Peaceful Room Available in Gorgeous Victorian Home - Central Alameda

We (me, my—extremely angsty—16.5 year old, relatively newly-adopted, Spanish-speaking son and our very cute, if overly exuberant and…uh…often overly-expressive, 12 pound, non-shedding, hypoallergenic pup, Baxter) are looking for a kind, considerate, responsible housemate to share our sweet 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom Victorian house smack in the middle of the adorably quirky island of Alameda.

It’s a fully furnished, stand-alone home with 2 large, attached sitting rooms, a well-equipped kitchen and breakfast bar, a formal, 10-seat dining/game room (with electric drum set and keyboard), dishwasher, beverage cooler, washer/dryer, central heat, a Juliet balcony (nestled under a tree that sounds like the ocean when the wind blows) and a spacious backyard with lime, lemon and apple trees and a self-irrigating vegetable garden box just waiting for a greener thumb than mine to give it some love!

The room itself is on the main floor (the other two bedrooms are downstairs) and features a surprisingly comfy, queen-sized, fold-up Murphy bed, high ceilings, a chandelier, and an en-suite bathroom with a vintage sink and walk-in shower. There’s also a closet, small desk and a fancy little loveseat in there with feathers that are a little pokey.

Our house is at the end of a very extra-friendly, pin-drop-quiet cul-du-sac in Central Alameda--with a whole street's worth of adorable all-aged neighbors--well-situated, not more than a 5 or 10 minute bike/car ride away from nearly anywhere on the island!

$1550 a month.
Utilities, heat, hot water, WiFi and twice monthly housekeeping included.

A few other things to note:

We value kindness and consideration above all else and are looking forward to welcoming you into our home.

That said, being respectful of the space itself and keeping late-night noise/visitors to a minimum on school nights is probably a good idea (especially because if Baxter hears you, he’ll make sure the whole neighborhood knows about it!) Also please, please no smoking anywhere on the property (indoors or out)! Oh! And I should probably note that we’re one of those “no shoes on in the house” houses…

LOCATION:

Alameda feels a world away from the city in vibe, but sneakily central to everything in The Bay Area (The people on Alameda very much want to keep that a secret—we moved here from Brooklyn and people kept asking me how I “found” it—as if it wasn’t a six-mile island in between two giant, cosmopolitan cities!?!)

Alameda is *also* known to have much nicer weather than SF or Oakland…not too hot, not too cold, no fog; it’s usually sunny and breezy with blue skies and rustling trees.

Our purple-trimmed dollhouse of a house is one block from the Santa Clara and Grand St Bus Stop (with CTA Busses that will take you to the BART Stations in Oakland OR straight to Salesforce Center in San Francisco).

It’s a 10 minute Ferry/Bus into Oakland or a 20 minute Ferry ride (or 40 minute direct bus/BART ride) into SF.

We’re a 1 mile walk or bicycle ride to the beach and in between the two main commercial streets, Park Street and Webster Street, both of which are lined with cute spots like vintage shops, international restaurants, funky markets, bubble tea, candy stores and an old fashioned ice cream parlor.

There’s plenty to do on Alameda: farmer’s markets and odd little festivals, mini-golf and a gorgeous old movie theatre. The island hosts Northern California’s largest antique fair once a month, has the nation’s longest Fourth of July Parade and goes all out decorating their homes for Halloween and Christmas…all this on a little island right in the middle of San Francisco Bay! You can even head to the Marina and rent a small motor boat for under 50 bucks (I think it’s $35?!?) get a quick lesson and hit the open seas!

We love living on this friendly, quirky island knowing that not only San Francisco and Oakland are right across the bridge, but also all of the other places the Bay Area has to offer—Berkeley, Sausalito, Marin, Palo Alto, Los Gatos, RedWood City, Napa, Sonoma, San Jose, Santa Cruz…there is something gorgeous in every direction.

ACCESSIBILITY:
Your bedroom is on the main floor along with a private bathroom, the living room, kitchen, dining room and back porch. The only reason to go downstairs is to access the washer/dryer or the backyard. That said, there is a relatively substantial staircase leading up to our front door which may prove problematic if you have any mobility issues. (See photos)

About This Lister

About us:

I adopted my teenage son from Colombia four years ago and we’re still getting to know each other/learning how to be a family. We moved to the Bay 3 years ago (after 30 years in Brooklyn!)

My little guy can be a bit challenging at times, but is quite shy and mostly keeps to himself. (The same cannot be said about our pup Baxter who will wriggle his way into your heart and your lap whether you like it or not!)

I travel occasionally for work, but spend most of my days coming and going, running errands and taking zoom meetings from home.