Why The Bay Area is the Best! An Island City in the East Bay: Alameda CA
I love the Bay Area, particularly the East Bay, and consider it the best place to live in. I didn’t realize this until I went on a cross-country road trip with my friends a few years ago. The Bay Area is a place where diversity thrives and considered the norm.
Cash mobs inspired our blog and the first one we’re organizing will be at Croll’s Pizza in Alameda, CA. Since I live in Dublin and Mari lives in Hayward, people often ask why we chose Alameda. As Mari stated I grew up in Alameda and have many fond memories there. Shift Local’s purpose is to unite the entire East Bay. We want to represent the unity in community and avoid any “city pride” that limits the larger picture of the Buy Local cause.
I did a quick research on Alameda and found their city website:
Welcome to the City of Alameda, CA, a sophisticated Bay Area island community with a small town vibe known for tree-lined streets and Victorian charm, low crime, a clean/green focus, natural beauty, abundant recreational opportunities, an excellent quality of life and high standard of living.
Back in 2010 they were cited as one of the “100 Best Communities for Young People” by America’s Promise Alliance. More importantly to Shift Local, they have two streets – Webster and Park – that are filled with wonderful vibrant local businesses. Note that our prize giveaways for the cash mobbers are from businesses established in these streets:
Daisy’s: Necessities, Frivolities & Embellishments for everday life! Check them out on their Facebook Page. Owner Barbara Mooney actually shared that Cinda Baxter founder of the The 3/50 Project is a good friend and asked us to stop by her shop. She donated 10 prizes!
Monkey Bars: an Earth-Friendly boutique in Alameda, CA specializing in Feeding, Clothing, and Diapering solutions for the busy but Earth-Conscious parent. Check out their Facebook Page. Owner Ethan Rider asked to donate 5 prizes but I ran out of print outs so he ended up giving 4.
Fiesta: Our only restaurant to offer prizes. They are a fast-food style Filipino restaurant and offers catering services. Ben Panlilio offered 5 prizes and you can check out their Yelp reviews.
Steffz Trends: Owner Stephanie Ross opened up her clothing store just a few weeks ago and got super excited about our cash mob. Her tagline is “YOU, Set the Trends.” She’s working on her website and is usually closed on Sundays but she told me she’ll open up in case Cash Mobbers want to redeem their prizes that day. She gave 5 prizes!
Garden and Baskets: “Gift baskets, vintage jewelries, Philippine tribal fabrics & collectables” sums up all the wonderful things Lydia Jovero sells at her amazingly tiny store. Mari’s purchased an item here before so we can personally recommend Lydia’s products. If you want to check out what else she has to offer visit her Pinterest. Lydia donated 10 prizes!
So why do I consider the Bay Area to be the best? Explore the Island City, Alameda, CA and you’ll know why.
Which city do you consider the best in the Bay Area?
