Living in Upper Rockridge
- See also: Living in Rockridge ... Living in the Oakland Hills
Parent Q&A
We've had this in the Upper Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland with a couple caveats: It's not so much that the kids run around on their own outside (while that happens occasionally, the neighborhood is pretty hilly with limited sidewalks), but there's a major sense of community grounded by our neighborhood school, Hillcrest. As a tiny school that relies a lot on parent involvement, it fosters a real sense of togetherness. You will quickly get to know the other families at the school (and, in turn, around the neighborhood) and adults really look out for one another's kids. We rely on a network of parents for carpooling to/from sports practices/games, birthday parties, and more -- I can confidently say that in a pinch, there are literally dozens of parents I could call upon to pick up my kids (and with whom they'd feel comfortable, given the years we've all been together). The "neighborhood school" concept doesn't really exist in Berkeley (BUSD assigns schools by zone) or in all parts of Oakland (where despite neighborhood catchments, families opt for other schools) but is certainly the norm here.
We are in Upper Rockridge (oakland/zoned for Hillcrest K-8) and I will say we have this community. It has come mostly from the involvement in the school so if your kids are older and/or you don't plan on sending them, I would say this would be hard to find. I have heard the Crocker Highlands district also has this feeling and I have heard how happy parents are who live there.
Have you considered Upper Rockridge in Oakland? It's a neighborhood just west of 13 (basically mirror location to Glen Highlands east of 13). We just moved here after looking in almost those same neighborhoods. When I mapped it, my son is in walking distance to the elementary, middle and high schools he is zoned to (https://oaklandfinder.schoolmint.net/school-finder/home, not a guarantee you'll get spots there, but that's another story), which I think is pretty unique for Oakland. Everyone we have met in the neighborhood talks up the local elementary, Hillcrest, which is walking distance from most homes in the area. We were hoping for Berkeley (school assignment is more equitable and school quality is more even), but lost out to all-cash bids for every home we offered on.
Our house is quite a bit smaller than the same budget would have afforded us in Montclair or Kensington, but we have a view of trees and the bay AND are still walkable to College Avenue (and the Rockridge bart station) in about 20 minutes. There is also a small market and coffee shop off Broadway Terrace, so that I can trick myself I still live an urban lifestyle when I want to ;-)
If you are just considering schools, Orinda schools are more highly "rated" than Berkeley, Oakland, or Kensington. We visited a house in Orinda but it was too rural feeling for us. Best of luck in your search!
We live in Upper Rockridge (Oakland, zoned for Hillcrest which is a K-8) and love it. Much of the neighborhood burned during the '91 fire so won't feel as "woodsy," but there are exceptions, and many of the homes have views of the Montclair hills or the bay. Both my husband and I commute into SF for work (or at least we did, pre-pandemic) -- if you can swing a car with an HOV sticker, it's so worth it. With the sticker, my door-to-door driving commute to my office in Soma was about 30 minutes in the morning and 40 minutes in the evening.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Jan 2011
RE: Moving to Rockridge neighborhood with small kids
- Plenty of parks with playgrounds. Near us are Temescal, Dracena, Montclair, and Frog Park but there are lots more throughout Oakland and Berkeley.
- Lawrence Hall of Science
- Oakland Zoo
- Tilden Park, especially Little Farm and the Steam Trains
- Farmer's markets
- Storytime at the Rockridge and Montclair libraries
- Lots of classes: music, kindergym, yoga, swimming, toddler playtime
April 2003
Re: East Bay neighborhood that's commutable, progressive & kid-friendly
If you are looking for a great East Bay neighborhood, I would pick our neighborhood -- Upper Rockridge between Broadway Terrace and Moraga Avenue. This is a very diverse neighborhood and is close to everything (nature and modern conveniences). It also has a terrific K-8 public elementary school, Hillcrest. (You may need to send your kids to private high school though.) We really love it here -- there are tons of kids on our street that are the same age as yours (my twins and baby are separated by the same time as yours are but are about a year older). As far as commuting to the city, my husband takes the bus from about a block away. It is an express bus and he is at his desk 35 minutes after walking out the door. Of course, BART is always an option but the bus is generally faster for him given the location of his office. The commute is a huge benefit to being here. Also, the weather is not nearly as hot as the cities further east. Shannon
Our 3 year-old daughter just started at Linda Beach Cooperative Preschool, which is located in Piedmont (approximately 5-10 minute drive from Upper Rockridge). We love the parent community so far. The classroom is cheery, bright, clean, colorful, and immersive; the outdoor play yard is engaging and well-arranged for safe and active play. They bring in various outside instructors on subjects from time to time (e.g., gymnastics class, Spanish). We love the teachers. This is a play-based cooperative school that has been around for 80+ years in Piedmont.
I believe there are 1 or 2 spots open now for enrollment in the TuTh class (2 days / week) or the MWF class (3 days / week).
www.lindabeach.org
Try Arbor in Rockridge! We love it. Spanish exposure and play based, fun projects and lots of outdoor time, healthy snacks, focus on social-emotional learning. our 3 yo is loving it. They have openings and flexible schedules and may have one mid year also.
Rockridge Montessori was a good fit for our daughter and meets a lot of your requirements. She was there from ages 1-3 pre and post covid; learned a lot of important toddler skills and had great caring teachers overall. It’s very much on the pricey side just like everything in Rockridge but that would be my only con.
Room To Grow is where our child spent magical two years. RTG is conveniently located for people living in Rockridge. It is a Reggio Emilia school. It appears small and the facility may look “well-loved” but the program is excellent and kids learn and play so much. They accept 3 and 4 year olds.
We only seriously considered Spanish immersion preschool and are in Upper Rockridge. I visited at Arbor and really loved it (now there are two locations). We might have started there if they had longer after-care. One of the great things about Arbor is the variety of schedules. Our neighbors go to the original location and have been very happy with it.
We ended up going with EBI because we are curious about the elementary school and the drive isn't much further, about 8-10 minutes from Upper Rockridge. There are several families from this neighborhood there and I don't think you'd have an issue starting mid year as long as your child turned 3 before September. We've been super happy there (had great teachers last year and great teachers again this year). They are constantly doing incredible arts and crafts projects and the teachers do a great job or providing both warmth and structure. That said, EBI is expensive and has more breaks than other preschools. We also heard great things about Colibri (more affordable) on Piedmont but were never able to get off the waitlist. We applied there for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 school year before we gave up.