East Bay
Oakland
Lake Merritt, Oakland Museum of California, and the Jack London waterfront — three perspectives on one city.
Read Oakland's field notes →The Bay Area, beyond the listing
Local field notes
BAY AREA GUIDEField Notes
A more carefully researched look at the places that make a city feel like home. These first editorial features link directly to local and destination sources; the wider 101-city directory remains available for exploration.
Wine Country
Napa
Oxbow Public Market, the riverfront, and the rhythms of downtown beyond the tasting rooms.
Read Napa's field notes →New: San Francisco neighborhood perspectives
Explore how the Mission, Richmond, Outer Sunset, and Marina differ in street life, coastal conditions and homebuyer questions. Start with the San Francisco guide →
More places to explore
Browse all 101 cities or the neighborhood directory. More independently sourced field notes are in development; other city guides contain introductory editorial research, not firsthand reporting.
THE NEXT CHAPTER
Six cities, six different lifestyles
Explore detailed local spotlights with district-level places to visit and real estate questions to ask.
Oakland
Oakland changes quickly between waterfront warehouses, busy commercial streets, Lake Merritt apartments and wooded hillside neighborhoods. Use the districts below to compare daily routines—not to assume one description fits the entire city.
Read city spotlight →Berkeley
Berkeley combines university life, independent retail corridors, older residential streets and easy access to the East Bay hills. Downtown, Elmwood and North Shattuck are not interchangeable experiences.
Read city spotlight →San Mateo
San Mateo combines a busy downtown, established residential districts, major Peninsula travel routes and Bay shoreline recreation. Downtown access and neighborhood feel vary considerably by address.
Read city spotlight →Palo Alto
Palo Alto’s University Avenue, California Avenue and residential neighborhoods offer different daily experiences. Stanford is a major local landmark, but commute convenience and housing conditions depend on the precise block.
Read city spotlight →San Jose
San Jose spans downtown cultural destinations, established central neighborhoods, suburban corridors and open-space edges. A single citywide commute or housing description cannot capture its range.
Read city spotlight →Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek’s downtown shopping and arts district sits alongside established residential neighborhoods and access to East Bay open space. Compare downtown walkability with the quieter and sometimes hillier parts of the city.
Read city spotlight →