Oakland

Oakland changes character block by block — dense and social around Lake Merritt’s three-mile shoreline path, food-and-foot-traffic-driven in Rockridge and Temescal, almost mountain-town quiet up in Montclair and the hills. Landmark Art Deco theaters like the restored Fox and Paramount, a working deep-water port, and one of the most diverse populations in California give it a texture no suburb can match.

Jack London Square anchors the waterfront with restaurants and a farmers market, while neighborhoods like Grand Lake and Piedmont Avenue (the Oakland side, distinct from the city of Piedmont next door) offer walkable commercial strips of their own. The Oakland Museum of California, a historic Chinatown, and pockets like Uptown and Old Oakland round out a city with more distinct micro-neighborhoods than almost anywhere else in the East Bay.

Housing stock is just as varied — Craftsman bungalows and Victorians in the flatlands, mid-century and architect-designed homes in the hills, and a growing supply of condos and lofts downtown and near the waterfront. Extensive BART coverage and direct freeway access make it possible to live almost anywhere in the city and still be minutes from everywhere else in the Bay Area.