Is Hayward CA Safe or Dangerous? (bayarea) (Oakland, Vallejo: neighborhood, subdivision)

[donisanasfan]

Times have changed......is it that bad? I grew up there, along with Jack Del Rio in that era. If Union City is now considered better then Hayward....that's bad. I remember Union City for two things .......the dumps...and the stink! Hayward was always on a steady decline, but man, sounds like it has reached new depths. Still has Val's Burger's though, that has to count for something.

[mickey65]

Even the Hills aren't safe. My parents lived off of East Ave (at the top - first stop sign - neighborhood at the right of it), and had their house burglarized and my step-dad's car stolen out of the garage a few years back. NO neighborhood is safe in Hayward.

I lived in Hayward most of my life before moving to Texas in 2006, and all the ghetto areas I avoided - neighborhoods off of A St & Sunset (by the Mini-Mart), Downtown Hayward BART station area, South Hayward (Tennyson especially) Palma Ceia area, and the Kelly Hill area.

Not sure how much of those areas have changed since I lived out there, altho I lived in San Lorenzo for quite a spell before moving to Texas and while it had it's "bad" areas, it wasn't as bad as Hayward!

[athleticsfan72737489]

Originally Posted by donisanasfan

Times have changed......is it that bad? I grew up there, along with Jack Del Rio in that era. If Union City is now considered better then Hayward....that's bad. I remember Union City for two things .......the dumps...and the stink! Hayward was always on a steady decline, but man, sounds like it has reached new depths. Still has Val's Burger's though, that has to count for something.

Well Union City built up a lot of new housing developments in the 1990s and 2000s. A good portion of the city still feels new. The majority of people who live in these new houses are Asian-American (mainly Filipino, Chinese and Asian Indians). The Union City you're probably thinking of is Union City pre-1990 when the city just consisted of the sketchy Decoto neighborhood and a few other sleepy neighborhoods. Decoto is still the same by the way.

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by mickey65

Even the Hills aren't safe. My parents lived off of East Ave (at the top - first stop sign - neighborhood at the right of it), and had their house burglarized and my step-dad's car stolen out of the garage a few years back. NO neighborhood is safe in Hayward.

That applies to every city in America though. No place is truly safe. But, my friends live off 5 Canyons right up at Fairview and their neighborhood is very safe, and my other friend lives on East Ave ( Now Star Ridge) and again, very very safe, and my cousin lives up on Bridle off East and again, never been robbed, but have almost hit deers running around all the mentioned neighborhoods. The flats are nasty, but the hills are good. The schools will always suck though.

[Ceece]

Hayward is working class, diverse and old. I think it's pretty typical of any town that is working class, diverse and old. I don't know about "ghetto", I suppose it depends on how you define the word. Some people think anything that doesn't look like a postcard or is run down is "ghetto", while others reserve the word for much worse places, where no decent person would purposely live. You see the dilemma.

[dlsb]

Originally Posted by Frank99

It's ghetto. If you give me the general location in Hayward I can give you more detail as I was born and raised there and certain areas are better than others. However, I would highly encourage your friend to find another area.

Do you know if it's bad over by Cannery Park/Burbank Elementary? We're thinking of buying one of the townhouses there. New communities are being built there and it looked safe enough. I don't know the area or the gang/criminal activity around there. How close by, how violent, etc... Thx!

[Taboo2]

Originally Posted by dlsb

Do you know if it's bad over by Cannery Park/Burbank Elementary? We're thinking of buying one of the townhouses there. New communities are being built there and it looked safe enough. I don't know the area or the gang/criminal activity around there. How close by, how violent, etc... Thx!

The school sucks and B Street down by the park is sketchy. Otherwise seems ok.

[CClovespell]

It all depends on your point of view..people have different ideas of whats considered ghetto and whats not.

[Texas User]

I like Hayward Hills.

[stateofgreen]

What about Kelly Avenue up in the Fairview District/hills? Is that area relatively safe?