Life in Alameda?

[SporeSpawn]

I'm interviewing for a job with an organization in Alameda soon. It's one of the first jobs to respond to my applications, so, obviously, I'm excited about it. Plus, it's pay range is 80-100k.

However, I live in a very very poor area of the country far from the Bay. I have no idea what to expect of life in the Bay if I end up relocating to Alameda or anywhere near by. Are there any forum members from the area who can give me an idea of if life in Alameda is hard for someone looking to live financially responsible? I know the Bay is generally pricey, so I'm not sure how the 80-100k range scales on the cost of living in the area. Are there any serious roadblocks to trimming the fat that someone from the outside might not be aware of, or is it a decent place to live?

I'd appreciate any help! ^^

[llorona]

Alameda is a very nice place to live. It's charming and pleasant without being pretentious. Lots of families live there, and you'll be safe just about anywhere. It's very easy to get around Alameda on a bicycle - it's flat and compact with many bike lanes. There are walking trails by the water, locally owned stores, farmer's markets, etc.

The main stumbling block is the cost of living, particularly housing. If you're planning on living in Alameda, you'd probably be looking at a minimum of $1500/month rent for a one-bedroom apartment. You can forget about buying a house in Alameda on a salary of $80K to $100K, although a condo might be doable.

You might be able to cut housing costs by sharing a house or apartment with a roommate, or you could move to an area with a lower cost of living like the neighboring city of Oakland. However, Oakland has a bad rap for a reason, so you'd need to be careful of where you live and go.

You should probably also be aware that traffic in the Bay Area is a nightmare, especially during rush hour. If there's any way you can live and work in the same community, it will greatly increase your quality of life.

Good luck with the job interview!

[kendallf]

My wife's mother lives in Alameda, and I've spent some time out there, as well as ridden my bike all over that area.  It's a challenge to get from Alameda, through the tunnel, and into Oakland.  Only one of the tunnels has a pedestrian/bike walkway, and it's almost unsuitable for actual riding.  There is a bridge that's rideable on the south end of town but it dumps you into industrial wasteland and freeway underpasses before you can ride back up into Oakland.

All that to say, if you can find a place in Alameda to live, it's worth some extra $ in quality of life.  Alameda feels the most like a "small town" of any place in the Bay area, IMO.

[NICE!]

I don't live there (I'm a couple hours south), but I just wanted to chime in and say the Bay Area is fantastic. I love it.

Your salary is sufficiently high to deal with the high COL, but yes, it is expensive there. As another poster noted, you're probably not buying a house on that salary unless you buy in another suburb (or exurb, but that's not very MMM).

[NorCal]

I agree with the points above.  Alameda is a very nice community.  It has a small town feel even though it's right outside Oakland.  You also can't beat the weather.

You didn't mention if you're moving alone or bringing a family.  It will be a lot more doable if you're single.  That salary will get you a decent apartment with a good lifestyle, but you won't be buying a large house with room for kids.

[SporeSpawn]

Thanks for the responses everyone! These are definitely a big help.

Norcal,
Good point. Let me clarify: I'll be moving alone and have no plans to start a family at all, let alone soon. So, for the foreseeable future, I'll be paying the cost of one.

Other information: I'll be trying to bike or transit to work to avoid the car. Is this fairly doable? I don't know how possible it will be to find a place in Alameda itself, so are the transits from other areas nearby decent? Since Bay COL is so high, I'll definitely be looking for roommates. Heck, if I end up with the job, I might even put an ad out here. XD But again, don't know how easily that will be obtained in Alameda.

I might end up making this a separate thread as it is a sort of separate question, but is foregoing buying a house a bad thing for a FIRE person? The consensus seems fairly obvious that housing is out of range in Alameda (which is no surprise at all), but would this be a bad thing for me? After all, it seems like renting for the main of my working life is a very un-productive means to FI.

[Dicey]

Odd trivia: San Francisco is "The City", the overall geography is the "Bay Area" and everything over there to the right of the water is the "East Bay". Welcome to our weirdness!
Alameda is an awesome little enclave. Absolutely live on the island and walk or bike to work, as traffic really does suck. The money you save will make eventual home ownership possible, should you decide to pursue that goal. (Nice, but not necessary for FIRE.) Alameda had always been both expensive and affordable for the Bay Area. There is a ton of rental housing stock and places without parking are slightly more affordable. Start with Craigslist. DO NOT move to Oakland. The weather's fine, but the crime rates are exponentially higher than Alameda. They call it the murder capitol because it is the murder capitol.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/16/oakland-robberies_n_3288038.html

[SnackDog]

Alameda is a wonderful little suburb and town.  A jewel of the bay area.  Great location with ferry access to SF and a moat between it and some rough areas.  I would jump at the chance to live there, even with roommates.  There is good shopping, biking, restaurants, coastline, weather, you name it. The city is going to redevelop the naval base there and it will be something to behold in another decade or so. You might even get in on the ground floor of that with a new property.

Go! 

[gatorNic]

I live in Alameda currently, work in SF and really enjoy it quite a bit. SF is just too expensive with rents for 1bds around 3K!!  So Alameda is nice, family friendly alternative.  If your looking for a lot of excitement Alameda probably isn't the best place with lots of families and retirees, but we enjoy it and SF is so close if we need excitement.

I live close to Park Street so I can walk to all the restaurants and bars.  The transbay bus and casual car pool (free!) both pick up close to my house.  BART isn't that far away either.  So between BART, bus and ferry getting into the city is pretty convenient.  Rent for a one bedroom will run you anywhere from $1400-1800,  hell I have even seen some 2 bedrooms for $1750. 

After living in central/western NY, central FL, Savannah Georgia, and then Los Angeles, I really love the bay area!  Its beautiful and so much to do.  Given the prices are crazy, but on your salary you can certainly make it work. Particularly if you are single without a lot of expenses.  I would suggest just living in Alameda close to work so you can bike or take a short bus ride.  I am sure you could find something even cheaper in Oakland, but not sure it is worth it with high crime and a tougher commute. 
 

[SporeSpawn]

Thanks for the info everyone! Given the outlook, I'm definitely going to give it my best to win the job. Alameda and FIRE sounds doable, and it'll definitely be a step up.

[Beric01]

I would suggest just living in Alameda close to work so you can bike or take a short bus ride.  I am sure you could find something even cheaper in Oakland, but not sure it is worth it with high crime and a tougher commute.

Agreed. I'm carless in the South Bay (San Jose), but have friends in Alameda and it's definitely possible to live off a bike + mass transit if you work locally.

I would recommend NOT buying a house here and just saving as much as you can to FIRE elsewhere. Working here (living in a small studio or with roommates) and planning to FIRE elsewhere can really help shorten your working life.

[BayIslandSaver]

SporeSpawn,

I lived in Alameda for ~5 years...and I sorely miss it!  To would definitely recommend renting.  Depending on where you would like to be located within the island you're looking at a standard boxy apartment for 1500-2300 (scattered, but concentrated in along Shoreline Dr).  There are also small apts and studios from converted homes more inland.  The company you're applying for is likely either on the north end towards the tunnel or on Bay Farm (chunk of Alameda attached to OAK airport).  Life on Bay Farm is vastly different.  Both are good, but Bay Farm is more suburban and there are very few walkable places nearby.  Stick around Park St for nightlife or Webster if you want to save a few more bucks.

With the extremely high COL there are always folks looking for roommates and subletting, so keep an eye on CL. 
Feel free to PM me for more info, but here are a few tips for living a mustachian life in Alameda:

- produce from farmers markets (Webster, Jack London)
- produce from Mex markets near Fruitvale
- produce from Asian markets (Oakland Chinatown)
- water quality in Alameda is top notch, so don't you dare pay a dime for water :)
- a bike will get you most places, even in Oakland
- for the tunnel, take the AC bus...from there explore the rest of Oakland via the Broadway shuttle, its free!
- Oakland Chinatown has tons of cheap snacks and meals (for the rare instances you don't want to cook)
- the beach serves and awesome free and open gym (there are folks paying top dollar for bootcamp sessions there)

[SporeSpawn]

Thanks for the inside view GatorNic and BayIslandSaver. That's just what I was hoping to get!

The group I'll be working for has two locations. The main one, the one I'm pretty sure I'll spend most of my time at, is located just a few blocks north of Washington Park. The other is on the east end of the island, right before Lincoln Avenue turns into Tilden Way (I'm going by Google Maps here), a few blocks northeast of the high school. It looks like there's only about 2 miles between them, so transport should not be a problem, so long as I live on the island. Going off Shoreline, making a route between the three spots, looks like a five mile round trip. No problem at all.

Thanks for the locations BayIslandSaver! I will definitely give you a ping if I progress further in the job hunt and start buckling down on moving.

[jeromedawg]

I grew up in Alameda and love it there. It's a pretty cool town and unpretentious as llorona pointed out. Pretty peaceful, especially if you have an opportunity to live on Bay Farm Island. The city is GREAT for biking as well - I grew up riding my bike to elementary school and middle school there. Easy peasy. Public trans is also super easy, and I grew up riding AC Transit to school, home and back. I'm sure it's just as easy if not easier these days. It's a great city to live in and raise a family in if you can afford it. Quite a few pretty good schools. I don't think I would have preferred it any other way growing up there. And if I had to move back to the Bay Area, that's probably one place I'd consider living high up on my list (of course, providing I could find a place to live without breaking the bank LOL). My parents and brother are still all living there and in fact, we're driving up there tonight for the Thanksgiving wknd. Can't wait to get back!

[El Marinero]

Another Alameda here.  I don't have to much to add to what has been said.

If you can live and work in Alameda, you certainly can bike to work.  The entire island is pancake flat and the weather is extremely mild.  No air conditioning needed here!

I routinely bike across the High Street bridge into Oakland, which is much less on an industrial wasteland than it used to be.  I've never used it, but there is a regular bike shuttle to Oakland through the 'tube' so you don't have to pedal through it.

Also great ferry service to San Francisco from two locations.  I did the ferry commute into San Francisco for years, and miss that extremely civilized commute ode.

Best of luck!

[SporeSpawn]

Thanks again for the advice all. I've already prepared my statements for the interview and I really think it's going to be fun!

SnackDog mentioned the coming developments, and I know from reading around that development's real high on the list of the city's "Important Issues" (what with so much of the shoreline washing away, like any good island). What have been some of the major recent changes or developments? The latest I know about is the ~900 acres given over by the Air Force, but I don't know what the population considers important. Preservation, expansion, redevelopment of current areas. Are there any current plans in motion on changing the face of the island, on land development?

I'm curious because my job's going to entail being very close to the needs of the community. Something as important as the use of limited land and real estate is definitely going to be necessary information.

[dragoncar]

Only downside is buying land that could be underwater in 50 years ;)

[BayIslandSaver]

Wow, didn't realize we had so many Alameda ties on this board.

I've been off the island for over a year now, but just recently stopped by.  I like the construction/revitalization going on near the east end of Park St.  The Walgreens looks great and there are more shops and businesses coming in.

Once the Naval Base starts development, there should be a good housing stock coming to the market, but traffic will suuuuck ;)
I saw on the local news BART's revitalizing the proposed 'Geary Line' that would cross the Bay into Alameda:

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/bart-expansion-could-be-part-of-sf-richmond-districts-transformation/Content?oid=2913417
http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2010/01/06/crossing-the-bay-again-but-not-necessarily-with-bart/

Extremely unlikely to happen though.

[Philo Beddoe]

My grandparents have lived in Alameda for over 35 years. It's a nice place, though not quite as nice as it used to be.

The advice above is spot on. Excellent area for biking or walking to work. I have biked all over Alameda...not a hill in sight. I will add that the tube is rideable. Though you should have no reason to do so because you really should live in Alameda. A friend of mine who lived there used to always say that the best thing about Alameda is that is isn't Oakland. Ha! Oakland isn't all bad...it's worth exploring. There are lots of cool older neighborhoods...just remember: the more hills, the safer it is.

But back to Alameda, if you live there you will seldom need to leave. Lots of little restaurants, groceries, at least one great bike shop, and many small businesses (at least one winery, a distillery, a brewery, etc.)

Good luck!

[dragoncar]

My grandparents have lived in Alameda for over 35 years. It's a nice place, though not quite as nice as it used to be.

The advice above is spot on. Excellent area for biking or walking to work. I have biked all over Alameda...not a hill in sight. I will add that the tube is rideable. Though you should have no reason to do so because you really should live in Alameda. A friend of mine who lived there used to always say that the best thing about Alameda is that is isn't Oakland. Ha! Oakland isn't all bad...it's worth exploring. There are lots of cool older neighborhoods...just remember: the more hills, the safer it is.

But back to Alameda, if you live there you will seldom need to leave. Lots of little restaurants, groceries, at least one great bike shop, and many small businesses (at least one winery, a distillery, a brewery, etc.)

Good luck!

Also, the bike racks are almost always empty on the buses, but they are equipped to take your bike through the tunnel/tube.

And Alameda has the one of the best tiki bars in the country