How is Alameda/Oakland? (San Francisco, San Leandro: crime, neighborhood, schools)

[TheStarLiesWest]

Thinking of moving there and working in SF. What areas in Oakland should I stay away from? There are quite a few affordable places on craigslist that I've noticed. Any help is appreciated.

[Tallysmom]

Originally Posted by TheStarLiesWest

Thinking of moving there and working in SF. What areas in Oakland should I stay away from? There are quite a few affordable places on craigslist that I've noticed. Any help is appreciated.

I live in Oakland, and it really seems to go block by block. I'm most familiar with east East Oakland flats -- I'd stay away from around the Coliseum (73rd ave )-- 98th ave below 580 is bad (above 580 it's Golf Links RD). It starts getting better around 103rd Ave, although down by San Leandro Blvd at 105th, it's had problems. Not sure if it's ongoing problems.

Anything below San Leandro Blvd scares me.

And here's a great tool to let you know what's been going on for the past 90 days in the Oakalnd area

CrimeView Community Incident Map

[Ultrarunner]

"Generally" the higher the physical elevation the more expensive the property and the lower the incidents of crime.

[tla94804]

The Oakland West bart station area can be rough-I would stay away from that area too...I've lived in Oakland for 14 years and have loved it around the Lake area-it gets pricey because it's so desirable

[City Boy]

Unless you plan on selling coke or joining a Latino gang you really have nothing to worry about. Most crime in Oakland is Black on Black or Latino on Latino. The media is doing it's usual scare tactic. Don't believe the hype. San Francisco has alot of crime also but you hardly hear about it. Why? you know the answer.

[worktolive]

In Oakland you should look above (east) of 580. In general, the closer you get to the hills, the better the neighborhood, although in the southern part of the city it all starts to get pretty sketchy. The areas around Grand/Lakeshore at Lake Merritt are also nice, but the southeastern part of Lake Merritt, closer to downtown is rougher.

Alameda is very nice. I love the beautiful Victorians there. Even though it's right across the estuary from Oakland, it's like you are in a different world. They have their own police force, schools, hospital, etc. Most of Alameda is pretty safe. There used to be a few sketchier areas as you got closer to the old naval base but I think that whole area has cleaned up quite a bit in the last few years.