West Oakland: up and coming or just a trap?

[NorCal77]

IF you want to familiarize yourselves with West Oakland or any other Oakland areas this is what I suggest. Sit down with the crime map on the OPD site and on a friday and saturday night for about a month straight listen to the OPD police scanner (available free online sorry forget the site). You will learn real quick as to where the highest crime is. I've done it for a few years now for a piece of mind and can honestly say West Oakland has the highest crime just below East Oakland 60's-90's streets.

To note I rented a music studio in West Oakland off West Grand for a few years and witnessed many crimes. Sure you can lock your doors and mind your own business but do you want to be trapped in your home?

If you want an even more candid look on WO check out the movie Hood 2 Hood. It's a home made movie showcasing the gangsters all around the bay. One or two of the guys in the WO segment died by the time the flick aired last I remember.

[Mr. Fantastic]

Listen to NorCal77, he speaks the truth. Unlike a lot of the "Oakland is safe and on the upswing" crowd, NorCal is someone who actually knows what he is talking about.

West Oakland is literally a war zone. Just 2 years ago, 124 people were killed in Oakland's streets. For comparisons sake, that amount is more than all the coalition soldiers who died in Iraq that same year.

If you're thinking of moving to West Oakland, you'll either be trapped in your own home with your hand literally on your gun everyday, or you'll be adding bullet proof panels to your car just so you can go to the grocery store.

[stephanie08]

You are right but When on a big trip with a large group it can become very hard to keep everyone together. If your group is too big to fit in one vehicle it can become impossible. There is no way to keep everyone together if they are not in one vehicle.Say you are flying to a big city like San Francisco, you’ll need a way to keep everyone together. The best way to do this is by renting a van. There are plenty of van rental places in San Francisco and there are a few right at the airport. This makes for easy access and it starts the trip out on the right footing. This is a smart idea to save on the cost of renting more than one vehicle.

[megm991]

Moved to SF from Louisiana a few years ago. Recently moved from Cole Valley to West Oakland to obtain a reasonable amount of square footage per dollar. Having grown up in (very dangerous) New Orleans I am here to tell you that, yes, West Oakland is somewhat dangerous. It also infinitely more interesting than San Francisco, an absurdly gentrified place where many people verbally espouse diversity and integration having never experienced true culture clashes with a neighbor. Am I more worldly because I have lived in fear of my life before?
Goddamn right.
The more pretentious of the California liberals crack me up.

[Glenview94602]

I would take West Oakland over Deep East (would live in Fruitvale, but thats not DE). Deep East has the most crime. Still West Oakland is and was built on spec. Would choose many other neighborhoods over it.

[geoking66]

I think the biggest problem is that West Oakland is just isolated. Yes, there's a BART stop, but it's disconnected from Downtown by Highway 24 (similar to how other highways have worsened poverty by cutting off neighborhoods) and even that stop is out of the way. Not sure if the spillover effect will happen.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by geoking66

I think the biggest problem is that West Oakland is just isolated. Yes, there's a BART stop, but it's disconnected from Downtown by Highway 24 (similar to how other highways have worsened poverty by cutting off neighborhoods) and even that stop is out of the way. Not sure if the spillover effect will happen.

The newly-established gentry, using their newfound hubris as moneyed NIMBY's, will demand the removal of the freeway. Not that it ever works, but it's happened before (L.A.).

[ssmaster]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

The newly-established gentry, using their newfound hubris as moneyed NIMBY's, will demand the removal of the freeway. Not that it ever works, but it's happened before (L.A.).

i doubt west oakland can be truly gentrified because of the recycling center that attracts hordes of tweakers and marginal people wheeling their stolen grocery carts full of recyclables down the street.

the C3PO statue is cool though.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

i doubt west oakland can be truly gentrified because of the recycling center that attracts hordes of tweakers and marginal people wheeling their stolen grocery carts full of recyclables down the street.

NIMBYs won't stand for that, either.