Hi, Southern Girl

Since you identified yourself as a Home buyer in Alameda, presumably you have already pinpointed our beautiful island city as a possible place to live?

If so, GOOD MOVE!

I lived in the south, too (Florida), and have lived in other states and cities (NY, NJ, TX, and various places in CA). And by far, Alameda is my absolute favorite place.

Here's what I wrote on my website about Alameda --- note the various links you can check out.

Academic performance index http://api.cde.ca.gov/AcntRpt2008/2008GrthAPICo.aspx?cYear=2…

Crime statistics http://oaklandca.areaconnect.com/crime/compare.htm?c1=Alamed…

Alameda and East Bay Living http://glrealtor.com/neighborhoods/


DISCOVER ALAMEDA
I live in Alameda, and many of my clients commute to San Francisco. When they couldn’t afford to buy in the City, they decided to look to East Bay. It doesn’t take them long to fall in love with our island that is so private and secure, yet so conveniently located for easy access to other cities.

There is a wonderful collection of vintage homes, ranging from beautiful Victorians, stately Tudors, charming Craftsman and many styles of bungalows. This is truly a history and architecture buff’s paradise.

Alameda has great climate, great schools, and believe it or not, a wonderful selection of restaurants and ethnic cuisine.

We think we’ve “arrived” now that we have our a shopping center by the beach featuring Trader Joe’s, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, TJMaxx, Border’s bookstore. And in May 2008, the historic and restored Alameda Theater opened its doors to our first 8-cineplex.

As for fine restaurants….the chef of the famous Baywolf Café in Oakland has opened his own restaurant in Alameda called Pappo’s. We also now have a new Cuban restaurant called Havana’s. There’s a really good Vietnamese restaurant called Dragon Rouge, the freshest sushi at Yume, dim sum at East Ocean, and more. And now, we have Zen Asian Fusion Tapas Bar, Barceluna Tapas and Tequila Lounge, and Angela's Bistro downtown next to the newly restored an historic Alameda Theater.

We commute to San Francisco via ferry and express bus to SF. Or take the regular bus to Oakland to catch BART. But the express bus and the ferry are the best and most enjoyable ways to go to the City.

CRIME STATISTICS

Incidentally, I found this really good source of info for comparing crime statistics between cities. You can see that Alameda truly shines!

ALAMEDA SCHOOLS

Alameda has great schools, and is the school scores are collectively better than Oakland and other surrounding areas. Check out the Academic Performance Index

WINE TASTING

You can even go for wine-tasting at Rosenblum Cellars next to the ferry. It’s open every day for wine tasting until 6 pm. And do check out Alameda Wine Company next to Alameda Theater. The selection is fabulous -- and there are so many inexpensive choices, too.

SPECIAL EVENTS

There are so many fun events that define our small town. We have sand castle building and free outdoor concerts at Crab Cove every summer, wine and arts and street festivals, a good old-fashioned July 4 parade, arts in the park, and more.

LIVE THEATER

Besides the Alameda Civic Light Opera that showcase award-winning plays, we also have the Altarena Playhouse.

WELCOME TO ALAMEDA!

Hi Southern Girl you might consider the city of Alameda it is a small town (75000 people) it is very close to Oakland and would meet all of the criteria you mentioned. As for rentals take a look at our companies website http://www.gallagherandlindsey.com there is a rental section. The other companies with big rental departments in Alameda are Harbor bay realty and OMI. You can also check out Craigs list there are always a lot of rentals there as well. If you need any other information about the Oakland area I would be glad to talk to you anytime.

Thanks

Troy

Good Morning Southern Girl,
There are quite a few great cities in the Oakland area. I live in Alameda and sell not only in Oakland and Alameda but in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. I would be happy to help you. You can go on my webisite to find out about the schools in our area. Each city is unique. The Alameda public schools are good as well as nearby communites of Orinda, Lafayette and Moraga. Please contact me anytime with questions. I do have a wealth of information for you.