40 year old gay black male relocating to San Francisco. (Oakland: sales, apartments)

[mjtinmemphis]

I have been given an option for relocating to the Bay area from Chicago. I am looking to live in an area with like minded people with social opportunities that comes along with the urban lifestyle.

Living in Chicago for the past 3 years. (hydepark for those that are familiar) Ive fallen in love withe the sophistication of urban living. I would love to find a similar type area thats ethnic and culturally diverse with asians blacks indians and so on.

I love shopping at organic grocers, live theater and ethnic restaraunts. I am not looking to spend more than 2k for rent and I will be moving with a car.

I would also like to have more info on the tax situation. State and local payroll and sales tax and if ther is a grocery tax.

I would especially like to hear from other blacks that have moved from the midwest and the southeast and tips on adjusting to California.

[mayorhaggar]

I posted this in the other topic, I'll repost it so we have something to work on in this topic:

Honestly SF itself does not really have much of a black middle class, it has a very small black population and it's all concentrated in areas that are pretty poor.

I would look at Oakland, it is overall more middle class in general than SF and has several middle class areas, and overall is pretty diverse. It has a much larger black population than SF but still has large Asian, Hispanic and White populations. It's a little segregated but if you go out to eat people of all stripes are at the tables in many areas. I'd look at Rockridge, the Lake Merritt area, and the Piedmont Ave area for areas that are nice and safe and have BART nearby. The areas to the west and south of Lake Merritt have crime though, but other areas are pretty nice.

Also apartments in Oakland are cheaper by $300-500 than similar apartments in SF, and parking is a lot easier.

And lmk1707 suggested the Dimond District. I live in Rockridge and I haven't been down around the Dimond yet, I'm going to try to if we have nice weather this weekend.

[mayorhaggar]

CA sales tax I think is around 9%, but each city can add a little on top of it, in Oakland it's like 9.75%. I'm pretty sure there's no local payroll taxes, just the statewide one. I don't think most groceries are taxed.

Also here is a state income tax table, I don't know if it's accurate or not:

California Income Tax Rates - California & other state tax rates information. CA tax calculator.

If your income range is between $0 and $7,168, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 1%.
If your income range is between $7,169 and $16,994, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 2%.
If your income range is between $16,995 and $26,821, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 4%.
If your income range is between $26,822 and $37,233, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 6%.
If your income range is between $37,234 and $47,055, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 8%.
If your income range is between $47,056 and $1,000,000, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 9.3%.
If your income range is $1,000,001 and over, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 10.3%.

[mjtinmemphis]

I had not considered Oakland due to the bad reputation of crime and riots. But from what Ive been reading over the past day, I may need to reconsider.

Are any neighborhoods that you mentioned in downtown or uptown?

[mayorhaggar]

Yeah Oakland has a reputation for crime but a lot of the city is very safe. I live in Rockridge and I like it because it's cleaner, quieter and safer than San Francisco. Parts of West Oakland and East Oakland are really bad, and parts around downtown Oakland like the area south and west of Lake Merritt aren't great either, but most of the rest of the city is nice. I mainly just like Rockridge and the Piedmont Ave area because they are pretty close to BART and very walkable.

As for locations, Lake Merritt is just east of Downtown Oakland. Not sure what you mean by Uptown, there is an area of downtown Oakland called Uptown I think, I'm not really familiar with the area around downtown Oakland, jade408 knows more about the area. Rockridge and the Piedmont Ave area are in North Oakland near the Berkeley border.

[DowntownVentura]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

CA sales tax I think is around 9%, but each city can add a little on top of it, in Oakland it's like 9.75%. I'm pretty sure there's no local payroll taxes, just the statewide one. I don't think most groceries are taxed.

Also here is a state income tax table, I don't know if it's accurate or not:

California Income Tax Rates - California & other state tax rates information. CA tax calculator.

If your income range is between $0 and $7,168, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 1%.
If your income range is between $7,169 and $16,994, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 2%.
If your income range is between $16,995 and $26,821, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 4%.
If your income range is between $26,822 and $37,233, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 6%.
If your income range is between $37,234 and $47,055, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 8%.
If your income range is between $47,056 and $1,000,000, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 9.3%.
If your income range is $1,000,001 and over, your tax rate on every dollar of income earned is 10.3%.

This isn't quite right. Use these tables Tax Table - California Income (1002763)

[lmk1707]

Originally Posted by mjtinmemphis

I had not considered Oakland due to the bad reputation of crime and riots. But from what Ive been reading over the past day, I may need to reconsider.

Are any neighborhoods that you mentioned in downtown or uptown?

In Oakland, downtown/uptown area has less going on than the other neighborhoods mentioned - Rockridge, Grand Lake, Piedmont Ave., Dimond, and Temescal are all neighborhoods with their own happenings - usually a strip (or two). Jack London Square and Uptown are quieter. Adam's Point is close to both Grand Lake and Uptown, but its strip is quieter than the others, though my favorite Ethiopian restaurant is there. There are a lot of Oaklanders on city-data, so you'll get more detailed info (including some awesome photo threads) if you browse around the forum. Adam's Point has a higher gay representation than the rest of Oakland, I believe.

[jade408]

Adam's Point actually has the highest concentration of lesbians in the Bay Area. (how they found that stat, who knows!)

Neighborhoods to consider for walkability, safety, and amenities. I am skipping all neighborhoods way in the hills. They just aren't walkable or transit friendly.

Rockridge: walkable, lots of restaurants and amenities, near BART, Trader Joes, more families, a bit expensive, borders Piedmont Ave and Berkeley

Piedmont Ave: pretty walkable, one of the denser neighborhoods, good BART/transit access (but not quite as good as Rockridge), good freeway acces, the Rose Garden, a fair number of restaurants, centrally located to most "good" neighborhoods, oddly cheap, lots of rentals with parking, borders Adam's Point, Rockridge, Temescal and Grand Lake neighborhoods

Adams Point: lots of charming old buildings, densest part of Oakland, most blocks are pretty nice, close to BART and Whole Foods, not much commercial, more residential, borders Piedmont Ave, Grand Lake, Lake Merritt, Downtown

Grand Lake: charming commercial areas on Grand and Lakeshore, one of the denser neighborhoods, lots of cheap rentals, crappy transit options (you need to walk quite a bit), parking is hit or miss, lots of young people in the neighborhood, Borders Piedmont Ave, Adam's Point, Trestle Glen, Crocker Highlands

Uptown: this is an up and coming area. It is around 19th St. BART, it is a little sketchy but there are quite a few new buildings in the area, and lots more foot traffic. There are occasional insidents but nothing too ridiculous typically. Lots of trendy new places to go. This is a good place if you need brand new. Borders Adam's Point, Old Oakland, Temescal, Chinatown (this is the least safe option)

Temescal: this is another up and coming area, not many apartment rentals, mostly houses. Avoid Lower Temescal like the plague, it is sketchy, but there are quite a few streets that are cute. Good restaurant choices, not convenient to BART -- it is a bit of a walk. Borders downtown, "north Oakland", Rockridge, Piedmont Ave, Koreatown

Old Oakland: this is a cute mini section in downtown. It is near the city center and 12th street BART. Urban with Victorian architecture, close to Uptown. These blocks are really safe, but it is close to a few sketchier blocks and West Oakland. Borders: downtown, uptown, West Oakland

These areas cover about a 4-5 mile radius. You'll find Whole Foods, 2 Trader Joes, a couple of Safeway's, an independent grocer, Chinatown, Koreatown and Middle Eastern groceries, lots of drug stores and 3 farmer's markets. These areas are also about a 20 minute BART ride to downtown SF.

An unofficial count will give you about 300 restaurants, cafes, eateries between all of those areas.


Places I'd avoid living:
Lakeside Apartment district: cute buildings, no parking, oddly deserted, a little bit sketchy

Jack London Square: nice spaces, very disconnected from much of the city, crappy transit options (it is close to BART, but it is a sketchy walk to BART), really dark and deserted streets -- but definitely good for a night out.

Diamond: Cute houses, very residential, good shopping strip with 2 grocery stores and decent restaurants, decent freeway access, transit is not great (not m first choice, not very urban. If I had a family, maybe)

the "east" side of the lake and/or any street with E. XX: it is not much cheaper and a bit sketchier than the neighborhoods above. But the area around the Parkway Theater is decent.

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by jade408

Diamond: Cute houses, very residential, good shopping strip with 2 grocery stores and decent restaurants, decent freeway access, transit is not great (not my first choice, not very urban. If I had a family, maybe)

I agree with you but one of the main things it has going for it is that its considerably cheaper than all of the other neighborhoods you mentioned. It also has a library, a park, technically 3 grocery stores (Food Mill is further up MacArthur) a wide selection of restaurants (you can find just about anything you can think of excluding Ethiopian) and is still fairly close to the Fruitvale BART. Fruitvale & MacArthur is also one of the busiest bus stops in the city... buses come every 5 minutes. Dimond also has its fair share of local things to do/see... while neither of these are technically in Dimond, the Mormon Temple - one of the nicest buildings in Oakland - is right up Lincoln Ave and so is the Chabot Space Center and Redwood Park. The Laurel shopping area which has book stores, restaurants and 2 grocery stores of its own is also only a couple blocks away. Dimond is also only a couple minutes away driving or taking the bus from Montclair, which easily has one of the most robust high rent shopping areas in the entire bay. imo Dimond gives you the most bang for the buck.

[lmk1707]

Originally Posted by jade408

the "east" side of the lake and/or any street with E. XX: it is not much cheaper and a bit sketchier than the neighborhoods above. But the area around the Parkway Theater is decent.

East side of the lake is a little general.. my neighborhood (Cleveland Heights) is on the east side and is definitely not sketchy.