Advice about Living in Emeryville

5 parent questions ▼
Archived Q&A and reviews ▼

Parent Q&A

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  • Emeryville parents! Where do your kids go to school?

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    Sep 14, 2022

    There seem to be more and more kids around Emeryville. I'm curious where families living in Emeryville send their kids to (elementary/middle/high) school and why. 

    Sep 14, 2022

    I'd be curious too. I know only one family who sends their kids to Anna Yates elementary; some go to Yu Ming; all the others go to private schools. 

    Sep 21, 2022

    We send a child to Black Pine Circle in West Berkeley. There are several Emeryville families at the school.

    Sep 24, 2022

  • Emeryville Superfund Sites?

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    Jun 5, 2022

    Hi! My family is considering buying a house in Emeryville. We've heard that Emeryville has some superfund sites, so we were worried about the development of our two toddlers. The EPA websites are hard for me to parse.

    Does anyone know if there are major pollution sources still active or potentially old sites affecting the surrounding neighborhoods?

    Thanks!

    Jun 5, 2022

    Hi, I worked in a related area so know a bit about this. The disclosure documents will usually list these cleanup sites within a conservative radius of the home. To dig through the documents, you can also use Envirostor (https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/) for the site that you're worried about. This site has things small and big from an underground storage tank to a superfund site. The superfund sites would have a long history of records. By state and local laws, residential use is not permitted on or adjacent to active sites. 

    Jun 8, 2022

  • Living in Emeryville

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    Sep 5, 2019

    Hi parents,

    Could you please comment if you live in Emeryville, if you'd recommend it, what to consider, etc.?

    Thank you!

    Sep 5, 2019

    I live right on the border of Oakland and Emeryville and have 2 elementary school age kids. Emeryville is fine for family with kids, lots of playgrounds and centrally located to lots of shopping and restaurants and short commute to SF if you work in the city. Emeryville is so small that it really just feels like a cleaner neighborhood of Oakland. The only downside is the public school is subpar if you intend to send your kids public school. 

    Sep 11, 2019

    Emeryville has no churches.

    Sep 11, 2019

    Pros:

    close to SF, lots of options for public transportation (BART, emery go round, transbay buses).  Relatively new buildings, mainly apartments or condos.  Close to a lot of good food places (Berkeley, El Cerrito, temescal, rockridge).  young professionals/families with young kids if you are of that demographic.

    cons:

    super EXPENSIVE!! housing can easily run 2500/month for a 1 br, 4000 for a 2 br and so on.  Daycares in emeryville also really expensive compared with surrounding Eastbay cities.  Crime is still an issue, homeless population also really visible (and heartbreaking to see). 

    Anything the poster is considering specifically?

    Sep 11, 2019

    We just moved to Oakland just a few houses east of the Emeryville border. We LOVE it. Obviously we're new, so I don't have a ton of experience yet, but here's what we've found so far:

    1. We're in a great little nook on 55th Street. Mixed-use zoning, so there are single family homes, small apartment buildings, and industrial/commercial stuff like an architecture firm, yoga studio, art gallery, custom window designers, cafe (Doyle St -- super cute!), etc. Feels very diverse and also has a bit of an urban feel, which we love coming from SF for 10+ years. 
    2. We didn't need to get a car. We never had one in the city, and I was sure we'd need one once we came to the East Bay, but this part of Emeryville feels super walkable while also feeling quiet and cozy. We use an electric cargo bike as our "car" and use it whenever we need to do errands nearby, and we rent a Zipcar when we need to go farther. So nice to feel connected to amenities but also have space in our home and a backyard.
    3. Emeryville has followed Berkeley's lead on urban planning. They've extended Berkeley's bicycle boulevards and walking paths, have really nice parks, and generally seem to pay a lot of attention to public roads, signage, and landscaping (unlike Oakland). 
    4. The industrial parts of Emeryville are pretty cute. They're older buildings from the early to mid 20th century (brick, stone, etc), covered in ivy and on tree-lined streets. It's kind of lovely.
    5. Access to all of the shopping at the mall is huge. IKEA, furniture shops, Home Depot, Best Buy, movie theater, etc. are all within a mile of our house. We take an 8-minute bike ride through a greenbelt to get to Berkeley Bowl West for groceries or just have Amazon deliver from Whole Foods. The only thing we seem to have to drive farther for is Bed Bath & Beyond in the Jack London Square area.
    6. There are some parts of Emeryville that are a little rough but I don't feel unsafe.
    7. The train tracks are kind of a b*tch, logistically speaking. There are only a couple roads that go across them, so not great for bikes and pedestrians, though we do them on our cargo bike. There's a pedestrian/bike bridge that crosses next to the Amtrak station, but it's kind of out of the way and therefore not super helpful. I've looked at the city's planning documents, and they seem to have a pedestrian bridge at least on some kind of roadmap for the future to cross near 53rd or Stanford and straight over into the mall area. Will be super easy to get to Trader Joe's etc at that point.
    8. The Emeryville Center of Community Life seems like it has the potential to be cool and interesting, but it always looks sort of desolate and human-less to me. 
    9. Don't have much info about the schools because we're technically in Oakland.
    10. I hear it used to be called "The Rotten City" and there's some interesting history to go along with that. Google it. :) 

    Okay I think that's the extent of my insight for now. Good luck!

    Sep 11, 2019

    We live in northeast Emeryville with a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old, and are really enjoying it! Pluses for us include:

    • Walkable/bikable area (love the Greenway), with a number of good neighborhood coffee shops, restaurants, Berkeley Bowl West for groceries, gyms, parks with playgrounds for kids, etc. that we can get to easily with the kids without climbing into the car.
    • Easy commute into downtown SF via the transbay bus or by biking to the West Oakland BART (my husband uses a folding bike in order to bring the bike onto the crowded train).
    • TRAINS regularly passing by for my train-loving toddler
    • Easy access to various Berkeley and Oakland resources (e.g. Aquatic Park, Oakland Zoo, Tilden Park, etc), and it's not too bad to hop across the bridge on weekends to access the city
    • Reasonable levels of crime, although it's still a semi-urban environment (so we don't leave things visible in the car, etc.)
    • Nice east bay weather, although the further west you live the more you get the marine layer coming off the Bay in the mornings and evenings

    I've heard that the Emeryville public school district is having some administrative challenges, but haven't looked into it closely, since we're a few years away. Feel free to message me if you'd like to ask any specific questions!

    Sep 12, 2019

  • Where is the pirate ship?

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    May 25, 2019

    Anyone know what happened to the tiny pirate ship that was in the water off the highway in Emeryville??

    May 25, 2019

    It was a ghost ship in honor of the Ghost Ship fire, created in 2017 by Richmond artist Chris Edwards. Per his twitter account @ChrisGEdwards the anchor broke and he removed it on April 22 for repairs. Here's the original story about the ship from the https://evilleeye.com/in-the-neighborhood/ghost-ship-memorial-docked-emeryville-marina-cove/

    May 27, 2019

    There's a GoFundMe up to help fund the repairs: https://ca.gofundme.com/f/1m4g3t5tg0

    May 29, 2019

  • How family friendly are the apartment complexes in Emeryville

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    Mar 21, 2017

    Hi - My partner and I recently had a baby, and we are planning a move to the East Bay from Boston very soon. We also have two little dogs. I'll be working in Oakland and my partner will be a stay at home mom for some time. Access to BART is great but not crucial. Like everyone else, I've been frantically looking for safe and affordable places to live in the east bay. I've been looking at the luxury apartments, because they are some of the few places that allow pets, even though they are expensive (we may squeeze in to a 1 bed). The location is also great. 

    These apartments look great from their websites and pictures, but I've read different reviews online(yelp, google, etc), about obnoxious tenants (younger,professional crowd), noise pollution, trash etc. I've also read about vandalism/vehicle theft in the area.

    - Can anyone comment on the family friendly/safety nature of Emeryville in general? Are their certain streets/areas that are safer than others? 

    - Can anyone also recommend good buildings or apartment complexes in Emeryville that accommodate pets and would be quiet and safe enough for an infant? 

    - There's a little peninsula area off of Emeryville that I really like. Is this a good area? Any thoughts on how to reach out to apt complexes there? 

    Would appreciate any advice!

    Mar 21, 2017

    Hello, I live in the Glashaus Condominium complex at Hollis and 65th Street.  These are 74 owner occupied with some rented out.  This rental opportunity was just posted by a neighbor who is moving soon with their two boys about 5 and 2.   Two dogs are allowed....but you would need to use the elevator or stairs 2 floors to the street to walk them. The dog walkers property loop is nice.

    We're holding onto our place in hopes of retiring back here someday and are seeking a renter for our 2BR/2.5BA unit. If anyone knows someone interested, we'd appreciate you passing along our info.  Here's a link to the CL posting:https://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/apa/6050270849.html 

    There are several families here with children.  The bus (non-stop as this is the last stop before the Bay Bridge) gets to the downtown of San Francisco in 15 minutes.  Emeryl-go-Round bus stops across the street and is a free bus to MacArthur BART Station 10 minutes away in Oakland.  I'd be happy to talk about Emeryville.  I lived in Berkeley for 40 years before coming here 6 years ago.  The little town is busy during the week with workers - then a ghost town during the weekend (happily so).  Lots of cafes and Berkeley Bowl West is less than a mile walk on the Greenway/Bike Path out the property back door.  Be happy to talk more.  Vicki

    Mar 22, 2017

    Hello!

    I think you are referring to Watergate complex in Emeryville. I have not lived there but I'm a Realtor and had sold few units there. I think it is a great place with the location, the free bus to Bart and the facilities.Another area that is great to buy, but maybe you can find rentals and Inbelieve they may take pets, its in Marina Bay Richmond. It is called The Shores. The same group just open a new one called The Cove, but probably that is only for sale. It is a little farther but they just started the ferry to SF and it has lovely grounds. If you want to chat about it , please feel free to contact me,

    Mariedda

    Mar 26, 2017

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Questions

Is Emeryville Toddler Friendly?

April 2015

I am a stay at home mom and my husband works in Emeryville. We are new to the area and currently living in corporate housing in Walnut Creek. I love it here, and so does our 2-yr old daughter, however my husband works long hours and finds the commute draining. We need to find a place where our very active toddler will be happy and safe. She loves to spend lots of time outdoors in parks and even just wandering around our very green apartment complex.

So my question is, will she be happy (and safe) in Emeryville or should we be considering another city? We have talked about Oakland, but are worried we don't know enough about the area and may end up living in an unsafe neighborhood.

We had budgeted 2.5K for a 2-bedroom, but are thinking that might not be enough. Thanks! Nicole

If you love Walnut Creek, generally you won't like Emeryville. I lived in Emeryville when my son was 0-4, I like Emeryville and would hate Walnut creek.

You asked about safety, Emeryville is much less safe compared to Walnut creek. Our friend was knocked down and had her iPhone taken from her just off 65th street. Our diaper bag was stolen from the playground at 64th and Hollis (it did look like a purse and was taken by kids). When we lived at 61st and Vallejo our house was robbed. Three incidents in 4 years. what I hated most was the tension between the socio-economic groups. Our house was under surveillance and the thieves knew our patterns. the only redeeming quality of Emeryville, safety wise, was that the cops actually respond and quickly, unlike Oakland. Sadly, we got to know the cops all too well.

Again, I like Emeryville but left as soon as we had a chance. your husband can commute. Done with Eville

Alameda is your answer. Extremely family friendly (many many young families live here) and a short commute to Emeryville.

Dear Mommy of small child,

I've lived in the Bay Area since I was born. Emeryville has improved a lot, but its improvement caters primarily to wealthy retirees and childless professionals who live in grandiose high rises that flank the Bay. Emeryville has lots of strip malls and one high end shopping area, a mega IKEA complex, and plenty of places you can drive. As for walking and parks--not the best place.

There is a beautiful waterfront walk populated with cyclists and dog-walkers where people sometimes take their older children, but I would not personally take my toddler there because of the fast moving bikes.

I currently live in a 2-bedroom in Oakland (Maxwell Park) at 2K/month. I am surrounded with neighbors who have small children and we have a nice park a couple blocks away. My neighbors are mostly teachers, cops, and some stay at home moms.

We just bought a house so our rental is going back on the market shortly. They will probably mark it up, but just an idea.

--Marie-Therese, not a fan of Emeryville for kids

I can sympathize with your husband's commute misery to/from Walnut Creek - the Caldecott and 24 has gone from bad to awful lately. However, I there are other East Bay options outside of Emeryville that would be an improvement for him and better for your toddler than Emeryville.

I lived in Emeryville pre-kid, so my experience is old, but basically it is a small city that is either (1) surrounded by busy streets/highways (2) highly commercial with big box stores or else (3) borders Oakland, with the concerns that you mentioned about Oakland. When I lived there, I was in a condo on the marina, which was great for us at the time, but for a mom with a toddler it would be very isolating, as it is cut off by the 580/80 highway. I really can't imagine a place for you and your child there that would be pleasant.

Other possible options to consider - Albany, El Cerrito, Alameda, Castro Valley. There are definitely parts of Oakland as well, such as Rockridge, Piedmont Avenue area and Montclair (I am sure BPNers can tell you more). You can also look in the BPN archives about neighborhoods as a reference. former Eville resident

My husband and I loved living in Emeryville but found it more suited for young professionals or couples with very young kids. After living there for 6 years, we moved last year when my son turned 18 months. Emeryville was great with a young baby in terms of shopping and proximity to San Francisco but once my son got mobile and wanted to go outside and play, there was not too much to do. There were two small parks we could take him too but there were few other young kids around. We could be at the park for an hour and maybe see one other kid his age. I typically ended up driving him to other parks in Berkeley and Albany where there were more little kids around he could interact with and parents I could talk to.

Emeryville is bordered by some not so good parts of Oakland and Berkeley so you should be on aware of your surroundings like in any other urban setting, but I never encountered anything bad.

If you are looking to move closer to Emeryville, I recommend Berkeley, Albany or El Cerrito. Your husband will still be driving with the commute traffic but he will have more routes to get there either by public transportation, freeway or city streets.

Just for a frame of reference, we rented our one bedroom condo in Emeryville for $2100 per month. Rents do seem to be going up however with more people looking for housing near San Francisco.

Still loves Emeryville but happy in my new home

Friendly Condo/Townhome Communities??

April 2010

We're a family of 4, looking to purchase a condo or townhome in the next few years in Oakland. We would like some recommendations on a good place to raise our very young children. In our current condo community, people are very unfriendly (seem to go out their way to avoid eye contact). There are many smokers who do not care how secondhand smoke affects the few children who do live in the community. Neighbors have ignored us or have been hostile if we express concern about noise or other issues in the community. There are hardly any children but many dogs- people fawn over each others dogs but will look right past us and our children. We've had several instances where we've initiated contact with our neighbors-even commented to people how nice their dogs are... and our children will be right there...and they express no interest in them at all!

We would like a condo or townhome because a single family home would be too much upkeep for us. Maybe this is asking too much, but we'd love a condo community where: there are several parents raising children, we could get together with other parents with small children on the weekends, a place where we could stop by if we need sugar or flour, have playdates for our children, and everyone is invested in keeping the community safe and happy, and will not become hostile if you express an occasional concern. By the way, good schools nearby are not a factor because we are saving for private school.

1.Do child-friendly condo or townhome communities exist in Oakland?? Does this exist outside of Oakland? (we both work here and want to avoid a long commute). 2. Will we just have to go the single family home route to find the type of community we are looking for? 3. Should we just stay here, and focus on continuing to develop a support system outside of our current condo community (fortunately we have good friend and family support not too far away).

BPN, what do you think? Would love to hear from all of the condo/townhome dwellers out all over the East Bay or SF about your experiences, opinions, and recommendations about this issue. It would be a great help to us- we appreciate it! Wanting a warm and friendly community to raise our children

We bought a house in a townhouse community in Emeryville in 2006. I have to say that our experience is similar to your experience, i.e. people going out of their way to avoid you. After 3 years we still don't even have furniture in the 'community room' so their is not much community. There are a good amount of families with young kids and we have good relations with most of the families who have kids our childs age and they can play together and attend birthday parties etc so all is not lost. If we were not so busy perhaps we would develop these relations more, the possibility exists.

My experience is that people who buy townhomes are not really looking for community, in fact they buy a townhome to avoid dealing with neighbors (let the association handle it!) and not have to deal with maintenance of the outside. Seems like most of the people who bought in our community did it to flip the house and when the market went bust they resorted to renting their houses out or are sticking it out and are bitter and miserable.

Wil be interested to hear if such a townhouse community exists in the East Bay. Big A