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Old 07-21-2011, 07:16 PM
 
15 posts, read 16,829 times
Reputation: 14

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Quote:
Originally Posted by OakAve2OakLand View Post
Sounds like a legitimate concern, but clearly a different question than your original post. I can relate to what you're saying, as someone who is getting older and has moved around a bit myself. I'm hoping my next move will be the place I put down roots permanently and be a vital member of the community, and the ability (or lack thereof) to make real friends and connections will be a big part of success (or failure).

From what I've learned, the Bay Area may be somewhat challenging in that regard, but really not much different than any major, expensive, fast-paced city where people are very busy. I think, at the end of the day, one needs to decide if all the great things that the Bay Area has to offer are worth the challenges. For me, I think the answer is Yes. It's still expensive as hell, though...which to me means that one really needs to be firing on all cylinders career-wise and money-wise upon hitting the ground there. Thus, the move is still a work-in-progress for yours truly.

Anyway...in case you missed it, there was heavily-populated thread a while back on this same issue:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-f...ants-make.html

Hope that helps!
Thanks! I guess I wasn't clear in my first post. Actually, I think I just didn't want to admit to myself how alone I feel - but yes, it's all about forming solid friendships. It's not about simply doing things, seeing things, hanging out or casual friendships. If it was just those things, SF would keep my busy for the rest of my life.

I may have asked before, but what drew you to Oakland?

And thanks - I'll check out that thread!
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Old 07-21-2011, 09:04 PM
 
310 posts, read 649,071 times
Reputation: 231
Quote:
Originally Posted by fedupnomad View Post
I may have asked before, but what drew you to Oakland?
Just to be clear, I don't live there yet. I'm still stuck in the Midwest for the moment, but I feel like I've just about wrapped up my research phase at this point. Oakland seemed to be the best fit for me...hence the screen name.

Having lived up @ Tahoe for a few years (in my early 20's "wandering soul / ski bum" years), I had visited the Bay Area on several occassions, but mostly the City and the Peninsula, as I had some friends from Tahoe who grew up on the Peninsula and had lots of friends there. But I never really made it to the East Bay...only to drive through it on my way to 80 East, back up the hill.

Anyway, until recently, I had the same impression of Oakland that most do who don't know any better: high crime, high poverty, uneducated, dirty, etc. I will give these CD boards, along with some self-education and research, alot of credit for "educating" me on the finer things Oakland and the East Bay have to offer. These include...and of course, many of these may be generalizations, but:

* Nice Areas / Cool Neighborhoods - I had no idea that so much of Oakland had great (even upscale) livable, walkable areas and cool, safe neighborhoods like Rockridge, Montclair, Temescal, Piedmont Ave. etc. I owe a big thanks to other C-D posters on here for making me aware of these (civilized, safe) parts of Oakland.

* More Affordable (than SF) - If a 1BR in lower Pac Heights cost $1,800, you can probably find it's counterpart around Piedmont Ave or Lake Merritt for about $1,200. An extra $600 / month goes a long way. Not having to pay for a monthly parking spot will be huge too (I would need a car to visit clients in the area). street parking also much easier. I would imagine other things (i.e. dining out) may be a bit cheaper in Oakland / East Bay than they are in the City.

* Climate - From what I can tell, Oakland's climate is perfect for me: sunny, cool, low to moderate humidity. It hit 102 degF where I am today...to say that Oakland's 68 looks inviting is an understatement. From what I've heard, many parts of SF are often foggy and overcast...still better than where I am now, but not as nice as Oakland (for me).

* Best Views of the Bay - I'm a sucker for a great view, and (eventually, depending on budget of course) I would love to have a great view of SF and the Bay off my balcony or patio from a neighborhood such as Upper Rockridge or Montclair.

* Still close to the City - Just a short BART ride away from all the great things SF has to offer, including cultural and social opportunites.

* Proximity to Outdoor Recereation - I like to hike, bike, skate etc...Oakland seems to have plenty of park space close to the city, especially the Regional Parks up in the Hills.

* Lack of Pretentiousness - This is HUGE for me! I have no problem whatsoever with people who work hard to achieve personal and financial success (I'm one of them), and I'm generally a "live and let live" kind of person. BUT I really can't stand it when someone thinks that they're better than you just because they make more $ or drive a nicer car, vacation more often, etc. I've picked up that vibe first-hand in both SF and SV, and (as I understand it) it sounds like people in Oakland and the East Bay are more easy going and down-to-Earth, even the successful ones. Chicago's North Side is mostly like that (not that there aren't some snobs and d-bags, of course there are) and I was happy to hear that it existed in the Bay Area, on the East side.

* More Diverse - I like being around a mix of people, IMO it just makes life more interesting, I really like good ethnic food. I'm sure SF has a lot of this too, but from what I undertand it has become much more homogenous in recent years.

Anyway, you get the idea. If I go on, I'll start to sound like an Oakland brochure writer (heck I already do ). Hope that helps. Maybe you should give the East Bay a try yourself, and let us know what your experience is.

Oak2Oak

Last edited by OakAve2OakLand; 07-21-2011 at 09:18 PM..
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Old 07-21-2011, 09:07 PM
 
Location: San Francisco, CA
506 posts, read 1,150,667 times
Reputation: 317
Quote:
Originally Posted by SunDevil1212 View Post
Threads like this puzzle me, I suppose because I fell in love with SF immediately after moving here. It took no "warming up to." Within a day or two after moving I already knew I made the right choice.

Aside from the natural beauty of the city, one of the best things about SF is that it is so incredibly easy here to find social events, festivals, concerts, street-fairs, etc...that fit your personality. For every possible hobby, interest, or vice you have, whether it be fairly common or obscure, there's people here that will embrace it with you.

For evidence of this, spend a few days at Dolores or Wash Sq or Golden Gate park. Of the many things I've witnessed at the parks, they include:

-Hundreds of grown men dressed up in ridiculous Lord-of-the-Rings-type costumes, acting out battle scenes
-People skipping around in unison, playing instruments I've never seen before (and I'm a musician!) in funny outfits waiving handkerchiefs around (some sort of traditional Eastern European dance, I presumed...)
-Born-again Christians doing interpretive dance and hand-signals (a la Napoleon Dynamite) to Christian Rock music
-Performance by an all-lesbian drumline (seriously).
-Approximately 100 people that did nothing but hula-hoop for hours.

If you can't find something to love here, maybe you need to ask yourself "is there anything that I'm passionate about??" Because if not, you are going to be pretty miserable anywhere.

So basically my advice is to "get a hobby." Seriously. And find people that share that hobby. Such a high proportion of people here are transplants that its really easy to make new friends. If you don't know where to start, try a website like meetup.com. There's no excuse not to put yourself out there. Good luck!


Seriously, the detail that finally decided me on SF was reading about Bay-to-Breakers, and how there are people who dress up as salmon to run "upstream" on the race course. How can you not love a city like that?

I suppose it helps that I'm easily amused. And so very tired of living where people appear to have no personality at all.
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Old 07-21-2011, 09:19 PM
 
Location: Boulder Creek, CA
9,197 posts, read 16,771,824 times
Reputation: 6373
Quote:
Originally Posted by Isebiel View Post


Seriously, the detail that finally decided me on SF was reading about Bay-to-Breakers, and how there are people who dress up as salmon to run "upstream" on the race course. How can you not love a city like that?

I suppose it helps that I'm easily amused. And so very tired of living where people appear to have no personality at all.
It's just like Santa Cruz - gotta have a healthy appreciation for the weird to thoroughly enjoy these places.
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Old 07-21-2011, 10:48 PM
 
15 posts, read 16,829 times
Reputation: 14
Quote:
Originally Posted by OakAve2OakLand View Post
Just to be clear, I don't live there yet. I'm still stuck in the Midwest for the moment, but I feel like I've just about wrapped up my research phase at this point. Oakland seemed to be the best fit for me...hence the screen name.

Having lived up @ Tahoe for a few years (in my early 20's "wandering soul / ski bum" years), I had visited the Bay Area on several occassions, but mostly the City and the Peninsula, as I had some friends from Tahoe who grew up on the Peninsula and had lots of friends there. But I never really made it to the East Bay...only to drive through it on my way to 80 East, back up the hill.

Anyway, until recently, I had the same impression of Oakland that most do who don't know any better: high crime, high poverty, uneducated, dirty, etc. I will give these CD boards, along with some self-education and research, alot of credit for "educating" me on the finer things Oakland and the East Bay have to offer. These include...and of course, many of these may be generalizations, but:

* Nice Areas / Cool Neighborhoods - I had no idea that so much of Oakland had great (even upscale) livable, walkable areas and cool, safe neighborhoods like Rockridge, Montclair, Temescal, Piedmont Ave. etc. I owe a big thanks to other C-D posters on here for making me aware of these (civilized, safe) parts of Oakland.

* More Affordable (than SF) - If a 1BR in lower Pac Heights cost $1,800, you can probably find it's counterpart around Piedmont Ave or Lake Merritt for about $1,200. An extra $600 / month goes a long way. Not having to pay for a monthly parking spot will be huge too (I would need a car to visit clients in the area). street parking also much easier. I would imagine other things (i.e. dining out) may be a bit cheaper in Oakland / East Bay than they are in the City.

* Climate - From what I can tell, Oakland's climate is perfect for me: sunny, cool, low to moderate humidity. It hit 102 degF where I am today...to say that Oakland's 68 looks inviting is an understatement. From what I've heard, many parts of SF are often foggy and overcast...still better than where I am now, but not as nice as Oakland (for me).

* Best Views of the Bay - I'm a sucker for a great view, and (eventually, depending on budget of course) I would love to have a great view of SF and the Bay off my balcony or patio from a neighborhood such as Upper Rockridge or Montclair.

* Still close to the City - Just a short BART ride away from all the great things SF has to offer, including cultural and social opportunites.

* Proximity to Outdoor Recereation - I like to hike, bike, skate etc...Oakland seems to have plenty of park space close to the city, especially the Regional Parks up in the Hills.

* Lack of Pretentiousness - This is HUGE for me! I have no problem whatsoever with people who work hard to achieve personal and financial success (I'm one of them), and I'm generally a "live and let live" kind of person. BUT I really can't stand it when someone thinks that they're better than you just because they make more $ or drive a nicer car, vacation more often, etc. I've picked up that vibe first-hand in both SF and SV, and (as I understand it) it sounds like people in Oakland and the East Bay are more easy going and down-to-Earth, even the successful ones. Chicago's North Side is mostly like that (not that there aren't some snobs and d-bags, of course there are) and I was happy to hear that it existed in the Bay Area, on the East side.

* More Diverse - I like being around a mix of people, IMO it just makes life more interesting, I really like good ethnic food. I'm sure SF has a lot of this too, but from what I undertand it has become much more homogenous in recent years.

Anyway, you get the idea. If I go on, I'll start to sound like an Oakland brochure writer (heck I already do ). Hope that helps. Maybe you should give the East Bay a try yourself, and let us know what your experience is.

Oak2Oak
so far, from what i can tell, you're pretty much on with your assessment - if i can do anything to help, please let me know. and stay cool!!!
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Old 07-22-2011, 12:54 AM
 
1,650 posts, read 3,507,524 times
Reputation: 1142
Quote:
Originally Posted by mini_cute View Post
One thing I notice about SF is that all the real goodies and gems are actually kind of hidden or inconspicuous and you have to dig for them. It is hard to describe but, SF has this whole "underground" thing about it.
Well they are all on Yelp !
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Old 07-22-2011, 01:25 AM
 
310 posts, read 649,071 times
Reputation: 231
Quote:
Originally Posted by fedupnomad View Post
so far, from what i can tell, you're pretty much on with your assessment - if i can do anything to help, please let me know. and stay cool!!!
Thanks, dude (or dudette?). Keep us posted.

I'm probably looking at New Year or early Spring 2012 before I have any major updates, but I'm determined to make it happen.
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Old 07-22-2011, 12:26 PM
 
Location: San Francisco
330 posts, read 746,982 times
Reputation: 324
Quote:
Originally Posted by Isebiel View Post


Seriously, the detail that finally decided me on SF was reading about Bay-to-Breakers, and how there are people who dress up as salmon to run "upstream" on the race course. How can you not love a city like that?

I suppose it helps that I'm easily amused. And so very tired of living where people appear to have no personality at all.
I love B2B. An event that has to be seen to be believed.
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Old 07-23-2011, 12:59 PM
 
3,431 posts, read 5,205,630 times
Reputation: 3149
Quote:
Originally Posted by andyadhi01 View Post
Probably because SF sucks way more than those other places!
Yeah, seriously, I can't think of a single reason why SF is in any way better than Minneapolis, and the two cities' respective natural beauty, food culture, volume of international tourism, demand for housing, and general status as world-class cities really drive your point home. That's a really great observation.
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Old 07-23-2011, 01:04 PM
 
3,431 posts, read 5,205,630 times
Reputation: 3149
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bulldogdad View Post


You obviously haven't lived in the valley and not seen the sun for 14 days straight some years.

I also used to live in the Outer Sunset and Parkside Neighborhoods, the foggiest areas of the Bay. Those SF areas still have got nothing on the Valley when the tule fog rolls in and an inversion layer sets up literally putting a cap on the fog in the valley for weeks on end. Quit your bitching because you don't understand how good you got it.
Seriously? You're from the central valley and complaining? The tule fog can last for 14 days, yes, but that's in December and January, and tule fog only sets up during dry weather patterns, which rarely last that long during the rainy season. Coastal fog is frequent for months on end, for large portions of each day. In the central valley, you can have 90 days or more of straight sunshine in summer, without "morning low clouds." Just straight up sunshine. Statistics give you guys gazillions more days of sun per year than the SF coast.
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