I'm moving to the East Bay area outside of San Francisco?
I'll be living in Hayward and working in Fremont. I'm wanting to know more about living in the East Bay area - traffic, places to shop, places to eat, and things of that sort... what a newcomer needs to know! Any information, tips, referrals, recommendations, etc. would be much appreciated. Thanks! Many thanks for the answers that I have gotten so far... they've been very helpful. I already have a place lined up in Hayward... it's on Campus Drive right over by California State University - East Bay. I've already seen the apartment and it is quite nice and in a pleasant area. As far as food is concerned, I have pretty wide tastes! I like to try different types of food such as various types of ethnic food, etc. so any thoughts regarding the more original types of restaurants would be nice. I'm not real big on malls, although I do shop at some of them. I'm more into going into those little shops where you can browse around and find unique little things. Yeah, I know they are more pricey, but I enjoy browsing thru them anyway! I'm also into arts and crafts... I collect handmade pottery and that sort of thing. Any suggestions? Are there any good Farmer's Markets in the East Bay area? I know there's one in SF itself, but what about closer to home? Thanks! Many thanks, JellyBeanChick! You've been great with the info! Just to give you a little more info - I am Deaf and I'm going to be working for an agency called DCARA in the East Bay area (you can Google them), and will be based in their Fremont Oak Gardens office. As you may know, the Fremont area has a large Deaf population due to the existence of the California School for the Deaf. I'm moving from the Midwest... Southern Indiana to be exact. This area is a meat and potatoes town, but one thing I'm going to miss will be the barbecue we have here... I doubt you can find genuine Memphis/Kansas City style BBQ in San Francisco! My city (on the banks of the Ohio River) is about as north as you can get and still be in a "barbecue" town - we have several in this area. But no matter, I am sure I will find plenty of new restaurants to try out... if not in East Bay, definitely in San Francisco. I do plan to make plenty of trips into the city - for shopping & dining! oshginva@gmail.com
San Francisco - 5 Answers
Random Answers, Critics, Comments, Opinions :
1 :
traffic gets pretty bad on hwy 880, the main hwy you'll need to take to get to work. but you are somewhat against traffic. depending on what you like to eat, there are plenty of choices - check out yelp.com for restos (or tell me what you like and I'll tell you where to go!). For shopping, there is a outlets at Marina, right off of 880, as well as the great mall in milpitas which will not be too far from you if you live in fremont - that is an outlet as well, and there are many shops. Macarthy ranch is another good place to both eat and shop. Good luck.
2 :
Do you already have a place lined up in Hayward? If not, consider Fremont, which is in my opinion a nicer place to live. Traffic: 880 is pretty bad. I don't know how far north in Hayward you want to live, but you may want to look at surface streets for commuting, such as Mission Blvd. Most traffic in the Bay Area is during commute hours (7-9 am, 3-6pm). Shop: The best malls in the area are Valley Fair in San Jose and Stoneridge in Pleasanton. Of course, there is great shopping in SF's Union Square. Eat: I work in south Hayward, and we go out for lunch in Union City usually. They have a lot of restaurants, including chain restaurants and small ethnic places. My tip to you is to check out the outdoor activities in the area. There are some beautiful hikes in the East Bay, such as Huckleberry Regional Preserve. Here is a great website: http://www.bahiker.com/. Be careful in Oakland. It has a very high murder rate. But there are very safe places, and not-so-safe places. Rule of thumb: don't go somewhere in Oakland unless you know it is safe. More info for you! Food: I'm not sure where you are moving from, but there is a lot of variety in the ethnic foods here. I haven't been to many restaurants in Hayward, but in Fremont/Union City there is Indian, Indian/Pakistani, Vietnamese, Thai, and of course the ubiquitous Mexican and Chinese, although it's way more authentic in CA than in other parts of the country. Try to avoid Chinese buffets, which are cheap but crappy. For specific places, look at http://www.yelp.com, which is the best guide to restaurants and other businesses. Boutique shopping: Unfortunately the East Bay has a dearth of small boutiques. I don't know of any in Hayward; there are a few in the Mission San Jose area of Fremont. Other than that, your best bet is San Francisco (LOADS of boutiques there), or more affluent towns like Walnut Creek and Palo Alto. Arts: I hear there is a thriving arts community in Oakland. You can look at Yelp for some galleries to go to. Farmer's Markets: Pretty much every city in the Bay Area has at least one Farmer's market. Again, I don't know about Hayward, but there are two markets in Fremont and one in Newark at the Newpark Mall.
3 :
They used to have a farmers market in Oakland in Jack London Square I think on sundays, but i haven't been in a while!! But Jack London is a nice place to hang out on the weekends and its safe!!
4 :
Farmers Market. I know 2. One is in the parking lot of Newpark Mall on Sunday Mornings and the other is on Smith Street in Union City.
5 :
I just want to add that if you're living up near Cal State Hayward (CSUH), then you have the option of using Mission Blvd to drive to the Fremont area. I don't know what traffic is like during your commute, but you can go south on Mission Blvd, and then get on I-680 South. You can see a map to see how it works out. I used to attend CSUH back in the 1980's. That area of Hayward is well serviced by buses and there's a BART (subway) station in downtown. I agree with other posters than Fremont is a nicer town than Hayward. But they're building new homes in the hills above CSUH in the old Fairview hills area. Really great view up there.
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