sheffield village is one of the best communities in oakland, located in the very quiet and isolated corner bordering san leandro and oakland with beautiful partial views of the bay, and mountains, yet it is very close to shops, freeways, the oakland zoo and BART. it was built in the late 30's and is seen as the jewel of oakland is now a historical landmark. i spent almost most of my 30 plus years here as my grandparents lived here most of their life. i would always look forward to visiting them here as this would prove to give me so much do do in this great village. climbing up into the hills of oakland, sneaking around the dunsmair house, trips to the park and even playing doctor with the neighbor girl. most of the homes still to this day have original hardwood floors, china cabinets and the same old school construction. i will never forget my time spent in this great community as it a place right out of a movie. One thing is certain: for anyone old enough to remember the 1950s, a trip to sheffield village is certain to evoke waves of nostalgia. read more

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I feel I need to answer the review about the "apartheid past." It has to be put in historical perspective. In 1939 that sort of attitude was the norm. I'm not saying it was right, but it was accepted and common. My family moved to Sheffield Village in 1946 when I was a 3 and I lived there until I finished college and got married. It was a great place to grow up, safe and self-contained. This was before the MacArthur Freeway chopped off the entrance to the village, and when there was a school and a library where the interchange now is. Also The Creamery, where they made their own ice cream (it was wonderful). Later the school moved to what is now the park area next to the rec center. I went to 3rd and 4th grade there and it was right down the street from where I lived on Marlow Drive. Back to the matter of color. When I was growing up I had never seen a person of color, there weren't any in Oakland that I remember. We shopped downtown and never saw anyone different from us (WASP). The large black population and the many people of asian descent are recent in my lifetime. We did see Chinese folks in Chinatown in SF but nowhere else. When my brother was little he saw a black man on the street and thought he was made of chocolate. i doubt that the conventions of the "law", which was more likely a CC&R such as are found in many developments today, have ever been followed. We were solidly middle-class and nobody had household help, or if they did it was temporary, so the matter of a black maid/cook/cleaning lady was completely beyond anyone's experience. I never heard a thing about it, it was a non-issue. Nobody's mother worked except for one boy whose father had died. Nobody got a divorce. It was Wally & The Beaver all the way. MIlk was delivered to your house, so was dry cleaning, women didn't drive. My mother was ill after my brother was born and my dad hired a housekeeper for a while, but she was a grandmotherly lady and blonde. There just weren't that many people of color around. What the original developer did was common for then, but times have changed now and for the better. I doubt you'll find that attitude today and you can't punish today's residents for something that happened so long ago. Blaming people in the present for the sins of the past is just silly, what we did to the Native Americans was awful, slavery was awful, the internment camps in WW 2 were awful, so was the restriction on black people in Sheffield Village--but my folks didn't do it, people today aren't doing it, and all any of us can do is move forward and make sure we don't do it in future. read more

We have lived in Sheffield Village for 24 years. Our son, who is now 25, says he can't imagine living anywhere else. He and his buddies played in the hills, the woods, the creek, the parks. He even had jobs with the city helping with the summer recreation program in the park. If you're thinking of moving here, come and see it. Check out the view of the hills, see the tennis court, look at the lovely homes - some still have the original leaded glass bay windows. We have an active home owners' association and great neighbors. read more

We're considered 'new' to the village, having only lived here four years. The moment we drove into the neighborhood from San Leandro to view a home, we knew we wanted to live here. Craftsman style homes from the '30s and '40s beckoned with their brick paths to welcoming front porches. Someone waved as we drove up to the house (seriously, this happened). The week we moved in, we had cookies and flowers delivered to our doorstep by various neighbors welcoming us to the neighborhood. Having lived in Kansas, NYC, SF and Berkeley, four very different locales, I have never been welcomed so wholeheartedly to a place. I'm paying it forward by trying to welcome other new neighbors with homemade jam. ;-) The neighborhood has a Facebook page and a yahoo group where neighbors post about loose dogs, household goods free to villagers, security issues, borrowing tools and other neighborhood issues. People are mostly courteous and always generous. There's an express bus that picks up people who work in the city and delivers them to the TransBay Terminal with only one stop, wifi and comfortable seats. The village is walking distance to an organic-focused family-owned grocery store (Estudillo Produce), a butcher shop, Starbucks, a community coffee shop with a backyard patio and more. We can't believe our luck and are so excited to raise our young son in such a warm, caring community (which, incidentally, is full of young families and babies now). A hidden gem, the jewel of Oakland to be certain. read more

Three stars because of Sheffield's apartheid past? That was 70 years ago if it existed at all. My parents bought in 1948. My mother still lives there, it is still a lovely place to live. For the most part the neighbors are pleasant and because of the homeowners association, the houses are all well kept. I spend time there frequently and all the people I meet are very charming. As is the neighborhood. Anyone who wanted to live there could no matter what color. This is a five star neighborhood. read more

I love this park/preschool. My daughter goes here for preschool, but it's also a park. It is situated in a very nice community and everyone is super sweet! read more

It's an A+. The kind of place you either are lucky enough, or know somebody well enough, to buy a home here. My P's were just lucky. Very cool neighborhood. Unique older homes that are well maintained. Tucked away in it's own spot. Great place. read more

Definitely recommend Sheffield Village in Oakland as a safe place for diversity families and singles alike. The neighborhood is genuinely a tight knit community and everyone watches out for each other. A Rainbow flag on one of the homes greets visitors at the entrance to the village. They even have an LGBT group that celebrates PRIDE annually with a huge bbq where everyone is invited. I count at least 10 percent of the homes in Sheffield Village are gay or lesbian households. read more

My husband and I bought a house in Sheffield Village 13 years ago and fixed it up. Every owner had maintained it well and we have done the same. Sheffield Village is a beautiful and wonderful place, tucked into the hills behind San Leandro at the farthest corner of Oakland behind the Zoo and Dunsmuir House. While it has a " Leave it to Beaver", Norman Rockwell look it also has a highly diversified population that belies its past. Our neighbors are of all colors, types, religions - all things possible - all with good representative numbers of people. And all of them are friendly, helpful and nice. Which has made the Village that much more wonderful. On National Night Out Sheffield Village has some phenomenal block parties. The weather in the Village is lovely, once we insulated our house we never require air conditioning and only very rarely before that. Likewise it rarely gets icey cold. We are a little warmer with less fog than Bay Farm Island in Alameda. As with all of the houses in the Village we have the perfect, right size yard for a good decorative garden, small patio and a small vegetable garden - all that I can completely takecare of and maintain in a single weekend in spring, summer and fall. Very low maintenance and water because I created a succulent garden. The weather is perfect for flowers and we have never had a hard frost. We have never had a security company watch our house and we have never had a break in. Marlow Dr, if you walk around it completely is 1 mile and so makes the perfect exercise street - some small hills and views of darling front yards. If you are thinking of moving in Oakland, any house in Sheffield Village is worth consideration, I think over almost any other neighborhood. If you buy a small one, the yeards have enough size to accomodate add-ons, any many of the houses have had additions done. The kids go to San Leandro Schools and shopping is really close. You can walk to the closest Rite Aid and a wonderful fresh produce shop and a gourmet butcher. I just wanted to have this posted to give another side to the 3 star opinion. Every place and person has history, some of it good baggage and some of it not so good. If you live in the "now" its a question of how much of the not so good infects the present. Sheffield Village is a wonderful place, worthy of the 5 star rating I gave and worthy of many more stars for excellence. read more