New York Times: Oakland-Brooklyn by the Bay (San Jose, San Francisco: ferry, area)

[Stephen1110]

NYT Covers Oakland's Hipster Zombies

If you're keeping track of the "Oakland is the new Brooklyn" comparisons coming at us recently, the New York Times contributed the latest piece to the growing national fascination with our sister city in its Sunday paper

NYT Covers Oakland's Hipster Zombies - The Bold Italic - San Francisco

[18Montclair]

LOL ouch.

How to Write an Oakland Trend Piece (Community Voices) « Oakland Local

Had to be done.

[Stephen1110]

Originally Posted by 18montclair

lol ouch.

how to write an oakland trend piece (community voices) « oakland local

had to be done.

11. Misinterpret a gertrude stein quotation.

omfg. If I had a nickel

[Bisaro TMF]

The only similarities are the influx of hipsters. Other than that NO.

[CirclingLogan]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

LOL ouch.

How to Write an Oakland Trend Piece (Community Voices) « Oakland Local

Had to be done.

It's snarky response pieces like this that really make Oakland seem more like Brooklyn.

The only similarities are the influx of hipsters. Other than that NO.

Always being in the shadow of a bigger city across the water, dealing with poor public perception, newfound foodie and arts culture, rising prices due to influx of priced out middle-class/ upper-middle class from the city... there's more than a couple.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by CirclingLogan

It's snarky response pieces like this that really make Oakland seem more like Brooklyn.


Always being in the shadow of a bigger city across the water, dealing with poor public perception, newfound foodie and arts culture, rising prices due to influx of priced out middle-class/ upper-middle class from the city... there's more than a couple.

There's nothing new about there being an "arts culture" in Oakland and particularly when talking about music.

If by "foodie" you mean the overpriced SF fare that's now being swept into Oakland then even that isn't true, there's been upper-end dining in Oakland for decades. Most of Oakland's food scene is on the very casual (and cheap) end although that's beginning to change rather rapidly thanks to rising rents.

And the point being made in that response piece is that the articles tend to be lazily researched and are in many ways written for people who have no interest in Oakland culture and are looking for a gentrified slice of SF (Manhattan? lol) in Oakland.

[04kL4nD]

As much as I love Oakland, it still hasn't 'arrived' yet like Brooklyn has- it's still got a ways to go, mostly because of crime and poor leadership. Yeah, Brooklyn will always be the place that Manhattanites look down on, but it's been able to gentrify in a way that's earned it global respect, and it's been that way for a number of years. But again, for the zillionth time, Oakland and Brooklyn only share superficial similarities, mainly ones that don't matter much in my eyes. When you're in Brooklyn, it's STILL NYC. When you're in Oakland, well, you're in Oakland. Not SF, not Berkeley, not Brooklyn.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

There's nothing new about there being an "arts culture" in Oakland and particularly when talking about music.

If by "foodie" you mean the overpriced SF fare that's now being swept into Oakland then even that isn't true, there's been upper-end dining in Oakland for decades. Most of Oakland's food scene is on the very casual (and cheap) end although that's beginning to change rather rapidly thanks to rising rents.

And the point being made in that response piece is that the articles tend to be lazily researched and are in many ways written for people who have no interest in Oakland culture and are looking for a gentrified slice of SF (Manhattan? lol) in Oakland.

100% true.

Its insulting to me that these articles act as if there was nothing going on in Oakland until the current wave of hipster newbies from SF moved here.

No darlings, vast swaths of Oakland are made up of established neighborhoods that are quite amazing places to live by any standard.

[krudmonk]

Were Oakland and Brooklyn nothing alike before white kids moved in?

[MassVt]

Maybe someone will write some tripe making Oakland out to be the Staten Island of the Bay Area....