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, and soon Border’s bookstore. And in May 2008, the historic and restored Alameda Theater will open 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 to find out more about Alameda, here’s what Wikipedia says about our lovely island town of Alameda.

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.

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.

THEATER

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

• Population of nearly 80,000 people
• Land area of approximately 12 square miles
• Had the highest concentration of Victorian homes on the west coast with over 3,000 Queen Anne and Italianate homes and structures built before the turn of the 20th century. Many still exist.

• Incorporated in 1872 combining the towns of Encinal, Woodstock and Alameda
• Became an island when the Army Corps of Engineers completed the Tidal Canal (Estuary) in 1902
• Early beginnings as a favorite summer vacation spot, as well as primary residence for new middle class who worked in San Francisco and commuted home to Alameda via local ferries
• Small town atmosphere with quaint neighborhoods on tree-lined streets, vintage homes in various architectural styles that range from
  • mansions on the Gold Coast area, to enclaves of small cottages,
  • Tudor cottages in the park-like setting of Stonehenge
  • Craftsman and California bungalows
  • modern townhomes and contemporary homes in Bay Farm, and
  • floating homes in Barnhill Marina across the Estuary from Jack London Square
• Beaches as favorite destination for families. On any windy day, there are many water sports enthusiasts who frolic in the waves with the city of San Francisco serving as an excellent backdrop

• Our very own wine tasting at the Rosenblum Cellars
• Arts and crafts faires
• Antique Faire every first Sunday at Alameda Point

• Yacht clubs
• Water, water, water everywhere
• Alameda Point was home to the Alameda Naval Station, and is now being converted to new residential communities, retail and business centers
• Also fondly referred to as "Silicon Island" due to growing number of high tech firms like Wind River Systems who have settled in modern business centers in the area
• Influx of new retail businesses like Starbucks, Trader Joe's and more!