Reviews & Comments
Albany, CA
People of Albany CA -
1/30/2012Like many places in the Bay Area, there are some mixed-race couples and gay couples in Albany. What is really striking, though, is the number of families where both parents have college degrees. Yet it is not a strikingly affluent community like nearby Piedmont, because in many families one parent works from home or works parttime, or is home raising kids. This leads to unusually high levels of parent volunteers in the schools. About a quarter of Albany households are renters in University Village, which is family housing for UC Berkeley, and many of those families are noncitizens (typically the father is studying for a science PhD). This gives some interesting diversity in the overcrowded schools. There is only one high school and one middle school, so cliques are a problem.
Albany, CA
Albany housing-- small and expensive -
1/30/2012Albany was originally built as a railroad workers' town. So the bad news is that nearly every house was originally two, or at most three, bedrooms with one bath, about 1000 to 1200 square feet, on a lot between 3500 and 5000 sq ft. Many are flat-roofed, almost none have attics, and few have sunken basements other than garages. There's frequently little storage or privacy, and the houses are expensive compared to neighboring towns, because it's considered a desirable school district. The good news is that the houses are mostly charming stucco bungalows, no two alike, and fairly well maintained. Because houses are so crowded together, it's a short walk to schools or the central commercial arteries, Solano and San Pablo Avenues.