Is living in Oakland as bad as some people say?

I lived in Oakland for about three years. It's... an interesting place. As long as you're not a naive wussy like I am, you should be fine. I've only lived in West Oakland and the Lake Merritt area, so I'll just share my experiences in those neighborhoods. read more

If you like sports, Oakland has the Raiders, the A's, and the Warriors, plus all kinds of other sports, some most obscure. There's a group, for example, that does competitive whale boat rowing. We moved away a few years ago for economic reasons. read more

San Francisco has a population of 820k and 704 violent crimes per year, or 1 violent crime for every 1164 people; Oakland has a population of 400k and 1993 violent crimes per year, or 1 violent crime for every 200 people. Oakland was, for a brief spell, the per capita murder capital of the United States. read more