Changin' it up!

In 2008, John and I participated in enabling "change we need"--supporting the Obama campaign in North Carolina. But surely neither of us believed that change would hit so close to home. In January, we heard from our landlord--our apartment was going on the market. Though we thought the timing was a bit odd given the state of the economy, we lost no time in researching our options.

We carefully mapped our strategy through the vast network of diverse neighborhoods we've come to love and call home. Ah, San Francisco. And after just a few weekends of exploring the rental market, we decided if ever there was a time for us to buy in the Bay Area, it was now.

What we didn't expect, however, was to find the place that made our heart sing was...yep...across the Bay! An old cannery built in 1904 with 19' ceilings, exposed concrete columns, former loading docks for patios and a view of the Port of Oakland from our window! The cannery is only one part of a larger Central Station redevelopment project which includes the renovation of the 16th Street Train station. We're excited to watch it take shape.

West Oakland will be a quite a change from our current neighborhood. We will miss the views of San Francisco from the deck on Potrero Hill. And we'll miss the nearby restaurants and, of course, the tennis courts (inside joke).

But...we're on our way, Oakland. New adventures here we come. We're changin' it up!