Oakland or Sacramento?

[fromthebay]

Sacramento is much nicer, cheaper, but like everyone said neither are too walkable or have huge asian populations. San Francisco is a much better fit for you.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by fromthebay

Sacramento is much nicer, cheaper, but like everyone said neither are too walkable or have huge asian populations. San Francisco is a much better fit for you.

Oakland has a substantial Asian Population and shopping District below Lake Merritt towards the Avenues.

"Although it is overshadowed by its more prominent, tourist-oriented counterpart in San Francisco, Oakland's Chinatown is bustling with activity and considered to be more authentic to many. Other Asian cultures are represented in Oakland's Chinatown as it has also been settled by non-Chinese Asians such as ethnic Vietnamese (many of whom operate many of Chinatown's jewelry businesses), Koreans, and Thais making it more of a pan-Asian area as opposed to a "Chinatown."

Chinatown, Oakland, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And here's another...

"The 20-block strip from downtown toward Berkeley has emerged as a Bay Area center of Korean culture, a bustling urban neighborhood dotted with dozens of Korean-owned businesses, community centers and churches."

Oakland's got Seoul / Koreatown emerges as hub of Asian culture and downtown's rebirth

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Oakland has a substantial Asian Population and shopping District below Lake Merritt towards the Avenues.

"Although it is overshadowed by its more prominent, tourist-oriented counterpart in San Francisco, Oakland's Chinatown is bustling with activity and considered to be more authentic to many. Other Asian cultures are represented in Oakland's Chinatown as it has also been settled by non-Chinese Asians such as ethnic Vietnamese (many of whom operate many of Chinatown's jewelry businesses), Koreans, and Thais making it more of a pan-Asian area as opposed to a "Chinatown."

Chinatown, Oakland, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

And here's another...

"The 20-block strip from downtown toward Berkeley has emerged as a Bay Area center of Korean culture, a bustling urban neighborhood dotted with dozens of Korean-owned businesses, community centers and churches."

Oakland's got Seoul / Koreatown emerges as hub of Asian culture and downtown's rebirth

As far as Chinatowns go, Oakland has one of the best in the whole Country. Its more bustling than any neighborhood in Sacramento-including Midtown(I love Midtown Sac btw)

Also, New Chinatown stretches from the historic Chinatown down all the way to 13th and International.

Furthermore, having lived in Sacramento, I will say its Chinatown is basically non-existent by comparison-totally dead(like the Chinese have moved on). As far as a cohesive neighborhood of Asians, I don't recall seeing one there except for some strip malls in South Sac(S F Supermarket is cool, I always used to go there)-nothing like what you see in Oakland.

[artemis78]

Actually, Oakland has a huge Asian population---though as others have noted it extends beyond Chinatown into Eastlake ("new Chinatown") where it seems to be much more diverse than in Chinatown proper (where it's heavily Chinese American).

It's also worth noting that the public elementary school (Lincoln Elementary School) that serves Oakland Chinatown is a California Distinguished School and one of the top schools in the district. (While I take API scores with a grain of salt, Lincoln's is 906, which is quite strong.) The biggest downside to the school, I think, is that because the neighborhood is heavily Asian and almost all families opt to attend the school, it's not a terribly diverse environment compared to other strong Oakland schools. But something to consider with a child, assuming s/he is school-aged.

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by fromthebay

Sacramento is much nicer, cheaper, but like everyone said neither are too walkable or have huge asian populations. San Francisco is a much better fit for you.

How is Sacramento much nicer than Oakland? Sacramento is Ugly , flat in the middle of nowhere and boring. Oakland and the surrounding area has a very large Asian population so I'm not sure what you're talking about. It is also very walkable, have you even been to Oakland before?

[Tiger Beer]

Very interesting/informative about Oakland and Chinatown!

I am getting really interested in this now. I have been to the SF Chinatown many times, but never the Oakland one. How are they compareable? Is the Oakland one more liveable - price wise?

[fromthebay]

Originally Posted by City Boy

How is Sacramento much nicer than Oakland? Sacramento is Ugly , flat in the middle of nowhere and boring. Oakland and the surrounding area has a very large Asian population so I'm not sure what you're talking about. It is also very walkable, have you even been to Oakland before?

I lived in west oakland when i was younger. Not the most walkable of places.

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by fromthebay

I lived in west oakland when i was younger. Not the most walkable of places.

West Oakland is one Area of Oakland, Oakland is huge in area. That's like saying, "I lived in Bay View, in San Francisco not the most walkable of area's"

By the way I see plenty of yuppies riding bikes and walking through west oakland now.

[mburns]

Oakland has many walkable neighborhoods and a very large Asian community. Outside of New Chinatown, you may want to explore, Rockridge, Montclair, and the Dimond districts.