Living in Grand Lake / Lakeshore
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Parent Q&A
This is definitely a reality but it's very specific at a micro-level (a particular block or a group of blocks) and based on factors outside your control (who moves in / who moves out / who lives in the neighborhood.)
We live in Grand Lake/Lakeshore area, and when we first moved in, there were 5 families with similar aged kids within 2 blocks. It was great. Kids just all went out and played. During the pandemic, everyone moved out, and younger, childness people moved in. Many of them had babies recently, so in 2 - 3 years, this will be a neighborhood with many kids out on the street again.
Albany, Piedmont, and Alameda are neighborhoods where kids walk to school and play on the street most consistently.
Try the Grand Lake area in Oakland. The Lakeshore commercial district is lovely, you are close to the lake and parks. Crocker Highlands Elementary, Cleveland Elementary, and Edna Brewer Middle School are all good. None of Oakland's high schools are all that great, though I think Grand-Lake is mostly zoned for Oakland Tech was rated highest when we were choosing for my daughter 4 years ago (my daughter goes to Oakland High, which has not been terrible but has presented some frustrations on the academic front).
Hi Rosalie,
congratulations on your move! As an ex-New Yorker who grew up in Hell's Kitchen, I can sympathize. I hate driving and strip malls give me a lot of anxiety. San Francisco will probably be the best replacement for New York life, but it's still a very car dependent place. You'll want to look at central parts of the city (Castro, Duboce, Mission) for proximity to transit. However, these are both expensive and transit is still meh. BART works well enough if you're going on its lines, but otherwise buses and MUNI trains will be needed.
as for Oakland, we moved here 8 years ago when houses were bought out from under us 2x. We like it here and though I used to yearn for SF I don't so much anymore now that we have two kids and enjoy the trails and the privilege of a backyard. We initially lived in N Oakland because it was closer to BART. We found that was only useful for my husband's commute. We now live near Lake Merritt, off of Lakeshore, and I have to say it's a decently urban existence. I love the Grand Lake market and though we don't shop at many of the Lakeshore spots, it's got thing s that are useful and we can walk to it.
It's really hard to find super walkable neighborhoods in Oakland. Rockridge is highly prized for that, but it's almost expensive as SF without the benefits, I'd say. Near Piedmont Ave (still in Oakland, not the Piedmont town) is pretty walkable and near highway and bus lines.
good luck!
Agree with the other post about neighborhoods :) we ended up in Grand Lake as well as for a walkable option close to the great parks in Piedmont, rose garden, more neighborhoody feel than urban, and a bit cheaper than other areas that are comparably nice. We had a really challenging time finding a place online though and so we chose to put our stuff in pods that could be stored (thru U-Pack) and we stayed at an Airbnb until we found the right place. It was so hard to have a sense for a neighborhood from just looking at google maps and some places we saw online looked great and then we saw them in person and understood why they were cheap...next to a halfway house or moldy or etc. Good luck and if you find yourselves ending up in Oakland, please reach out to me! It’s so tough relocating and especially with kiddos and especially in a pandemic and I found it really isolating at first so I empathize with your situation! My names Jenneva and I have a 1.5 yr old, please reach out when you get here if you need to connect or get mom recommendations for fun parks and stuff to do with kiddos. Good luck with your move!
While I agree that our public transit has nothing on London, I think some of the previous posters have made the East Bay walking situation sound worse than it actually is! When looking for a home, my husband and I also wanted a walkable neighborhood. We ultimately settled in the Grand Lake area of Oakland and haven't regretted it. Here's what we can EASILY walk to (admittedly some of these business are shut right now because of Covid):
- Trader Joe's (grocery store), small produce market, health food store, large Whole Foods (a bit farther)
- Weekly Farmers Market (thankfully still open even with Covid)
- A plethora of bars and restaurants
- Post Office (admittedly not my favorite branch!) and places to drop of FedEx and UPS packages
- Grand Lake movie theater (please reopen soon!)
- SF fitness gym plus other workout classes, yoga classes, etc
- Dry cleaners and a couple of tailors
- A kids' clothing, shoe and toy store plus other gifty stores on Lakeshore
- Kids' activities such as Gymboree (when reopened!), Martial arts, ballet, etc
- Library with Kids' storytime
- Reasonable commute transit options to San Francisco (should you ever need them)
- A couple of doctor/urgent care options -- Carbon health and One Medical (though that one requires a subscription)
- a good pediatric dentist
In short, we can accomplish a lot of errands without a car and have places to gather for food and drinks with friends nearby (once that's allowed again). Pre-covid my husband walked to work in downtown Oakland and I worked from home. We did still drive our eldest to school daily since it's a bit far to walk and a difficult bike ride. So I'm not saying you'll never want a car -- just saying there are options.
Feel free to message me for more information or just to say hello. I love London and have spent a lot of time there over the years. You will likely miss many things (the theater scene would be biggest for me) but I bet you'll enjoy the weather here. And that helps the walk factor too!
- Lucy
We also live in the Lakeshore area (just north of Grand/Lake). Like the last poster said -- it's a great neighborhood. We have lived in SF, moved to North Oakland (west of but not far from Temescal), then moved over here, and we love it here. When we moved to N Oakland from SF, we also prioritized BART, but the truth is except for my husband's commute, we didn't take it much. It's a limited public transit system (I grew up in NYC, so…I have higher expectations for what a rapid transit system could be). Don't conflate your London expectations with SF ones. It's hard to find truly walkable neighborhoods in the East Bay. Rockridge has it, but it's very expensive for pretty limited housing stock. The Grand/Lake area, pretty much near the lake and north really offers that. Plus the Saturday farmer's market is fantastic. My only complaint is the relative lack of playgrounds north of the Lakeshore district. Everyone has a yard, so there doesn't seem to be an investment in public play spaces.
SF is a beautiful and lovely city, and we miss it, but Oakland has been a great city to have kids in even though I am not someone who dreamed of a yard and a car and my own private house (I grew up in a multi-unit building). I still wonder if I'd be happier in a flat in the city with nearly no driving required. But I also know we are very fortunate.
Regarding the schools, my sense is SF is much more complicated. People don't always get their first choices of schools, but you rank them in Oakland and can select places nearer to your home. If you transfer when your kid is in (what we call) first grade, you may have an easier time getting a spot in a school (maybe). Your younger child might then get a preferred spot at your older child's school.
good luck! We've done cross country moves but not international ones. It's hard and wearing and just know it's going to take 6 mos-1 year to recover from all the logistical and emotional changes. Be patient with yourself!
We live in Grand Lake/Lakeshore neighborhood in Oakland and commute to SF everyday. First, I'd like to give a shout out to our neighborhood which has a landmark historic theater, little cafes, restaurants, shops, parks for kids, library, the oldest bookstore in Oakland, and one of the most vibrant farmers' markets around and of course, Lake Merritt. It's also quite a bit more affordable than Rockridge and I feel a bit safer than Temescal.
Oakland does have an options process for schools but you get preference for your catchment (the neighborhood zone for your area school). Rockridge area has some of the more popular schools (Chabot/Peralta/Hilcrest) and the area middle school and high school are also well regarded. The neighborhood school for Temescal is Emerson which is not ranked high but is well regarded and beloved by families who attend the school. Chabot is a larger school and out of catchment kids do get into Chabot. We like our neighborhood school (Cleveland), which is a hidden gem. In addition to BART, there are transbay buses that get you to downtown SF as well as casual carpool. I have lived in different neighborhoods in Oakland and have commuted to different parts of SF. You don't have to limit yourself to being able to walk to BART to have a pretty easy commute. If being able to walk to BART is really important and you want to stay on the west side of the Caldecott Tunnel, the "safetest" family friendly neighborhoods with BART within walking distance and commercial amenities would be Rockridge BART, North Berkeley BART, El Cerrito BART areas (El Cerrito BART area feels more suburban than hip urban neighborhood). Parts of residential areas near downtown Berkeley BART can also be nice. Piedmont Ave. neighorhood is also very nice and it's one of my favorite places we have lived. Commute to SF is quite easy from Piedmont Ave. area. The neighborhood school is not highly ranked and many famlies in that area send their kids to Chabot or Cleveland which are close or private schools. Berkeley and SF both have blind lottery system, so you could end up in a school that is not close to your house. Oakland gives preference to neighbhood kids and siblings of current students and if there is any room left, they run a lottery for the rest.
Archived Q&A and Reviews
April 2012
Re: Moving to Oakland with small children
I also like the areas along Grand or Lakeshore, particularly north of the 580 Freeway.
April 2011
Re: Affordable Tot-friendly Oakland Neighborhoods
Grand Lake area is awesome. There are 3 parks within walking distance (we live just off Lakeshore, between Lakeshore and Grand). Huge farmer's market on weekends with kid friendly live music and bounce houses. Trader Joes is walkable. Zip around the lake with a stroller. Walk to Fairyland. Walk to Whole Foods. Benefits of Rockridge without insane rents. jaime
My father-in-law lives on Perkins, near Jayne, north of the lake (and doesn't have a car). It is a great neighborhood and very walkable. You can walk to the 19th Street BART station from his house in about 15 minutes. There is a Whole Foods at Harrison & Bay streets and a Grocery Outlet on Broadway @ 29th.
The area between Grand and Lakeshore is also very nice, with lots of convenient shopping and services. On that end of the Lake, there is a Trader Joe's at Lakeshore near the 580 Freeway, and a Safeway up Grand @ Sunnyslope Ave.
You might have trouble finding a two-bedroom for $1200 a month in either of those neighborhoods (I'd expect 1400 or more), but you could probably find a 1 bedroom for that price.
The east side of the lake is a bit more affordable. The availability of shopping/cafes/restaurants isn't as good. There is a Lucky's at E. 18th and Lakeshore. The neighborhoods close to the lake a pretty good, but as you move east away from the lake the they get progressively dicier. Not horrible, but not as nice as the north side (I live on the east side). But I actually think that bus service is better on the east side. The 62 bus hits 4 BART stations over its winding path.
There is a park and a library at the corner of the lake by El Embarcadero (by the 580 Freeway), and Lakeside park in the triangle between Grand Avenue and the Lake (I think technically Lakeside park goes all the way around, but most of the land and play areas are in that triangle). Oh, and Children's Fairyland! The Oakland Main Library is on the other side of the lake (Oak & 14th), but easily walkable from much of the Lake's perimiter (I think the lake is about 3 miles around).
If you are going to stay long enough to worry about public elementary schools, Lakeview has a bad reputation, but Crocker Highlands and Cleveland good ones. Moving a bit further eash, Bella Vista and Franklin are lower income but still perform pretty well. You can find a map of school neighborhod boundaries on the OUSD website.
Good luck. I think the north side of Lake Merritt is a great choice. Carrie
June 2006
we are moving to the grand lake area of oakland. i have a 5 month old son and was wondering if there are any moms and babies groups out there and/or recommendations in terms of family life (parks, activities, etc.) i am moving from bernal heights where i attend a weekly moms and babies group. i would love to become part of a new group and don't know much about this area. i would also love to start networking with people in the oakland community since it is very new to me. any feedback is greatly appreciated. thanks for your time. stephanie
i live in the grand/lake area and have a 10 month old son. we love the area. you are welcome to contact me for a walk or play date. welcome to oakland liz
Welcome to the neighborhood! Trestle Glen/Lakeshore is one of the nicest areas of Oakland. It's wonderfully walkable. However, it is also close to the freeway and Lake Merritt and crimes do exist. Do Not Leave ANYTHING in the car. I mean, not even the kid's water bottle or a bag of goldfish. Make sure you lock your cars when you park on your driveway. I walk to Lakeshore and Grand with my kids and go to the library, the farmer's market, all of the wonderful shops, but I am aware of my surroundings. I carry a small fanny pack tucked tight and if I see a potentially unstable person, I cross the street to the other side with my kid. We haven't directly encountered any serious or violent crimes or even property crimes for the past 8 years of living in this neighborhood but we know neighbors whose garages have been broken into and bikes stolen, etc.
There are many kid-friendly activities. Oakland YMCA isn't far away where you can take swim lessons. Many parks nearby. Frog Park in Rockridge is pretty close and a favorite among toddlers. Being close to Piedmont, all of the parks in Piedmont are beautiful and safe. It's also a short drive to Monclaire Village and Redwood Regional Parks. East Bay Dance Center in Glenview is lovely for kids' dance class and it's very very close to Trestle Glen. Our kid took dance class at EBDC from toddler age through elementary school. Once your kid is a bit older (age 4), you can also check out the choir programs at Pacific Boychoir Academy (they have both girl and boy programs). It's also in Glenview.
1 My in-laws have lived in that neighborhood for 50+ years. They've had their house broken into 3 times. The first time they lost most of their jewelry. They stopped leaving anything in their garage except their garbage cans and unlocked car because anything else like bikes, would be stolen. My MIL was mugged a few years ago getting cash at the Wells Fargo ATM during the day. Just last week I was driving down Lakeshore and another car hit my car then sped off. The TJs has a permanent parking spot for the police. Earlier this year 15 people were shot at a Juneteenth celebration by the North end of Lake Merrit, which is on the other side of the highway from Lakeshore. So in other words, Trestle Glen is one of the safer neighborhoods in Oakland. Seriously, most of the gun deaths are on the downhill side from hwy 580 so mostly you'll get property and petty crimes.
2. There's a Gymboree near the corner of Lakeshore and Mandana. There's a cute park on Lakeshore between Mandana and Santa Ray with a playground for toddler/little kids. The closest pools are the Piedmont Pool (opening in a few months?) and Lions Pool. I've met a few parents of infants who like AquaTech in Alameda because it's a warm indoor pool. I think the Oakland YMCA has lessons but don't know anyone who has taken their kids there. The closest library is Lakeview branch, I've never taken my kids there for toddler play or story time but I have taken them to the Piedmont Branch and Montclair Branch. It was sorta hit and miss. I actually used to meet a friend at the Sausaulito library for story time with our toddlers and came to realize that the story teller totally makes the experience.
3. One of my kids went to a forest school in Joaquin Miller park but I think they aren't around any more. I'm sure there are others but doubtful that they have a classroom. I don't think most forest schools are licensed which is why BPN doesn't allow reviews. We also sent one kid to Sequoia Nursery School. It's a coop that has a large building set in an expansive outdoor space. Not a forest school but lots of outdoor space, far more than most other pre-schools in the area. It's a play based program so not sure if it fits your request for conventional learning. Highly recommended if a co-op works for you.
4. Got nothing for you.
Good luck!
Trestle Glen is a lovely neighborhood that benefits from its hilly topography and proximity to affluent Piedmont.
We lived in nearby Glenview when the kids were small. Crime is not a major concern, although we are in Oakland, and this is an urban environment.
That said, Trestle Glen is close to Grand Avenue, which is a main thoroughfare from West Oakland to Crocker Highlands. Sometimes crime happens on the gritty stretches of Grand Avenue near Lake Merritt and points west.
Traffic density is a concern, but less so than San Francisco.
IMHO the tradeoffs make the location you are considering totally worthwhile You will be minutes away from beloved Oakland Children's Fairyland, the inspiration for Disneyland in the early 1950s. Lake Merritt is also one of the oldest wild bird refuges in the country. The three-mile perimeter is a wondeful place to walk, push a stroller, bike. There are band concerts in the park, too.,
Broadway Children's School in Adams Point is topnotch, a play-based part-time program where our kids met lovely playmates.
In the other direction, at the top of Park Boulevard, is 500-acre Joaquin Miller Park. There are a number of bilingual preschool programs such as La Escuela del Bosque that use the park, but I have no info about them.
Our kids are adults now, and they have benefited from growing up in this diverse city, where they have gotten to know people of every ethnicity, social class, and walk of life.
Congratulations! We love the neighborhood so much! (We are a bit closer to Crocker Highlands but still very walkable to Lakeshore.)
Welcome to the neighborhood! We've been here 15 years and raised a child(now 12) here. She wouldn't live anywhere else, and while we think about it occasionally, we can't figure out where else we'd want to live.
One consideration is prepping for the OUSD school assignment process. We assumed we'd get into Crocker Highlands, but we didn't get placed there due to a surge of kids for our year. We did end up getting a spot in 4th grade and all of our neighbors have gotten in recently, but I wished that I hadn't gone into the process with so much confidence.
If you’re moving from SF, crime in this neighborhood will be the same or lower. Other comments are correct—property crime is unfortunately common (think late night car window break ins), though less common as you get away from Lakeshore Ave/uphill. Don’t leave stuff in your car and lock your door/gate to backyard.
Not sure if you’re in the Lakeshore Homes HOA, but my neighborhood has an HOA and a community group that raises money for a security patrol and pays for Flock cameras, both of which are a deterrent.
Most households in the area have kids, so kid friendly activities abound. Be sure to check out the Piedmont activities as well—open to non residents for a higher fee.
Lots of preschool options spring to mind given the concentration of kids, but most of the forest schools tend to be farther north in the EB parks system and no idea how young they enroll.
Hi! Welcome to the sunny side of the Bay! I’ve been in the area for 13 years. There is lots to do! Fairyland, Oakland Zoo, Lake Merritt, and LOTS of playgrounds around that area.
You are still moving to an urban area. Don’t leave bikes out front and locks your doors. However there is a strong sense of community & neighborhood connection.
My daughter went to Bloomers, which is a Reggio-play based preschool over in Glenview (about a 6minite drive from where you are talking about). It is a great program. Toys & things will look well loved & well played with….but is a fabulous place for kids! Highly recommend it.
Check out 510families.com for activites, classes etc.
I highly recommend Pumpkin Seed Childcare on Greenly, which would be a ten minute drive for you. They are exceptional with all sorts of kids, they are outdoors a LOT, play focused, good food and very community focused. I live in Alameda and I've known a number of folks who move from SF to the East Bay and complain about lack of a community- with Pumpkin Seed, your child and your will make new connections and develop great relationships. Plus the teachers, Damond and Jenn have three grown kids of their own, so they are excellent at helping families manage juggling new circumstances such as a new environment and a new kiddo. They were extremely helpful at getting my oldest son to learn how to be a good big brother to my second. Moving and a new kid are so stressful for kiddos- having a safe and welcoming spot to land will be extremely helpful for everyone in the family. Best of luck!
Welcome! I live in TG with my three kids, 5 yo, 3 yo and a baby. It’s so walkable and social; we love the community here! A few ideas for you - re: Q #2: we’ve loved an outdoor class called “Little Ferns” at Lake Temescal. It’s a small “hike” and also incorporates a parenting discussion while the children have their snack at the end. We’ve enjoyed finding community and parent-support through the class, as well as a beautiful way to enjoy nature with little ones. More info about the parent-child classes can be found on the Berkeley Rose Waldorf School website. They have indoor class offerings as well. https://www.berkeleyrose.org/early-childhood/
510 Families website also lists some fun hikes in the area - like this one located close to TG: https://www.510families.com/oakland-bridgeview-trolls/
Re: Q #3: Our kids attend preschool at Berkeley Rose Waldorf School, which moved to Oakland and is located near Piedmont Avenue. They spend half of the day outside, with a strong emphasis on appreciation for the natural world, and have a weekly “hike day” as well, where the children spend a day in the forest.
Good luck in your search!