Rant: Tired of people asking if it's safe in Oakland (San Jose: schools, statistics)

[ken22]

Originally Posted by jade408

Ymmv. I have lived in Oakland for 9 years and the worst thing that has happened is that a few packages have disappeared.

Lucky you.

Originally Posted by mini_cute

...But of course Oakland still has a ways to go to get its crime and reputation under control.

With crime ranked 3rd worst in the United States I'd say Oakland certainly does have a ways to go

[jade408]

Originally Posted by ken22

Lucky you.

It is not that uncommon. The same is true for my sister and the bulk of my neighbors.

Other than running into a handful of "characters" downtown it is pretty tame in many parts of the city.




I am on my phone, please forgive the typos.

[Bisaro TMF]

Originally Posted by ken22

Lucky you.



With crime ranked 3rd worst in the United States I'd say Oakland certainly does have a ways to go

Where do you live?

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by jade408

Ymmv. I have lived in Oakland for 9 years and the worst thing that has happened is that a few packages have disappeared.


On an autocorrecting iDevice.

I'm 4th generation Oakland and so far so good.

I have had family members working as all night cashiers that had problems and business owners.

My advice is to evaluate and make your own decision...

[funtimessf]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Also, perusing trulia, I discovered that Oakland is considerably more expensive than many many cities with much lower crime rates. WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT IS?

LOL

Oakland has one of the lowest median house prices in the Bay Area. You would think prices would be higher given its proximity to San Francisco. Why is it so much cheaper? My guess is crime is a big part of it.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by funtimessf

Oakland has one of the lowest median house prices in the Bay Area. You would think prices would be higher given its proximity to San Francisco. Why is it so much cheaper? My guess is crime is a big part of it.

I would say it is fear...

I've posted for years about how amazed people are when they get to know Oakland first hand.

This goes for visitors new to the Bay Area, people that have lived all their lives nearby and people that are visiting from another country.

This summer I hosted two exchange students from Austria... they had heard so many bad things about Oakland... even one of the parents said her daughter should try to find someplace else because Oakland is so dangerous.

They had two parts of their trip... the first 6 weeks was taking courses in Colorado which they really enjoyed... almost down to a last person... they were told it was a mistake going to Oakland... even the conductor on the Amtrak train told them this.

After 6 weeks of exploring the Bay Area based in East Oakland they are already making plans for another visit!

They took Bart, walked and cycled their way around the area... too young to rent a car at 18.

Last Christmas I hosted a holiday party for people I work with... some had never been off the freeway or only ventured to the Airport... really unbelievable when you thing about living somewhere for 30 or 40 years and knowing only what you are told.

I'm done convincing anyone... all I can do is extend an invitation to those inclined to see for themselves...

[kinkytoes]

I think it is because of the bad rap the gangsta rappers gave the cities. A pun intended. All I knew about Oakland were all of the criminals who made "music" and made the place sound like a hell hole full of "hos" and drug dealers. It seems like a lot of those guys claimed to be from Oakland. They and their "music producers" ruined the reputation of rap (IMO) and the city's reputation at the same time.

But since all of those rich ppl are buying up the property in San Francisco, more workers will probably move to Oakland. Because of all of the guns, and the general mindset of the population (plus the drug war), there is violent crime no matter where you are in the US. But I think people who think they have nothing to lose may be more likely to lash out and steal from or kill others. A lot of those ppl have been concentrated in cities. They're in rural areas, too...just spread farther apart and with fewer resources.

I've only been to Northern California once...It was ok. I was uber pissed to see how expensive housing was. Basically, except for a very cute guy (Thank you California) I met...and my friends...I hated it. I was like "How can you live here?" LOL. It was unexpectedly chilly, people were too nice and real estate made me feel like a pauper.

But people are moving back to US cities everywhere, it seems. There are a lot of negatives about living in a suburb, and urban areas have a lot to offer. Many of them do have too much crime. Who wants to live with criminals? Nobody. But I'm sure the city will become safer as the population changes. In most countries I have visited, rich people generally live in the urban areas and poor people live on the outskirts.

[ken22]

Originally Posted by funtimessf

Oakland has one of the lowest median house prices in the Bay Area. You would think prices would be higher given its proximity to San Francisco. Why is it so much cheaper? My guess is crime is a big part of it.

And you're correct.

While I don't doubt those who feel Oakland's rep. for crime is overblown there is a large criminal element. And even if you're careful never to venture anywhere near the hot spots of crime you can't help but run across thugs from time to time riding public transportation, working downtown or whatnot.

It's basically the same with SF except the criminal element is smaller in number. It's a touchy subject because a large % of assaults/robberies are committed by black youths.

However, the AA population in SF has *shrunk dramatically over the past two decades and now sits at 6%. mod cut


*Breed decries shrinking S.F. black population | Government & Politics | San Francisco | San Francisco Examiner.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by ken22

And you're correct.

While I don't doubt those who feel Oakland's rep. for crime is overblown there is a large criminal element. And even if you're careful never to venture anywhere near the hot spots of crime you can't help but run across thugs from time to time riding public transportation, working downtown or whatnot.

It's basically the same with SF except the criminal element is smaller in number. It's a touchy subject because a large % of assaults/robberies are committed by black youths.

However, the AA population in SF has *shrunk dramatically over the past two decades and now sits at 6%. mod cut


*Breed decries shrinking S.F. black population | Government & Politics | San Francisco | San Francisco Examiner.

It is a lot more complicated than you carrot admit. With the shift in black population, SF lost a significant amount of their poor population. Crime rates correlate very highly with economic class.

The black population in CA, especially in the bay area is disproportionally poor since most came over during the Great Migration. Considering, at that time and through approximately the 70s, there were plenty if high paying jobs for people with only a high school diploma. With the shift in our economy to a service based one, in increasing amounts of income equality, there is a lot more crime commuted by poorer people.

But contrary to popular belief, violent crime has decreases significantly over the past 50-60 years, even though the incarceration rate has increased. We have made a conscious decision to criminalize more behaviors to fuel the prison-industrial complex.


On an autocorrecting iDevice.

[ken22]

Originally Posted by jade408

It is a lot more complicated than you carrot admit. With the shift in black population, SF lost a significant amount of their poor population.

Not necessarily. Plenty of poor Asians have migrated to SF over the past 30 years.

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