Alameda

Claim a slice of bayside real estate with a home in Harbor Bay/Bay Farm. This section of Alameda County is notable in part for its selection of properties right along the San Francisco Bay shoreline and its proximity to the San Francisco Bay Ferry. Outdoor recreation opportunities abound here, too. “There are cycling and walking trails,” says local Realtor Guy Blume of The Guy Blume Team. “It has close proximity to Oakland International Airport and direct views of the San Francisco Bay and the San Francisco skyline.” <br><br>Most of the single-family homes in Harbor Bay/Bay Farm are modern — most were built after 1980, says Blume, a top-ranked realtor in Alameda and Contra Costa counties since 2012. The average home in this area has three bedrooms, Blume says, and most \are somewhere around 2,000 square feet. The houses here are mostly traditional- and contemporary-style options, in single- and multistory layouts. Harbor Bay/Bay Farm homes fill well-manicured lots that range from about 2,600 square feet to more than 5,000 square feet. Sidewalks line every block in the neighborhood, providing an element of walkability. Townhouses and condos supplement the inventory of single-family homes here, and prices for these start at around $800,000. The single-family houses here have price tags that start at roughly $1 million and can climb to more than $2 million in some cases. <br><br>Harbor Bay/Bay Farm residents take advantage of the area’s walkability. It’s common to see people out and about, enjoying fresh air. “It’s an active community,” Blume says. The neighborhood features multiple parks. The 4-acre Tillman Park is among the options, a space woven into the web of homes here, with a playground, multiple athletic fields and basketball courts. Leydecker Park is a bigger option, at almost 6 acres, and features tennis courts in addition to a playground, fields and basketball courts. Shoreline Park is a spot to enjoy time by the water, with plenty of open, grassy space perfect for a picnic. Golfers will love the neighborhood's proximity to the public Corica Park, whose 18-hole South Course was named one of the top municipal courses in the country by GOLF Magazine in 2021. Corica Park also has a North Course undergoing renovation and a nine-hole par 3 course. <br><br>Guy says that some move to Harbor Bay/Bay Farm for the schools. Kids here can enter the Alameda Unified School District, which carries an A overall rating on Niche. Students can start at either Bay Farm School K-8 or Earhart Elementary, depending on where they live. Bay Farm School features an Outdoor Learning Center that facilitates weekly garden classes for those in kindergarten through fifth grade and hosts a weekly lunchtime club for middle school students. Earhart Elementary, which has kindergarten through fifth grade, offers an afterschool enrichment program with the help of the PTA. Both Bay Farm and Earhart have A grades on Niche. From Earhart students can move on to the A-rated Lincoln Middle, whose extracurricular opportunities include a range of lunch clubs, from a games club to a science and engineering club. Students across Alameda High advance to the A-plus-rated Alameda High for grades 9 to 12, which has a career technical education department with programs in biotechnology, computer science, digital filmmaking, multimedia and sports medicine. <br><br>Residents can go to the Harbor Bay Landing shopping center for a bite to eat, a complex whose options include La Penca Azul, where the margaritas and burritos are popular. There’s also a Safeway here, convenient for grocery shopping, and a Starbucks across the street. <br><br>It’s common for people who live in Harbor Bay/Bay Farm to take the San Francisco Bay Ferry from the Harbor Bay Ferry Terminal to the city for work. Ferry riders can get from Harbor Bay to Downtown San Francisco in just about 25 minutes, and it runs from 6:30 a.m. to 7:55 p.m. Monday through Friday.<br><br> In Harbor Bay/Bay Farm, bayfront living comes with access to a plethora of standout Alameda County amenities.

The West End of Alameda has risen from its humble beginnings as a low-lying marshland off Oakland and grown into the "Island City." Once a peninsula of Oakland, it became an Island when a canal was dredged in 1902, separating Alameda from the mainland. Island City's residents have maintained a grounded attitude about daily life, which Rudy Gonzalez, a realtor with Red Oak Realty, says comes from the area's history as a working-class neighborhood. "It's a very kick-back, non-confrontational lifestyle," says Gonzalez. "They're separated from Oakland by this giant tunnel, and [Once you pass through] It's like you're in a different era. It used to be people who hammered nails and hauled in nets full of fish. There are still grandkids of people who built the island living [in Alameda]." Hungry locals head to Webster Street, where most of the area's restaurants are located. "It's a bit of a throw-back," says Gonzalez. "There's a lot of independent and family-owned restaurants." The sounds of chatting diners spill onto the street from the outdoor seating area at Kitchen of Alameda, where patrons eagerly await roast pork clay pots, stuffed tofu and plates of crispy chicken. Down Webster Street, dog walkers can stop by SIGNAL Coffee Roasters for a cup of coffee and get treats for their furry companions. Queen Anne and Victorian homes date back to the 19th century in Island City. These original West Alameda homes and the contemporary craftsmen and bungalows that have popped up since tend to go for between $750,000 and $1 million. West Alameda's streets are lined with sidewalks and some light tree cover. The houses are generally close together, with minimal front lawns and narrow backyards, and most of the bungalows are made of beige stucco. Students in the area are part of the Alameda Unified School District, which has an A rating on Niche. "People who move here say nine out of ten schools are good," Gonzalez says. School-aged kids have over a dozen schools to choose from. They can start at Amelia Earhart Elementary School, which has an A rating on Niche, and continue at A-rated Lincoln Middle School. A-rated Encinal Junior/Senior High School completed a $50 million renovation of the campus in 2021. This brought students updated classrooms, lab spaces, and outdoor learning areas. Crab Cove is one of the area's most popular outdoor areas, with its own visitors center and a ton of amenities for visitors to enjoy. The cove draws people in to practice yoga on the shoreline or splash around in the surf. Popular with people living in Alameda since the 1880s, it's part of Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach, where visitors can throw frisbees at the beach's dog park, build sand castles on the beach, or play tennis to the backdrop of the San Francisco Bay on the Alameda public tennis courts. Parks across the city are the site of most city events, and these greenspaces bring residents together for monthly movie nights during the warmer month, dance parties and sand castle and sculpture contests.

Along Alameda Bay is South Shore, where residents come to enjoy a laid-back coastal haven in California’s East Bay region. The neighborhood is home to family-friendly beaches, shoreside mall shopping and sweeping bay views. “From South Shore, you can access the beach right away, so it’s a great location,” says Xuxia Wang, a local realtor with Compass who has been living in the Bay Area for almost 20 years. “People can walk out their door and jog, do yoga along the beach or go kayaking. I used to live here and could carry my paddleboard across the street and over to the beach.” With around 80,000 residents, South Shore also gets attention for its excellent public schools and Bay Area affordable homes that showcase a 1950s aesthetic, including mid-century and bungalow houses built during this time. South Shore offers residents a slice of the iconic California lifestyle and a waterside refuge from the hustle and bustle of the San Francisco Bay Area. “I think once people decide to live here on the shoreline, they can’t leave because you feel like you are living in a vacation home,” Wang says. “You just can’t get enough of the view, and every day it changes, from sunrise to sunset, when the water switches from different blues to yellow tones depending on the weather — it’s all so beautiful.” South Shore has an abundance of outdoor recreational areas. Franklin Park is located within the neighborhood, encompassed by mature grand trees and clusters of rose bushes. This small recreation area has a popular playground designed for younger kids, plus athletic fields and courts. Locals can take an afternoon stroll along the site’s paved walking trails or throw a frisbee out on the park’s large open green space. Nearby, the manicured Washington Park features playing fields, a playground, tennis courts and a duck pond. It also has jogging and walking trails for outdoor exercise and is adjacent to Robert W. Crown Memorial State Beach. This highly popular wind-swept beach spans 2.5 miles, where parasailers float high above the water, and a bike trail borders gentle dunes. Located at the park's east end is the Elsie Roemer Bird Sanctuary, where residents can observe aquatic birds and other salt marsh creatures. At the north end of the beach is Crab Cove, a popular marine reserve. South Shore has Alameda’s longest uninterrupted shoreline, paved with the three-mile Shore Line Drive. This street features most of the neighborhood’s high-rise condominiums, primarily built in the 1960s and early ‘70s and overlooking the water. Single-family homes are found along the blocks perpendicular to Shore Line Drive. These wide, tree-lined streetscapes with narrowly paved sidewalks make way for a variety of housing styles. Mostly built in the 1950s and early ‘60s, typical styles include mid-century homes, California bungalows, Queen Anne’s and colonial revivals. Within some of the residential neighborhoods, there are lagoon-front homes that feature private docks, allowing direct access to the water. Residents can even kayak or paddleboard around the neighborhood. Home prices range from $900,000 to $3 Million, while condos range from $450,000 for a one-bedroom condo and up to $920,000 for a three-bedroom condo. One of the most popular South Shore events of the year is the Sandcastle and Sand Sculpture Contest at the Crowne Park Memorial State Park. Local participants can design intricate sand sculptures along the beach, and visitors can vote for the best creations. Other events throughout the year often take place at South Shore Center. Here, residents can enjoy a Fourth of July Family Festival with live performances, face painting, stilt performers and local vendors. The center also sets up an ice rink for locals to enjoy during the winter months and puts on a Summer Beats concert series during the summer with live music performances from a variety of local artists and bands. Residents are surrounded by shopping and dining, with South Shore Center being the most prominent shopping destination in the neighborhood. Steps away from Alameda Beach, this open-air shopping center features 594,000 square feet of dining, shopping and entertainment options. Big-box stores like Ulta, Home Goods and TJ Maxx can be found here, along with fast-casual eateries like MOD Pizza and popular spots for local authentic eats like Monkey Thai. Residents can also pick up groceries here at the Trader Joe’s or Safeway. Outside of the Center, Julie’s Coffee and Tea Garden on Park Street is a quaint, garden-style spot known for its tea varieties and sustainable veg-driven fare. Around the corner, the highly rated Sidestreet Pho serves up all kinds of Vietnamese noodle soups. One of the most popular restaurants in South Shore is Trabocco, where residents can enjoy world-class Italian cuisine in an open, airy atmosphere. “Everyone loves this place,” says Wang. “It's one of the best restaurants in South Shore.” For a late-night option, the tiki lounge Forbidden Island is a mile outside of the neighborhood on Lincoln Avenue, offering retro tropical drinks within island-themed interior digs. Alameda’s public schools are top-rated across the board. Students can attend Franklin Elementary School, which gets an A-rating from Niche, followed by the A-rated Encinal Junior/Senior High School. High schoolers can attend the A-plus-rated Alameda High School, which offers extensive AP courses and over 70 social clubs, including Asian Cultural Unity, STEM Outreach and Competitive Sailing Club. With Interstate 880 located to the east, South Shore is connected to Oakland by two of the city’s three bridges, Park Street and Fruitvale Avenue. The Main Street Alameda Ferry Terminal is just three miles from South Shore and takes residents directly to the San Francisco Ferry Building or Jack London Square in Oakland. The closest BART stations are in Oakland (Fruitvale Avenue and Lake Merritt), and the Oakland International Airport is less than five miles south of the neighborhood.