Notre Dame Ave, East Palo Alto

The more I look at nice areas in other questionable towns (Rockridge, Lake Merritt, Berkeley Hills, East San Jose Foothills), the more I realize that East Palo Alto has no such thing, making it, in some ways, the worst town to live in in the Bay Area. Notre Dame Avenue really isn't a huge standout one way or the other - it is simply a decent, understated, moderate street in the northeast quadrant of East Palo Alto.

Someday, if this town grows up into the gentrification that it is so well set up for, Notre Dame Avenue will be one of those great streets to live on. The relatively modern, 1950s ranchers are perfectly fine and no different than houses in other Bay Area towns, and even the worst ones offer a ton of potential. Proximity to University Avenue and access to the rest of the neighborhood mean that the road gets a little more TLC than some of its neighbors, and has amenities like stop signs and street lights (do NOT take these for granted).

In the meantime, it will continue to be plagued with noise, overcrowded homes, no parking on the street, and a shoddy school system that requires kids to be bussed to neighboring districts to get their education. Invest here, but certainly raise your family elsewhere.