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Thank you for this post! I've been wondering a bit about Oakland. Can you/anyone comment on the crime in Oakland? That is truly the only thing that stops me from moving there.

I am so happy that you posted this. I have been sort of afraid of Oakland.. but have noticed the difference in rent. I live in the sunset, and it takes me between 30-40 minutes on muni to get to work. Our lease is up in July so I have been looking around.... hmmmmmmmm....

My partner moved from South San Francisco to Emeryville. He couldn't afford to buy a place anywhere in San Francisco. So he made the jump to Emeryville.


I live in the City and it's tempting to make the jump across the Bay. However, I just can't bring myself to do it just yet. Something about the City that I love that the East Bay just doesn't quite satisfy.


Granted, I am unusually lucky in that I live in a rent stabilized apartment in the Duboce Triangle, where everything is at my fingertips. Not to mention that my commute to downtown takes less than 15 minutes.


Perhaps one day I'll too make the jump. Until then, I'm sticking to enjoying the best of both sides of the Bay...

I live in Oakland, and I love it. My apartment is a five minutes walk to Piedmont Ave and ten minutes to Grand/Lake. I agree with all the great things Elizabeth posted.

As for crime, well, there is crime in Oakland. Most of it, however, is concentrated in certain neighborhoods, which I don't venture into very often--maybe a show at Lobot Gallery (West Oakland). In the neighborhoods mentioned above, there are probably an elevated amount of muggings and car thefts/break-ins compared to many places, but probably not much more of it than you'd find in, say, Noe Valley or a lot of places in SF, too.

I second the praise for Oakland. I've moved all around the East Bay over the years and it was one of my favorite places. And yes, the weather is always nice!

As far as crime it really depends on what neighborhood you live in. I think what outsiders don't realize is that while the bad parts are really bad, there are a lot of other great neighborhoods.

The only thing not mentioned in the above "review" is the food - there are some amazing restaurants in Oakland.

As a fellow Oaklander, I am in total agreement! I too live right off of Lake Merritt, and couldn't be happier. Between running around the lake, the amazing farmer's market on saturdays, and beautiful weather, I think I've got it all.

I live in a two-story 8 unit 1920's building really close to the Parkway Theater (another reason to love Oakland!). I have a 1-bdrm that is twice the size of my bf's studio in SF, and I pay $300 less a month in rent than he does. My unit even has hdwd floors, an original Murphy bed in the LR and glass french doors to the bdrm. Plus, where he has to hear his neighbors screaming at each other, I have the best neighbors in the world. My 86 y.o neighbor is amazing and even reminds me to move my car for street cleaning. The best part of it all is that I can bike to work if I want or drive, and I still make it in to the city all the time with easy access to BART and 580.

Go Oakland!

Yes! I'm a San Francisco native that just recently made the move to Rockridge to the ridicule of all my friends but you know what? I don't miss the city. The weather is nicer, BART is a short walk, grocery store is right across the street and I can actually grow plants here. Watch out for my entry in this years garden contest! Our condo complex has a pool and for the first time in my life I can actually get a summer tan if I wanted. You guys in SF don't know what your missing.

I lived in the east bay for a year before moving to SF (Berkeley, not Oakland) - while I do agree that there are a great many advantages there was one main negative - nightlife. Now I recognize that the east bay/oakland has it's own nightlife but if all your friends live in san francisco you will probably want to go out there which SUCKS because bart stops running at midnight. So this means you are stuck crashing at people's apartments all the time (I outgrew this circa age 19) or taking expensive cab rides. The weather is very nice though.

I lived and worked in Oakland for three years while going to college in San Francisco. I loved it. I lived up the street from the Parkway Theatre which was super fun. It was probably the coolest apartment I've ever lived in.

My original reason for relocating from the city to Oakland was the cost of housing, but there are so many great things about Oakland that I discovered once I moved.

There are some really cool, older apartments in the area that have some of that charm and detail you can't find in newer places.

My favorite neighborhoods in Oakland are Piedmont, Rockridge and the Lake Merritt area. Montclair's cool too but a little bit more expensive. If you live in any of these areas, I don't think you have to worry about crime at all. They are nice, low-key and family-friendly too.

Plenty of good restaurants, great bars and cool people.

I lived in Oakland until last year. My husband and I bought a condo in West Oakland and lived there for four years before we bought our dream house Eichler in Concord last July. If it hadn't been for the Eichler we wouldn't have left Oakland. We still shop and hang out there on occasion (hello Luka's Taproom and Lounge http://www.lukasoakland.com/ ). West Oakland was a bit of a rough neighborhood to live in as far as crime goes, but that's definitely not the case for Oakland as a whole. There are so many great neighborhoods - Piedmont, Rockridge, Temescal, Lake Merritt. I had my reservations about moving there after living in San Francisco but in the end I ended up liking Oakland so much more - I didn't miss living in SF one bit. I still love Oakland - I get a little sentimental as I pass through on Bart on my way to work in SF.

and I totally forgot Bakesale Betty's! THE #1 reason to live in O-town. It's worth the bike ride from Lake Merritt to 51st and Telegraph just for the chicken sandwich!

it's not Oakland but my husband and I recently moved to Alameda from New York and we love it.

The easy bay is awesome!

Great to hear this! I'm moving to the East Bay in the late summer and have been checking out Craigslist to try to get an idea of where to live. I was (more than a bit) afraid of Oakland after having friends who've lived there and in Berkeley and after seeing the homicide map..

I'm thinking about Rockridge or Lakeshore/Grand, and I'm glad to see they've made your list! Maybe we'll be neighbors in a few months :)

Aw! I love Oakland. I've lived here for ten years. It's my first choice of any city in the Bay Area. It just has a really great vibe. I could babble for weeks about how awesome it is.

The Lake and downtown are really great for people who have a lot of ties to SF. With the 24-hour transbay bus downtown (picks up/drops off at both downtown Oakland bart stations), BART and the NL, getting to and from SF at any hour is pretty easy. I don't drive and never have. I find it pretty easy to get around anyway. AC transit drivers are much nicer than Muni drivers for the most part and people on the bus have been known to get the bus driver to wait for you if you're running for it.

Between Oakland and Berkeley, I can't think of any food options that aren't as good or better than anything you'll find in SF. You will never have better hummus than at Holy Land, I promise. Oakland is a city in which you can get whole, fresh pies at greasy hamburger joints. And chicken and waffles until 2am. What's not to love?

Also, our hipsters ride bikes with gears.

we luv our Oakland but it gets no respect.
people are always concerned about the "crime in Oakland" and I blame the media for part of it; if it's not the newscasts its the newspapers... how many murders in SF? oh, wait, they never say "another murder in SF" they say things like "another murder in hunter's point or bayview or the tenderloin". so, people know that , for example, HP is a troubled area but the rest must be Ok... but when it comes to Oakland, they don't specify which neighborhood has a crime problem so, the whole city gets a bad reputation. If, you look at Oakland police's crime map, you can see clearly where the bulk of the crimes are centered and you can avoid those places quite easily...

It's true that if you look at the maps, you can see where the crime is concentrated. Still.. Oakland's violent crime rates per 100,000 people are over three times that of San Francisco.

I'd rather eat a brick than live in oakland.

I think it's funny that Oakland is considered affordable. I guess compared to SF, it is. But gads. When I left the bay area, I was living in Emeryville because it was more affordable that either SF or Oakland. And in that dump of a neighborhood (45th and San Pablo), I was paying $1800/mo for a two bedroom bungalow with poop-brown carpet and shootings every couple of months. I was *so* ready to leave the bay area when in the fall of 2001, there had been 3 murders within blocks of my house; a hooker had been killed in the threshold of my office; I had to call the police at 3:00 am in order get the transients off my car so I could leave work -- the police refused to come unless it was an emergency; and I opened my front door to come face to face with a guy lighting his crackpipe 'out of the wind.'

Now after six years in Utah, I miss the deviants, murderers, and drug addicts.

But my mortgage for 1800 sq ft is $1100 and I feel like I've got a good deal.

So anyway, there are parts of Oakland that are wonderful. It's a PITA to cross that bay bridge regularly if you have to, but I'd say just about anywhere in the bay area is home sweet home. I miss you guys.

no no. the great thing about people being scared of oakland is that it keeps that people that are scared of oakland out!! we like a tougher and more diverse crowd here. that said, it really is the best city in the bay area.

I moved to Oakland for 2 short years right after college, then had the itch for the city life. I lived in the city for 5 years (north beach, cow hollow, mission, lower haight) and loved every day of it. I back to Oakland recently and have to say the biggest appeal to Oakland (besides the amazing warm weather) is the diversity.

If you think SF is diverse, you need to see Oakland. Walking down any street in Oakland, people actual say hi and yes, you do know your neighbors and the locals and it's MUCH MORE of a community feel in everywhere. SF... uhh sort of. Everyone comes and goes in the city and they don't stay long. The city is a 10 minute BART ride for me which is sweet. Oakland right now has 15 brand new developments/renovations in a 3 block radius in downtown, which is unprecedented. There are new wine bars and restaurants popping up and it's only going to get better.

My heart is in both SF and Oakland.. but I'm always rooting for the underdog. We are a big part of the bay area so it's hard to say one is better than the other.

Sure there is crime in Oakland. If you live in any major city, there will be crime. The crime is in fact concentrated. If crime is something you worry about, you need to look at yourself to see how you will improve your neighborhood, no matter where you live.

I work in Oakland and commute evert day by BART from SF. If it weren't for my rent-controlled apartment in SF, I'd be in Oakland - most likely in one of the neighborhoods mentioned - Lakeshore/Grand Avenue or Temescal or Montclair

I have been reading AT for a few months now, and I finally registered in order to answer this post. I moved to DC a while ago, but lived in Oakland for over 6 years. I started out in North Oakland/Temescal and then moved to Lake Merritt for almost three years. BEST CITY EVER. I feel that Oaktown is completely underrated. The lake is beautiful, you can be hiking in the redwoods in ten minutes, in downtown SF in ten minutes, all without the price tag of SF. I LOVE OAKLAND. It has its gritty elements, but it is one of the most diverse, interesting places I have ever been. And the crime can easily be avoided if you just stay clear of certain areas....the majority of the city is safe, diverse, beautiful, and friendly. MOVE THERE.

I live in Oakland, too--in that tall building at the left in your first photo. I walk three blocks to work, my husband walks five blocks to BART, and we can get by with one car (usually left in the garage) even with 6-month-old twins. And now we can walk to the new Whole Foods too, just 10 minutes along the lake.

I love that Oakland's diversity. My babies go to daycare with kids of different colors/income levels, and I just don't think that would be the case in SF.

As for crime, it's no worse than SF's Western Addition, where we lived previously. We wouldn't walk around at night in either place.

I have not read all the comments, but do be careful where you move. Make sure you are near interesting things. It can be somewhat isolating, because the culture here is different, at least in my corner. I am a loner, however, I am trying hard to get to berkeley so i can breathe again. I live on lake merritt, and for all its beauty, is somewhat wasted on me. If you not not single, or if you are corporate and normal (unlike me), or hopefully both, perhaps it would be a "good" place to move, but don't let the price fool you. It's where you live.

My fiance and I just moved to Rockridge a couple weeks ago after living in downtown Berkeley. I work in downtown San Francisco and this is THE number one best place for us. We are very outdoorsy people and we love the easy access to the parks and the bay from here. You can be down at the water and out on a sail boat in a matter of minutes (Cal Sailing in Berkeley). Ironworks climbing gym is super close too.

We just moved into the cutest place... 750 sq ft one bedroom apartment with buit-ins, craftsman details, HUGE backyard, working fireplace, brand new kitchen etc for $1385/mo just off College Ave.

We are just a few blocks from tons of coffee shops, Bakeries, grocery stores, etc. Market Hall is one of the many wonders people in our neighborhood get to enjoy.

My commute downtown takes about 40 minutes door to door to my office in Jackson Sq in San Francisco (1o minute walk, 20 minute BART, 10 minute walk). It takes my coworkers that long from different places in SF!

The pace is so comfortable here. Happening, but homey. I love neighborhoods like the Mission in SF, but I'm glad I don't have to live there anymore. I like being able to get out into nature, have a yard, a car to use when I want, etc.

I really look around at our life here and think this has to be among the best of the best quality of living anywhere in the country. The East Bay is wonderful!

You're going to miss SF if you move. Trust me. I lived in SF for 12 years and moved to Berkeley 4 years ago. While it's nice, it's not the city. There's just no energy over here.

And as much as you think you'll make time to go out in SF, you won't. It's too much of a pain in the ass.

After five years in SF, my SO and I decided it was time to move out of SF. We wanted to buy and everything in our price range in SF was pitiful so we began looking at the East Bay...we ended up buying in West Oakland. Probably one of the grittier parts of the city, there is crime (mostly car break-ins and drugs) but we bought because its so close to the bridge and still easy to commute. I thought, originally, I liked the location because it was so close to the city, but now, most of the time, I'm happy on this side. Our immediate neighborhood is filled with artists' studios. We're close to all of the neighborhoods listed above...

The driving force that pushed me out of SF was not even the cost, but the exhaustion. Each neighborhood is like a clique-a table in the cafeteria in high school. I'm not hip enough for the Mission, gritty enough for the TL, white/single/desperate enough for the Marina, Chinese enough for China town, rich enough for Laurel Heights, stoned enough for the Haight, etc. I found most of the city to be very segregated and I also found that it was making me racist and enforcing really negative stereotypes. Because Oakland has a larger middle class but still incredible diversity, everyone seems to intermingle more. And, because there are more families, there's not the same meet market scene (the dating scene-ever seen Balboa Cafe in the Marina on a Saturday night?) so people really are friendlier. I also don't miss the filth or the homeless. There are a few stores/restaurants that we still jump the bridge for and on a nice day I miss Crissy Field for dog walking, but for everything else, I stay on the East Bay Side.

Glad to see the love for Oakland. I'm lucky and have had a place in San Francisco for a long time but never understood the disdain that is given living in the east bay. Loads of my friends have bought places in Oakland and in the east bay and are very happy. A happy home is the home you make your own and enjoy. One of the likes I like about Oakland is that you can find the small little neighborhoods that we have in SF with perhaps more diversity and lower cost than we've had here in a long time.

What you see is what you get with Oakland - and that's why it's great. My family has lived here since the Gold Rush, so needless to say there's some magnetism associated with the city (please don't call it the Town).

I've tried on other cities, New York and Paris, but Oakland is truly a place to call home.

Undiscovered jewels of Oakland are around nearly every corner, and it's gritty underbelly is tempered by gorgeous architecture, world-class ethnic food, and incredibly friendly residents.

My 2 cents!

And one of the highest murder rates in CA to boot!

How many times I've walked around that lake...

I agree with all the positive comments on Oakland. I lived in Temescal next to Rockridge and then right off of Piedmont Ave. They were all great neighborhoods. We loved moving from SF to Oakland: more laid back, friendlier, Mediterranean climate, cheaper, more parking, less traffic, lots of art, food, cultural events, no pretentiousness. We were in East Bay heaven. Slowly over the course of our six years there, crime rose in all three of our neighborhoods and in our son's preschool neighborhood near the Dimond District.

It's disturbing to me that so many people advise: Just avoid the bad crime neighborhoods. Crime will affect you no matter where you live in Oakland. Even if you are never a victim of a crime, you will know someone who is. You will hear stories of a miniscule police force that can barely protect its citizens. And you will know that there is murder in your city almost daily. It's horrible to live in a place where young people are shooting each other down on a daily basis. It's a war zone. I couldn't ignore the crime and I'm glad we moved (out of state), but it is heartbreaking because Oakland has so much potential to be a great city and in many ways, it is. The psychology of living with that amount of violent crime was too much for me. (I've also lived in high-crime neighborhoods in SF--it sucks everywhere).

If you decide to live with it, it means shutting some of your humanity down in the process: i.e., it doesn't affect me--I don't live/go to "those" neighborhoods. Unfortunately at this point in time, the crime now goes to "your" neighborhood.

I just moved from E'ville to Brooklyn, and miss the E. Bay! I love Brooklyn too, but look at the E. Bay and Brooklyn as being kind of kindred spirits.

Follow up on my previous post, though, I do feel safer in Brooklyn than I ever have in Oakland/E'ville.

Oakland rocks! We are in the Jack London area and can be in S.F. in 15 minutes. Proximity to Alameda is pretty great too, especially the first Sunday antique fair. The weather is great, and there is lots of art and music.

I experimented with having a home in Noe Valley and Piedmont Avenue at same time. I found myself constantly running back to Oakland. Bye, bye....SF

I prefer the weather and the residents.

If you are already in SF, I wouldn't move to Oakland. I realize the Apartment Therapy crowd will disagree, since you definitely can get more space for less money in Oakland. You'll also have way more time to redecorate your apartment - since there's nothing to do there, it is scary to go outside, and it is too painful to get back to the city on a regular basis. This is a bit tongue in cheek, but not much.

On a completely serious note, being single in Oakland is not fun. There are 10 times as many opportunities to meet people in SF, it is hard to get to get back to Oakland if you want to stay out late in SF, and nobody in SF will want to visit you. I definitely would NOT move to Oakland if you are single.

I've lived in the sketchiest areas of SF: tenderloin, civic center, the outer mission when it was bad, Capp street, and I've had a workspace in the Bayview since forever. I've never been mugged in SF. I've been mugged 3 times in Oakland.

If you really want to move out of SF, but stay in urban california with a bigger apartment with cheaper rent, nicer weather, and lots of things to do... the sensible choice is not Oakland - it is Los Angeles.

i love oakland too i graduated from mills college in oakland took classes at uc berkeley, cycled the hills regularly ice skated at berkeley iceland oakland ice center, walked my daughter all over all the neighborhoods eastbay parks enjoyed the farmer's markets, but i moved to silicon valley now i enjoy the cleanliness, quiet feeling of safety.

Also, let me add that when we told people we in the area that we were thinking of moving to Oakland (from New Jersey) we got two reactions. Those that didn't live in Oakland were like, "... really? Oakland? I guess its nice." Those that did live in Oakland were more like "Yeah, we love it here! Come join the party!"

Dammit. I just moved from Oakland to SF to live with my boyfriend. I love SF but I miss the East Bay something fierce! I lived in the East Bay for the better part of a decade before I moved to SF so I consider it home. I suspect some day in the future we'll move back... I hope.

Sorry you feel that way, elciudad! But, I'd rather chew glass than move to to LA. I did my time in the City in a 10-ft x 15-ft studio for a year before I went ape-skat. Moved to Oakland in '96 and except for a temporary gig in Las Vegas, have been in Oakland ever since. To me, Oakland is a perfect storm of diversity, places you can still drive and find parking, sunshine, accessibility to everything...a combo platter of urban flavor and suburban conveniences and a healthy dose of edgy-ness. Good luck to all who are brave enough to make the break!

If anyone reading is looking for a room in Oakland, email me! We have a great place for rent starting April. jessbess1 at yahoo.com

I love Oakland. Every now and then I think about moving to SF, but the prices are too high and it's freezing! I love in a bog house with a garden and parking, I can walk everywhere, and I don't pay half my salary in rent.

Someone mentioned crime - In the 7 years I've lived in Oakland, my car has been broken into twice in Berkeley and once in SF, but never in Oakland. My house was egged on Halloween, but that hardly counts as crime...

I'd love to move to Oakland, or elsewhere in the East Bay. Unfortuneately, I'm one of the hoards of people that commute from SF to the Peninsula (Redwood City, in my case) every day. I use the Caltrain, so I'm not part of the traffic problem, but I have no desire to make my commuting distance longer than it already is.

We appreciate the hyperexaggerated threat of random violence that exists here...Oakland's semblance of a 'cool' American city better last a little longer...back off SF!

My husband and I live in Alameda, just a 4-second no-toll drive across a bridge from Oakland (or if you prefer, a 30-second no-toll tunnel that goes straight to the Maze).

Things we love:
-the bungalows (now available at a comfy $400 thou!)
-the Victorians (we currently are paying off part our landlord's mortgage in the well-windowed garden unit at $1100 a month!)
-you won't see nearly as many sun-faded strands of Tibetan prayer flags littering the front porches as you will in berkeley
-Burma Superstar with NO LINES!
-produce at great prices (Dan's, the farmers' market)
-Park street
-Antique Faire (where my jewelry-challenged husband got me my antique white gold filigree and peridot ring!)
-The parking meters are nearly as expensive as the city, and much more accurate
-Just across the bridge from The Tamale Lady, East Oakland's taquerias and mercados, La Farine, Chinatown, Downtown Oakland
-You can take a ferry to San Francisco for $4, and bring your bike along at any time of the day.
-Bike around the island and run your errands, you won't need to drive! Save gas and feel safe knowing the speed limit around town is 25mph (and people follow it)
-5 minute drive to the Oakland airport! Jet Blue ya'll!

Did i mention the higher concentration of whites here than in Oakland, San Francisco, or anywhere east of Orinda? And there are many families as well.

Correction:
-Meters in Alameda are much MORE accurate than in the city
-Our rent includes a 2 bedroom apt with ample free parking
-The amount of white people here compared to other places is odd to me, hence my mentioning of it.

I grew up in Oakland, and now have lived about half of my life in Alameda. But Oakland is home. I love being there, I love the lake, "downtown", the grittiness of the East Oakland avenues, the gently undulating hills.

Oakland pulls at my heartstrings, and I want to go home.

Yeah! Oakland! I moved to Oakland to go to CCAC, now CCA, in 1980 (!). In the early 1980's Piedmont Avenue was kind of a marginal neighborhood and the California bungalows in the neighborhood cost about $135,000. My friends and I watched the yuppification/re-gentrification of Piedmont Ave. lol

I once moved to Noe Valley and after about 6 months, I returned to Oakland. Partly because as someone mentioned, it's okay to commute to work but it's not so cool to commute to your nightlife/friends. The return home is just so problematic! But also because I have always loved Oakland. I read your list and the comments going unhuh, unhuh, unhuh, laughing (in a joyful way) because I made a similar list to counter the many snide or sympathetic comments received over the years when I said, "I live in Oakland."

Anyway in 2001 I moved to Paris and in 2003 I moved to Amsterdam. With apartments in both cities I go back and forth for personal and business reasons. I love them both but there is also magic in Oakland and I miss that magic. While many people dream of moving to Paris (or Amsterdam), I now dream of returning to live in Oakland at least 6 months per year. Specifically because it is 'home' but also because it was incredible to have the whole Bay Area as a back yard.

I moved to Oakland 6 years ago and have no desire to live anywhere else in the Bay Area and especially NOT San Francisco the city that isn't a city to me. (I'm a New Yorker). For all the reasons Elizabeth said above, but especially for the last "Oakland has moxie", Oakland is a great place to live. There are tons of blogs, organizations and non-profits dedicated to improving Oakland and putting it back on the map. But then again, because of so many miscperceptions of Oakland as dangerous and unworthy of living in or visiting, Oakland remains a slightly discovered city full of great little neighbordhoods, shops, and so forth untainted by big city bullsh*t.

I personally love the Lake Merritt area because you've got a great big lake in the heart of the city, you're close to downtown no matter what part of the lake you're on, you can live here without a car (AC Transit buses everywhere and BART downtown), you've got Trader Joes, Wholefoods, Luckys and Safeway, Longs, Walgreens, two movie theaters, tons of little restaurants and shops, and can take boat rides of all sorts on the lake, as well as jog, walk and so forth!

Also, Oakland is at the begin of it's well deserved and well overdue renaissance with so many redevelopment sites complete, currently in development and planned to be development, revitalizing the city at an amazing rate. It's best to get in on the ground floor. It's also just amazing watching a city grow what it was, to what it is and what it will become. It's a unique time in Oakland history and moving here now is a smart decision despite the current problems. Some problems, by the way New York had and continues to have yet no one gets really deterred from moving to or visiting that city!

I moved to the east bay from Boston 2 years ago as a few of my friends (who have lots of money and live in the Oakland and Berkeley Hills) said the crime was "overrated" and just told me what neighborhoods to stay away from. I was mugged at gunpoint in first 5 days I moved to Oakland (in a "good" neighborhood near Piedmont/Rockridge. Oh, and did you know that criminals are mobile and know where to mug people with money?) After this happened, I was even more shellshocked when I looked at smaller apartments (without parking) in SF that were $1300 more a month, so I stayed for a year and never walked anywhere, which defeated the purpose of being in a convenient, walkable area. After this incident, I would see kids dealing drugs on our street every day, the police just seemed to give up. My friend made fun of me about being paranoid, until one day she was taking a walk at noon near the rose garden and a man grabbed her and struggled to get her shoulder bag off her while she screamed her head off and no one helped. She now lives in San Mateo. What was my breaking point? I was biking back from my gym at 4pm and saw police tape everywhere a few blocks from my house. I rushed home and saw on the news that there was a hold up at the Piedmont gas station, bullets were fired, and they went all the way across the street and hit a 10 year old boy taking piano lessons across the street, who is now paralyzed. I was enraged and at the same time so shaken that I missed getting hit by a stray bullet by 30 minutes. So, you can keep your "diversity", your hipster 'Oaklandish' T shirts and your streets with fresh broken glass. I now live in Burlingame, and LOVE the peninsula- a walkable town with good restaurants, great weather, right next to Caltrain (so much nicer than BART and they even have a separate bike car), and it's 25 minutes to downtown, about the same from Rockridge on BART.) I pay more to live here than Oakland, but not nearly what I would pay to live even in the outer sunset. A warning to all who live in the hills, and Rockridge: Muggings never get reported on the news, and if you start talking to your friends who have lived in Oakland in the last few years, they may have some hair curling stories for you.