A few questions about San Francisco from a New Yawkah! (Los Angeles: neighborhood, theater)

[mstnghu2]

Originally Posted by evergraystate

The only thing you really need to worry about is avoiding Oakland. Otherwise you'll be fine.

OP, disregard this idiotic statement. There are plenty of nice parts of Oakland. There are also plenty of parts of SF that are more dangerous than parts of Oakland.

[mayorhaggar]

If you're used to NYC your street smarts should be decent enough that you'd be able to survive in SF. There is quite a bit of crime in SF but it's in a few smallish areas like the eastern Mission and the Tenderloin which are usually easy to avoid, but even if you had to go to those areas to do something it would be ok. You always have to have your guard up a bit because of all the crazy bums but I imagine you get that in NYC. Generally you won't have a problem. Yes Oakland has more crime, mainly gangs shooting up one another, but Oakland has a lot of really cool areas which are safer, quieter, cleaner, and way cheaper than SF. Even most people in SF think Oakland is just one big sketchy ghetto.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by 80skeys

I personally think New Yorkers are much friendlier. New Yorkers enjoy talking.

They certainly do enjoy talking, but a lot of it ain't exactly friendly.

[jade408]

The Bay Area totally kills it for mid-range restaurants. A lot of quality and creativity in the $15-30 entree range.

There are zillions of places to try. Subscribe to Eater SF.

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by Lital_The_Best

5) Crime: With Oakland near by and usually top ranked as one of the most crime ridden areas of the U.S., I wonder how San Francisco is effected by this. Also, I hear mixed bags of San Francisco being a city where you have to watch you're back all the time . Don't know how true that is but a lot of people definitely tell me that crime there is sketchy.

If you're worried about crime, then definitely avoid Oakland. Even if you live in the "Hills" you still have to drive through the flats eventually. Since you're mentioning it, you know the cities reputation. It's not made up, the city is the most violent in California statistically. That being said, crime from Oakland doesn't touch S.F, and vice versa.

San Francisco is the largest urban center in the Bay (behind San Jose), and there are some rough neighborhoods (Hunters Point, Tenderloin, parts of the Mission, etc). But you definitely don't have to watch your back all the time. Places like Pac Heights, Russian/Nob Hill are fairly nice, trendy and hip.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

If you're worried about crime, then definitely avoid Oakland. Even if you live in the "Hills" you still have to drive through the flats eventually. Since you're mentioning it, you know the cities reputation. It's not made up, the city is the most violent in California statistically.

See, the reason why you're being answered by the Oakland people around here is because you're going around planting this Oakland-hate stuff all over the place, and they're not going to let it sit and fester without a response. You're coming in here with what appears to be a very pointed, dubious, narrow agenda, and beating it to death for no apparent reason.

Which is the hallmark of yet another troll.

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

See, the reason why you're being answered by the Oakland people around here is because you're going around planting this Oakland-hate stuff all over the place, and they're not going to let it sit and fester without a response. You're coming in here with what appears to be a very pointed, dubious, narrow agenda, and beating it to death for no apparent reason.

Which is the hallmark of yet another troll.

That's your opinion. I have my opinion. Like I said, I'm not going to go back and forth about Oakland anymore. It's a waste of time, and I'm not changing my opinion, and I'm assuming you won't change yours. The funny thing is, ever since I posted in the "Oakland... violent and dangerous city" thread, I have gotten private messages from Oakland residents who say they agree with me about what was being said in that thread. They also agreed that there are a lot of Oaklanders who have "rosy colored" glasses on, and refuse to acknowledge anything negative about their city (not my words, but a message I received).

If you read the original poster's post, he even acknowledges that Oakland has a reputation of being violent and being full of crime which he/she is worried about. I'm simply confirming it to be true, which is my right, and my opinion. It's not only my opinion, but statistically it's a fact:

Oakland Officially Most Dangerous City in California:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/0..._n_976548.html

With a rate of 15.3 violet crimes per 1,000 people, Oakland is the most dangerous city in California. Crime has historically been a problem for the city, which is on pace this year to have one of its highest homicide rates in over a decade.

Mayor Jean Quan is holding a crime summit next month with both crime experts and Oakland residents to take a long, hard look at how the city tackles the issue.

The Huffington Post is one of the most read e-publications on the internet, are they posting "Oakland-hate stuff" and trolling? No I don't think so, I believe their opinion is very well researched and backed by solid empirical data.

If you want to accuse me of trolling, and make this personal, then I can add you to my ignore list as well, and we both don't have to step on each others toes since I will never see another one of your post again. I have used up any patience I have left to go back and forth with the Oaklanders. Nothing personal, but I'm trying to make my experience here worthwhile, and enjoyable, and hopefully gain good information and give good information when the opportunity presents itself.

I suggest you do the same.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by DocGoldstein

If you're worried about crime, then definitely avoid Oakland. Even if you live in the "Hills" you still have to drive through the flats eventually. Since you're mentioning it, you know the cities reputation. It's not made up, the city is the most violent in California statistically. That being said, crime from Oakland doesn't touch S.F, and vice versa.

San Francisco is the largest urban center in the Bay (behind San Jose), and there are some rough neighborhoods (Hunters Point, Tenderloin, parts of the Mission, etc). But you definitely don't have to watch your back all the time. Places like Pac Heights, Russian/Nob Hill are fairly nice, trendy and hip.

Based on your logic, you also shouldn't drive through the Tenderloin. But it would be pretty difficult to get to quite a few areas in SF if you avoided driving in the Mission, etc.

Oakland has limited spillover from crime, especially violent spillover. It is pretty concentrated to specific areas. If you don't spend much time in those areas, the likely impact of crime for you personally is minimal.

Unfortunately, people in the media (and these forums) try to use a single brush to paint a picture of Oakland. That Oakland is all crime, all the time. And when other people chime in and talk about their experiences, despite the reputation, they are accused of having rose colored glasses. In reality people are wearing realistic glasses. Your experiences in Oakland can vary greatly depending on where you live and where you go. This is true of every city. People seem to dwell on one part of the city. Sharing positive stories about Oakland, doesn't mean you are oblivious to the challenges.

[DocGoldstein]

Originally Posted by jade408

Based on your logic, you also shouldn't drive through the Tenderloin. But it would be pretty difficult to get to quite a few areas in SF if you avoided driving in the Mission, etc.

Oakland has limited spillover from crime, especially violent spillover. It is pretty concentrated to specific areas. If you don't spend much time in those areas, the likely impact of crime for you personally is minimal.

Unfortunately, people in the media (and these forums) try to use a single brush to paint a picture of Oakland. That Oakland is all crime, all the time. And when other people chime in and talk about their experiences, despite the reputation, they are accused of having rose colored glasses. In reality people are wearing realistic glasses. Your experiences in Oakland can vary greatly depending on where you live and where you go. This is true of every city. People seem to dwell on one part of the city. Sharing positive stories about Oakland, doesn't mean you are oblivious to the challenges.

That's actually a well thought out post, but you should probably be addressing it towards the original poster instead of me.

I would question how you know what is "likely" to happen to someone who travels to Oakland, is this based on statistics? According to the stats you have a 1 in 64 chance of being a victim of violent crime in Oakland (1 in 212 is the average for California).

[daepro]

I am an ex NYer born and raised and now live in Oakland. I walk around all the time enjoy my early morning early run around Lake Merritt, taking an hour stroll grabbing a bite for lunch and taking my dogs out a night. It is a great city with allot to offer even for tourists.
My sense is that for the most part unless you have a beef with someone over drugs, women or snitching people leave you alone. Yes you can be a victim of a mugging or worse but that can happen in SF and often does.