St. Elizabeth

Let’s begin with the most pertinent fact about this neighborhood, it is in the Fruitvale district, right next to the epicenter of it, the Fruitvale BART station area. This, as anyone who lives in Oakland knows, means gang violence and related crime. And this is indeed what you find here. Between 2007 and 2009 there were six murders at the edges of this neighborhood, with a solid two dozen in the surrounding neighborhoods. Although there were no such murders in the middle of the residential area of St. Elizabeth, this is still not the place where you would want to try to raise your kids.

That said. This is what else you should know about the neighborhood. St. Elizabeth is centered around St. Elizabeth High School, a private catholic school that is well liked by those who attend. St. Elizabeth focuses on preparing its students for the college experience and is in sharp contrast to nearby Arise High School with its 2 of 10 rating on the Great Schools website. St. Elizabeth’s student body is made up of low income minority students, almost half of which come from single parent households. The majority of students are Hispanic, with about a third being African American, roughly the proportions in the surrounding neighborhood itself. The school offers scholarships and has the usual Catholic school uniforms. Overall, it seems to be a positive influence in a neighborhood with a number of other problems.

This is a densely packed neighborhood with roughly three times the population density of other neighborhoods in Oakland. In part, this is because of the many boxy apartment buildings that characterize much of the neighborhood. One of the benefits of this high density, of course, is that this is a highly affordable area in terms of rent, with the average being only about $800.

On the northeastern end of the neighborhood is Mercy Retirement center. Although it started long ago as a Catholic institution, Mercy is now a non-denominational retirement center. They are very outward looking and help keep their residents vital by offering them opportunities to help others in the surrounding community, as well as to stay active through lecture series and similar events.

As far as restaurants and similar offering, there is the outdoor mall near the Fruitvale BART to the west, but pretty average offerings otherwise. It is mostly the KFC on Fruitvale and then a number of taquarias. Not much to write home about but better than nothing.

Overall, I cannot recommend living in this neighborhood because of the crime worries, but I do think there are some redeemable qualities about it. If one day it can manage the safety issue, it could definitely become a good neighborhood in which to live.