Life and Real Estate in the Bay Area
The Bay Area is a great place to live. The weather is mild, typically ranging between 50 and 75 degrees. The rainy season is generally limited to a few months in the winter. Every year there are some very hot periods, but generally after 2 or 3 days, the fog coming through the Golden Gate cools the temperatures.  There are micro-climates.  Where I live, in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland,  it is between 2 to 5 degrees warmer than at my office in North Berkeley.

 Bay Area Food
People from all over the globe bring recipes from their native countries providing wonderful food options.. In any one neighborhood in the East Bay you can find an abundance of places to eat from different cultures:  Vietnamese, Burmese, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Indian, Korean, Cambodian, Persian, El Salvadorian, Mexican, Ethiopian and finally "California Cusine" a la Chez Panisse.

The East Bay Parks
 Point Isabel, the largest off-leash dog park in the country, has 23 acres of shoreline land where dogs can run  and  play unhidered by a leash.  For the people there is the Sit and Stay Cafe where a dog's person can get a latte or lunch and share the outside ambiance on the patio with their dog.  Mud Puppies is a store/dog-wash place where full service and do-your-own-dog-wash are available.  For a small fee dog owners can get their dog's nails clipped by the expert nail-clippers from Mud Puppies.  For the dogs there is swimming in the creek, swimming in the bay, open fields of grass for ball catching and fully stocked gopher holes through out the fields.  Point Isabel is like Disney Land for dogs.

Tilden Parkis considered to be a jewel of the Park System.  Tilden consists of over 2000 acres of land that  "shelters wildlife and preserves the natural beauty of the area".  Lake Anza sits in the approximate middle of the park. The lake has areas  roped off areas for swimming. Beautiful walking paths rim the lake.  On weenends a 101 year old carousel is open to the public.  It is a wonderful place to bring small children.  During the week the "Little Farm" is open to the publilc.  There is also a steam train, a golf course and the Brazilian Room has been the venue for many weddings over the years.  During the winter months, November through February, while the newts come out, South Park Road is closed to car traffic so that dogs off leash and their people can make use of the road as a scenic path.