Bayfront and Peninsula, Emeryville, CA

Living on the Bayfront feels a bit like having a front-row seat to San Francisco’s skyline without the SF prices. Most homes are view-oriented condo complexes that hug the shoreline, with floor-to-ceiling windows framing sunsets over the Golden Gate and quiet courtyards protected from the afternoon wind. The neighborhood’s main “streets” are actually paved segments of the San Francisco Bay Trail, so joggers, strollers, and cyclists outnumber cars on any given day. Daily errands happen just inland: Trader Joe’s, IKEA, and Bay Street shops are five minutes away, while weekend dining could be dim sum at Hong Kong East Ocean or oysters on Point Emery’s picnic tables. Residents launch paddleboards from the public pier, watch harbor seals from Peninsula Park, or walk to the Amtrak Capitol Corridor platform for a hassle-free Sacramento getaway. The flip side is isolation once the sun sets-apart from a couple of waterfront restaurants, nightlife means driving or ridesharing to Berkeley or Uptown Oakland. HOA fees can be steep for the newest complexes, and fog can linger until midday, so you trade a bit of sunshine for the postcard views.