Pickup Soccer at Witter Field

Pickup soccer at Witter Field every Sunday from 9am to 11am! My husband has been enjoying his Sunday morning exercise this way since we live only 2 houses from the tracks. I have seen a father who came with 3 teenage kids. They kept themselves entertained at the open space while the dad enjoyed a game or 2! What a healthy way to spend Sunday morning.

Piedmont Swim Club

We've just got the annual pass to the pool! A whopping $1,000 for a year from June 30th 2010 to 2011. I am going to be dragging the kids there whether they like it or not. =) You can also use the pool without a membership or pass 4 times a month - 3 Fridays and 1 Saturday. For more information, check out their website at http://www.piedmontswimclub.com/

July 4th Celebration at Piedmont

This is going to be our first year attending the July 4th celebration in Piedmont. Apparently it starts early with a pancake breakfast at Veterans' Memorial Building from 8:00-11:30am. Then followed by the Piedmont's Fun-Filled Parade down Highland Avenue. Following that, there will be a concert in Piedmont's Main Park!

Farmer's Market

There are 5 Farmers market location in Oakland that Piedmont residents can easily get to within 5 minutes of driving. The following are ones close to Piedmont.

Grand Lake (Grand avenue & Lakepark Way) on Saturday from 9-2
Jack London Square (Broadway & Embarcadero) on Sunday from 10-2
Montclair Village (La Salle Avenue & Moraga Avenue) on Sunday from 9-1
Old Oakland (9th St between Broadway & Clay) on Friday from 8-2
Temescal (5300 Claremont Avenue) on Sunday from 9-1

Buy fresh, buy local!!! Grand Lake is the biggest with about 90 vendors. We have bought some tomato plants, rosemary shrub, and blueberry shrubs here. It is a great way to spend a Saturday morning. They have jumpy house for the kids, live music for the adults and a few tables where you can sit to relax and enjoy the summer sun.

Home Prices Climbing

Top 10 Cities with Climbing Home Prices
Home prices aren’t tanking everywhere. In some cities they have bounced pretty high off the bottom, according to a report in Forbes magazine.

Altos Research examined data for every U.S. city with at least 100 homes on the market – about 8,000 cities. It identified these 10 cities as having the biggest price increases from the previous year.

1. Lexington, Mass., +36 percent
2. Bay Village, Ohio, +32 percent
3. Sunnyvale, Calif., +32 percent
4. Poway, Calif., +27 percent
5. University City, Mo., +28 percent
6. Ambler, Pa., +26 percent
7. Allison Park, Pa. , +25 percent
8. New Braunfels, Texas, +25 percent
9. Kemp, Texas, +24 percent
10. Arcadia, Calif., +24 percent

Source: Forbes, Francesca Levy (02/24/2010)

Piedmont Property Tax

On top of the Ad calorem tax, which is 1.2125% in Piedmont, there is a fixed & Special Assessments which amounts to about $3,000 in my 2009-2010 Tax Statement. About $2,000 goes to the school and the other $1,000 goes to sewer, water, municipal services and more.

Remember that your first Property Tax Statement will most likely still has the old valuation(ie, what the previous owner was taxed on). It takes the county a good 6 months to update their records. Once they update their records with your purchase price, they will send out a "Supplementary Tax Statement", asking you to pay up the difference! =)

Piedmont Recreation Department

I just signed up my 1.5 year old for day care in the Piedmont Recreation Department. It is only 5 minutes walk from our house and the swimming pool is right beside the recreation building. There are a few different programs for pre-K so parents are encouraged to check it out. Here is a link to the department The program I registered for is called Tot Zone. You pick and choose the days you want for the next 3 months, and pay $44/day. The session last from 9am - 1pm. Great way for younger toddlers to develop some early social skills!