San Francisco vs Oakland (San Diego, Berkeley: 2015, rent, how much)

[movingoutwest]

What are the biggest differences between the 2 cities? Do a lot of people work across the Bay and commute to San Francisco to work?

Is/could there still be a fun and exciting night life experience for a mid 20s white young male in Oak vs SF? Any neighborhood advice?

thanks.

[04kL4nD]

It depends on what point you're at in life, but the biggest difference to me is that Oakland is much mellower and far more laid back than SF. Both cities have great nightlife, but SF is definitely better for hitting clubs and staying out all night partying.

And yes, lots of people choose to live in Oakland and work in SF because their money stretches further in the East Bay.

[llowllevellowll]

Regardless of my net worth, I'd still choose Oakland over SF. It's just a different kind of city. I like being able to find parking, I like saving money, and I like the boutique-commercial districts Oakland boasts (I'm also a huge Raiders fan =)

Both cities are similar in that your experiences will differ most based on what neighborhood you're in - both have very defined neighborhoods. So learn the neighborhoods!

Neighborhoods I'd love to live in:

Rockridge
Piedmont Ave
Adam's Point
Grand Lake
Dimond
Laurel
Jack London Square
Uptown
Temescal
Claremont
Cleveland Heights
Elmwood (Berkeley)
Emeryville

Any of those neighborhoods you'll enjoy immensely, or at least I do.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Parti Rhinocéros

Regardless of my net worth, I'd still choose Oakland over SF.

Story of my life.

As Ive stated several times in city-vs-city, San Francisco is the city of my dreams----------but Id still rather live in Oakland.

I went off to NJ just this past year and meant to stay there permanently but circumstances beyond my control caused me to move back to Oakland, and it was for the better as I sorely missed it. New Jersey is great tho(lived right across the Hudson from New York) but this is home.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Story of my life.

As Ive stated several times in city-vs-city, San Francisco is the city of my dreams----------but Id still rather live in Oakland.

I went off to NJ just this past year and meant to stay there permanently but circumstances beyond my control caused me to move back to Oakland, and it was for the better as I sorely missed it. New Jersey is great tho(lived right across the Hudson from New York) but this is home.

I've been trying to get back to the east bay permanently seemingly for ever. Once in San Diego it's hard to get out financially.

Anyway, Oakland wins hands down for me as a place to live. It's a more pleasant place to walk around IMO and it's a lot calmer by comparison. Anyway, SF is only a BART ride away and when I'm there, I always make it over to the city. It's really the best of both worlds that way.

[mayorhaggar]

It kind of depends. If you want to be a cab drive away from the clubs and live in the big city, then SF is better. If you want to be able to come home to somewhere quiet and not kill your wallet with rent but still be able to walk to bars and restaurants and the grocery store, Oakland is better.

SF has a vibe that you don't get anywhere else in the Bay Area. But it's also very noisy, dirty, smelly, cramped, and expensive. Oakland is a lot quieter and laid back and the nice parts are cleaner and can be safer than most of SF, and it's about 20-40% cheaper than SF, but riding on BART every day is expensive so keep that in mind.

But if you want to party every night then coming home to Oakland from SF would be kind of a pain, it's easy enough if you're driving but you'd have to have a designated driver, and if you take BART the trains don't run past midnight. But if you don't care about clubs but like good neighborhood bars, Oakland has you covered.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Anyway, Oakland wins hands down for me as a place to live. It's a more pleasant place to walk around IMO and it's a lot calmer by comparison. Anyway, SF is only a BART ride away and when I'm there, I always make it over to the city. It's really the best of both worlds that way.

The best of both worlds. Exactly.

You can easily access everything SF has to offer, but then retreat to somewhere less frantic.

Not only that, but contrary to when I was in my 20s, nowadays I spend almost all my weekends dining out and being entertained here instead of the City, which really speaks to how much the scene in Oakland has evolved.

[Tycho Brahe]

Oakland has much better weather. Sunnier and warmer.

[movingoutwest]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

If you want to be able to come home to somewhere quiet and not kill your wallet with rent but still be able to walk to bars and restaurants and the grocery store, Oakland is better. .

this is exactly what i am looking for. I am not a fan of clubs more of a neighborhood bar type person, and I would definitely like to not kill my wallet. Any advice for what type of neighborhoods are good? Thanks.

[movingoutwest]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Not only that, but contrary to when I was in my 20s, nowadays I spend almost all my weekends dining out and being entertained here instead of the City, which really speaks to how much the scene in Oakland has evolved.

Are there good neighborhoods with a younger crowd (mid 20s). I know Berekley is right next door but do a lot of Berkeley students live in any of the oakland neighborhoods?