best city in bay area for me? (Oakland: school, living)

[thechoson]

Originally Posted by djohanna

hi,

i'm looking for a city like this:
-doesn't get too hot in the summer
-affordable rent; so san francisco proper wouldn't work
-low crime...so NOT oakland or richmond--even if it's in another part of town yadda yadda, i don't want to share breathing room with many gangsters, etc. i was annoyed enough being in the same high school classes with very ghetto girls in albany.
-not too boring. petaluma, for example, was uber boring. so was Santa Rosa, where I grew up.
-demographic: mostly white. i'm just not much into Mexican or Asian culture & food. More like Whole Foods vegetarian granola, and French language.
-not too many hipsters. hipsters are annoying. not too many Republicans or religious people, either.
-close to good hiking spots. pretty green; not a desert-y city.

maybe none of the cities fit this description, but if you know of one please tell me. thanks in advance!

San Carlos/ Belmont maybe?

[thechoson]

Not sure why people are getting so offended or attacking the OP over the "mostly white" comment. I'm not white but I wasn't offended at all.

I see threads here often from people of other races looking for communities with a large number of that race/ culture, but if a white person does it, suddenly it's racist?

To each their own.

[jade408]

I'll phrase it in the same way I would in the relationship forum. Preferences are fine. Preferences where you throw everyone who doesn't meet your preference under the bus is not.

OP would have been perceived wildly differently if she said "I want to live somewhere safe where there are hippie granola types who like to hike." And stopped right there.


I am on my phone, please forgive the typos.

[thechoson]

Originally Posted by jade408

Preferences are fine. Preferences where you throw everyone who doesn't meet your preference under the bus is not.

Wait what?

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by jade408

I'll phrase it in the same way I would in the relationship forum. Preferences are fine. Preferences where you throw everyone who doesn't meet your preference under the bus is not.

OP would have been perceived wildly differently if she said "I want to live somewhere safe where there are hippie granola types who like to hike." And stopped right there.


I am on my phone, please forgive the typos.

Well said - that would have been much better.

[charmed59]

Santa Cruz or Capitola maybe?

[Stephen1110]

You should look into Petaluma or Santa Rosa

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by charmed59

Santa Cruz or Capitola maybe?

I've heard Capitola's nice.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

I've heard Capitola's nice.

Really cute. Pretty much a tourist town. Sleepy beach town. Not sure if it is happening enough to meet OPs criteria.

[djohanna]

Originally Posted by silverkris

What's wrong with that? We don't bite.

As an Asian American who grew up in a white majority community, I am always rather puzzled at (usually Caucasian people) who express discomfort being in the minority. We're used to it and have had to deal with it.

I live in a majority Asian neighborhood right now.
I don't like the weird smell of old fish or an over-the-top incense cloud in the markets in my neighborhood. I don't like how pretty much all the signs are written in Asian lettering. I don't not being able to communicate with people clearly in English. I don't like seeing large carcasses hanging in shop window displays, or seeing nasty foods like jarred eel on the market aisles.

I used to live in majority Mexican neighborhoods. Same deal. I don't like the food, especially as a vegetarian and a health nut (lard in the beans and desserts, beef testicles and brains, blah blah). But mostly the language barrier. And the way they tended to play loud music during the afternoons. A generalization, sure, but from experience.