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Comment by dr_doom | Hacker News Reader

Is Oakland really that bad? I really want the most affordable place I can find.

I'm not too scared of crime, I have guns and grew up in a lower class neighborhood, but am worried about theft when I'm not home.

edit: I would basically like to live in a neighborhood like Pilsen in Chicago. Affordable, working class, mexican, and close to transit. Any recommendations?

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I live in North Oakland, a nicer part of town. Even here, people get mugged at the BART station in broad daylight. Last year, we had a string of restaurant "take-over" robberies.

The crime problem is pretty bad and getting worse. Most of the murders, 126 last year and 3 just this past weekend, are gang-related and localized to West and East Oakland ("the Flats"). The safer parts of town are North Oakland, near Berkeley, and the Hills.

Per capita, Oakland is the nation's #1 city for robberies, #1 for vehicle thefts, #3 for violent crime, and #4 for murders. Oakland has only 15 police officers per 10,000 residents, half as many as SF and one-third as many NYC and Chicago.

Oakland is depressing because the city has so much potential. It is centrally located in the Bay Area; close to SF by BART, car, and ferry; has an international airport; and has a large shipping port. But many big employers are scared away by crime, so people have to leave Oakland to work or shop, further depressing the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_...

Oakland PD is also one of the worst departments in the Bay Area (although BART PD and EPA PD take the cake).

Oakland is the only place in the Bay Area I've been held up at gunpoint. Property theft is a problem in both Oakland and San Francisco. Less so in the South Bay. Even if you are not scared of crime, dealing with the aftermath of a robbery or burglary is a headache. Oakland has a lot of boosters but I have never found much compelling about it. I find it similar to southern-midwest cities, whereas SF is a unique place, unlike most other cities in the world.

Edit: it's hard to compare places in the Bay Area to Chicago neighborhoods. There are plenty of hispanic areas near public transport. They aren't like Pilsen, though. The word "affordable" also doesn't mean the same thing.

Fair enough, thanks for the advice though.

I guess I'll just have to walk around and explore for a few days.

Oakland is like any other city. There are safe neighborhoods and dangerous neighborhoods. Some of the safer ones are: Temescal, Adam's Point, Grand Lake/Cleveland Heights, Piedmont & Rockridge (not technically Oakland).

Rockridge is definitely part of Oakland, but Piedmont is a separate city. Piedmont seceded from Oakland in 1907 and is completely surrounded by Oakland. I've never heard of any other city engulfed within another.

This property of Piedmont is not even unique within the Bay Area! Fremont (the fourth-largest city in the Bay Area) has an enclave of its own, Newark, which is its own city yet completely surrounded by Fremont.

Hamtramck and Highland Park (together) are completely surrounded by Detroit. Or used to be, anyway.

Just for fun.. The Vatican City is surrounded by Rome, though it's not only a city but a nation state. If you want California, though, Los Angeles has several enclaved cities, such as San Fernando.

Absolutely true. For an intern without a car, the critical factor is probably BART access. The best non-ghetto + BART at a low price is probably around 19th street, so "Uptown", toward Adams Point. There are apartments in the $1200 1BR range, vs. 2-3x that for short term in SF (!!!). I'd still probably suggest trying to find a roommate, sublet, or company sponsored thing, even if it's tiny or sketchy, nearer work and social stuff, in SF or PA/MV, though. Temescal (which is farther up, near MacArthur BART) is also a good choice. There's a weird auto-dealer wasteland in between, which was a horrible zoning choice by Oakland, but they're working on redeveloping that, so it should be a continuous area of interesting stuff from ~16th to ~40th at some point.

OTOH, I live in Oakland and drive. I've never gone to anything in Oakland except Amazon locker pickup, Whole Foods (but prefer Berkeley places), and the 580/880 onramps. I step into my car in an underground garage and essentially don't get out until I'm in the civilized/Promised Land (Peninsula).

Berkeley is also maybe more fun as an intern, even if you work in SF, and has BART. I'm not sure what summer housing is like there -- I'd assume there are vacancies in places rented to students during the year over the summer.

Nitpicking: Piedmont is an enclave contained within Oakland (but independent), but Rockridge is part of Oakland. (it's also "Adams Point", not Adam's Point)

Is Oakland really that bad?

Well, plenty of people live there and all, but a few visits combined with Wikipedia [1] have convinced me that I don't particularly want to live there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_cities_by_crime_r...

There are bad neighborhoods, but it's fairly easy to know where they are. Being street smart + avoiding hotspot areas will dramatically decrease your risk.

The rest of the city has plenty of natural beauty, affordable living, central location, interesting + diverse people, great food, gorgeous weather and fun nightlife.

> I have guns

> worried about theft when I'm not home.

Wow, true U.S. citizen's problems. I wouldn't even think about crime rates or the need to carry a gun when looking for a place to stay. Come to Europe, it's better.

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