Small (Not Tiny) Homes
Living in the San Francisco Bay Area has become enormously expensive lately. Any great place nowadays — Manhattan, Hong Kong, Vancouver, Rome — rents are outta sight.
In recent years I’ve been driving around in some less-cachet local towns, like San Leandro, Richmond, Hayward and noticing all these small, simple houses. Some of the blocks look really nice.
If someone of modest means is looking to buy a home in the Bay Area, I’d say forget SF, Marin County, Berkeley, the Peninsula all the way down to San Jose. Look in these sort of overlooked towns. I used to think the same about Brisbane and El Cerrito, but it may be too late (at least In E.C.)
I bet anywhere in the US there are towns surrounding the hot spots with simple little houses like these. Maybe neighborhoods on the upsurge after crack houses and gangs have been chased out. Or just neglected neighborhoods. Former industrial areas.
Graffiti July 2013
I just love this kind of art.
