Piedmont: The Impediment?

You never forget where you come from, especially when it's like a Twilight Zone episode. I lived here from the day I was born until I was 14.
Piedmont California is a highly affluent community with the average land value being markedly above the already high Bay Area real estate costs. Piedmont is notable for its minimal amount of commerce when compared to its statistically similar counterparts, however, since it is right in the center of the Oakland Hills there is plentiful shopping in adjacent Oakland neighborhoods such as Piedmont Avenue, Montclair, Grand Lake, and Rockridge.All of the area, especially the city of Piedmont itself, was planned out like Disneyland.For a real laugh, drive up to Sotelo Dr. or Glen Alpine and check out these mega Chateaus that sit in ostentatious silence directly across
from puny little 60/70's mini ranch and Boogie Nights houses.
The huge houses near my Alma mater of Beach School are in Piedmont
itself and represent a time when they enforced a dress code at PHS because gals
were coming to school in floor length minks.

Their is an Oakland history book (Oakland, the
Story of a City, Beth Bagwell) and it says the entire area of Rockridge
was created to keep out the "Jewish, Asian, Black, and 'southern
Mediterranean' peoples." Piedmont was no different.That vibe was in effect up until the mid-90's, in reference to Piedmont being created as an white supremacy enclave.

That is why, to this day, Piedmont Ave. is not considered Piedmont by realtors. Renters and transplants feel it's Piedmont but anyone who grew up in the city proper knows that it's a very separate reality.
If a black person walked up the street during the
70's in Piedmont proper, then everyone started watering their lawns and peeking out of the curtains.

Today, it's mostly Democrats and rich kids, many of whom are hip hop
wannabees, and they have an arts school (Millennium) that is open to any kid in the
Bay Area who is accepted (once unheard of) but it's still bizarre and nouveau
riche...Stephen King meets Disneyland!
Piedmont is entirely surrounded by the city of Oakland, California. Residents originally sought incorporation in 1907 to avoid annexation by Oakland. The papers filed with the State of California to incorporate the new city used a map from the Piedmont Sanitary Sewer District.

Piedmont is home to ex-Major League Baseball player Dave McCarty, ex-National Football League star Bill Romanowski, Raider owner Al Davis, ex-49er player Bubba Paris, and Green Day member Billie Joe Armstrong. UCLA Quarterback, Drew Olson also grew up in Piedmont and played for their high school football team. Another notable star athlete raised in Piedmont is Courtney Paris and her sister Ashley Paris, who are each currently attending University of Oklahoma, where Courtney has already broken the scoring record in her Freshman year with 22 points. Courtney, is the starting Center for the USA women's basketball team. Courtney and Ashley's father is fellow Piedmont resident and ex-NFL star Bubba Paris.

Thanks in part to Wikipedia