to my doorstep yesterday and in it contains an article titled "Getting to Know You - Five Oakland Neighborhoods Worth Exploring". Ours is among those featured and considered to be a Gem.

So now it's confirmed and in writing: not only are we new and different - we're in this 'hood for the long haul.