Your 3 favorite cities in the Bay Area(for no reason at all) (San Francisco: 2015, hotel)

[WizardOfRadical]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

It's interesting to see how many people think Oakland is a great place in the Bay Area these days. 5 years ago, it was probably the most hated Bay Area location and very few people had anything nice to say about the place, but now everyone seems to think it's wonderful. Aside from Uptown/JLS, I really don't think the city has changed that much, but I guess it's better that people figured it out eventually.

I'd say SOME of West and North Oakland Oakland has changed a lot in the last 10 years. The areas around Lake Merritt have really taken a turn for the upscale. Oakland was OK when I lived there, but the whole "here I am" YUPPIE crowd coming in from SF has really killed the vibe a lot in the last few years.

[santiago de pampanga]

pleasanton - i have an attachment to this place
walnut creek - has some of the nicest neighborhoods i've ever seen
sonoma - the scenery

[jw2]

Favorite
San Francisco

Least Favorite
San Francisco

[TheseGoTo11]

Bay Area has great suburban downtowns, my favorites are Mill Valley, San Mateo, Mountain View, maybe Healdsburg if that's close enough to count

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical

I'd say SOME of West and North Oakland Oakland has changed a lot in the last 10 years. The areas around Lake Merritt have really taken a turn for the upscale. Oakland was OK when I lived there, but the whole "here I am" YUPPIE crowd coming in from SF has really killed the vibe a lot in the last few years.

Eh, Lake Merritt doesn't look THAT different. Yeah they cleaned up the actual Lake and repaved the area around it, and it's definitely nicer now, but the overall neighborhood looks pretty much the same. The bars/restaurants on Grand/Lakeshore are basically the ones that have been there since I moved there in 07. Piedmont is the same. Rockridge is the same. Montclair is the same. Dimond is the same. Laurel is the same. Temescal is a bit nicer, but nothing too dramatic; once all that housing gets built near MacArthur BART, maybe it'll seem drastically different, but I doubt it. West Oakland and NOBE (I hate that term, but it stuck) have had some people come in and gentrify individual houses, but large swaths of both parts still look the same. I don't hang out in East Oakland much, but when I was looking to buy a house a few years ago, it looked mostly unchanged. Fruitvale is threatening to gentrify, but it doesn't look like the Mission yet.

Overall, crime has gone down and the overall perception of Oakland has become more favorable, but I guess it mostly still seems like the Oakland I moved to almost ten years ago, aside from the rapid changes in Uptown, which are obviously substantial. But yeah, definitely more yuppies and people with money these days, especially within the last 2-3 years.

[Oakformonday]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Eh, Lake Merritt doesn't look THAT different. Yeah they cleaned up the actual Lake and repaved the area around it, and it's definitely nicer now, but the overall neighborhood looks pretty much the same. The bars/restaurants on Grand/Lakeshore are basically the ones that have been there since I moved there in 07. Piedmont is the same. Rockridge is the same. Montclair is the same. Dimond is the same. Laurel is the same. Temescal is a bit nicer, but nothing too dramatic; once all that housing gets built near MacArthur BART, maybe it'll seem drastically different, but I doubt it. West Oakland and NOBE (I hate that term, but it stuck) have had some people come in and gentrify individual houses, but large swaths of both parts still look the same. I don't hang out in East Oakland much, but when I was looking to buy a house a few years ago, it looked mostly unchanged. Fruitvale is threatening to gentrify, but it doesn't look like the Mission yet.

Overall, crime has gone down and the overall perception of Oakland has become more favorable, but I guess it mostly still seems like the Oakland I moved to almost ten years ago, aside from the rapid changes in Uptown, which are obviously substantial. But yeah, definitely more yuppies and people with money these days, especially within the last 2-3 years.

You can't be serious about Lake Merritt not being different. You lose all credibility there.Look up measure DD. The buildings do look the same and are the same but the demographics have changed. One bedrooms were 850-950/month 8 years ago. Now, they are 1,800 to 2,500 or so. You clearly don't get out much or know what is going on in Oakland today. Anyway, it's all cool. Cheers dude.

[Bisaro TMF]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Every friend I have that lives in Oakland has been mugged. One of my friends got a divorce from her wealthy husband and ended up moving to Oakland (Lake Merritt). A few months later she posted on facebook saying, she didn't think the rumors of Oakland were true, but I was mugged today walking from my apartment to my car at 6:00 pm.

Every friend I have who lives in SF has been robbed there.

[Bisaro TMF]

Originally Posted by green papaya

I seldom go to Oakland, but I know muggings / robberies are very common, a black guy tried to rob me as soon as I got off the bus, within 10 minutes while I was waiting for somebody, he was waiting behind some bushes, and this was in the daytime.

LOL @ A Black guy. Just had to emphasize that to a bunch of random people who are not cops taking a report. Ok

[04kL4nD]

Originally Posted by Oakformonday

You can't be serious about Lake Merritt not being different. You lose all credibility there.Look up measure DD. The buildings do look the same and are the same but the demographics have changed. One bedrooms were 850-950/month 8 years ago. Now, they are 1,800 to 2,500 or so. You clearly don't get out much or know what is going on in Oakland today. Anyway, it's all cool. Cheers dude.

I'm entirely serious- I live a few blocks from the Lake

The housing stock is virtually the same and it's still a diverse, well-integrated neighborhood. The only thing that's changed about living in the apartments/condos around the Lake are the rents. When I lived off of Lakeshore/Brooklyn, we paid $1600 for a 2BR. Rents have gone up pretty much everywhere in Oakland. I already talked about how they cleaned up the Lake and I specifically mentioned that most of the businesses and restaurants are mostly still the same ones from when I moved to Lake Merritt in 2007. If you want to talk about night and day changes, the one neighborhood that comes to mind is Uptown- NOT Lake Merritt. Before they revitalized the Fox, Uptown wasn't a destination where people lived, let alone hung out. That neighborhood is completely different than it was 5 years ago, let alone 10- it's one of the hottest neighborhoods in the entire Bay Area. Maybe YOU haven't lived in Oakland for almost a decade, but I have. I know it a lot better than you'd think. Just out of curiosity, how long have YOU lived in Oakland?

Originally Posted by Bisaro TMF

Every friend I have who lives in SF has been robbed there.

Same.

[Bisaro TMF]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

I'm entirely serious- I live a few blocks from the Lake

The housing stock is virtually the same and it's still a diverse, well-integrated neighborhood. The only thing that's changed about living in the apartments/condos around the Lake are the rents. I already talked about how they cleaned up the Lake and I specifically mentioned that most of the businesses and restaurants are still the same one from when I moved to Lake Merritt in 2007. If you want to talk about night and day changes, the one neighborhood that comes to mind is Uptown- NOT Lake Merritt. Before they revitalized the Fox, Uptown wasn't a destination where people lived, let alone hung out. That neighborhood is completely different than it was 5 years ago- it's one of the hottest neighborhoods in the entire Bay Area. Maybe YOU haven't lived in Oakland for almost a decade, but I have. I know it a lot better than you'd think.

I purchased a condo in 2300 Broadway in 2006 when they had just finished them. The Area had just started taking off then. The next year it was alive and well, then by the time when they finished 438 West Grand with Pican etc. it was already vibrant and the whole First Friday had taken off. Uptown has been booming for at least 8 -9 years now.