Maya Brodkey and Katrina Hanson left Oakland, Calif., in 2020 by choice, but not by preference. When the pandemic cost Ms. Hanson her acupuncture practice, they knew that sizing up from their one-bedroom apartment to something nicer in the area couldn’t be done on Ms. Brodkey’s salary alone.
So they ventured 275 miles north to more affordable Eureka, Calif., where Ms. Brodkey worked as an English teacher and Ms. Hanson as a services administrator at a college, and began saving money. Eventually, they bought a home there. But their love of Oakland lingered. Every few weeks, they’d make the five-hour drive from Eureka to stay in touch with friends.
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“All of our people are here,” said Ms. Brodkey, 35. “You live in a place for 10 years, especially when you’re in your 20s, and you build some really strong relationships.”
Ms. Brodkey, who grew up in Santa Cruz, Calif., met Ms. Hanson when both were freshmen at The Evergreen State College in Ms. Hanson’s native Washington State. They lived in what Ms. Brodkey called the “social action” dorm — “do-gooders, you know?” she said with a chuckle — and their friendship became a romance the next year. After graduating, both worked in AmeriCorps, a public-service program, before moving on to new jobs.
By 2024, the couple felt ready to re-enter the fickle Oakland housing market, where properties are often deliberately underpriced in order to incite bidding wars.
“It’s a trend in the Bay Area, sadly,” said Carol Koback, the Compass agent who worked with the couple.
Because their Eureka home hadn’t appreciated much in value, Ms. Brodkey and Ms. Hanson decided to hunt in Oakland without selling it. But the $500,000 loan they qualified for wasn’t enough to make a dent, so they went back to saving. By spring 2025, they had enough to qualify at $600,000 and had $50,000 to $60,000 for a down payment. And they needed to thread a needle when it came to the calendar and their wants.
“Because Maya’s a teacher, we could only move in summer,” said Ms. Hanson, 36. And with two rescue dogs and two cats, they needed a place with some outdoor space.
They wanted two bedrooms, good light, enough kitchen or dining space to host friends and family, and storage for their outdoor gear. “Every place we walked in, it was like, ‘How many people could we fit for Shabbat?’ Because Shabbat dinner was the big thing,” Ms. Brodkey said.
At their price range, they’d need to manage their expectations. “They were determined,” Ms. Koback said. “There wasn’t a ton of money, but determination they had.”
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