Fifth Coolest City According to Forbes

[evergraystate]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Isn't Steve Forbes the editor? The guy who ran for president on the flat tax issue? One can only speculate what he thinks is cool. Relative density of urban cowboys?

Oh I'm sure Steve Forbes is the authority on COOL.

Originally Posted by Dport7674

Oakland is cool.

If you enjoy child prostitution, gang violence, side shows and police brutality.

[Dport7674]

Originally Posted by evergraystate

If you enjoy child prostitution, gang violence, side shows and police brutality.

Dramatic posters like you are the worst.

[Beenhere4ever]

How does the Oakland crime rate compare with actually cool cities? Don't want to be "dramatic", but facts never hurt.

[Dport7674]

Assuming a whole city is dangerous because it has criminal hot spots is pretty dramatic. I've spent time in Oakland and couldnt tell any difference between it and any other Ca. city as far as the crime level.

I currently live in Chicago, it has a pretty high crime rate, but that doesn't affect my daily life because I don't hang out in high crime areas.

[415_s2k]

I lived in Oakland for awhile, and was there at least two or three times a week after I'd moved to SF. If you avoid the nastier parts of West or South Oakland, you'll never get messed with or have trouble. Lake Merritt and the areas around it are totally safe and generally middle class.

[evergraystate]

Originally Posted by Dport7674

Assuming a whole city is dangerous because it has criminal hot spots is pretty dramatic. I've spent time in Oakland and couldnt tell any difference between it and any other Ca. city as far as the crime level.

I currently live in Chicago, it has a pretty high crime rate, but that doesn't affect my daily life because I don't hang out in high crime areas.

Right, because criminals only hang out in high crime areas and only prey on other criminals. Genius!
http://oakland.crimespotting.org/map/

[NewtoSD?]

Originally Posted by evergraystate

Right, because criminals only hang out in high crime areas and only prey on other criminals. Genius!
Oakland Crimespotting: Map

Yes, your point is accurate. You "could" have issues. Most likely not though if like 415 said, you stear clear of the bad areas. Hell, I went to a rave once and had to stop at a gas station in the Ghetto of Richmond on the way. Only after I asked to use the bathroom did I realize that I was the only white guy there, and to top it off the girls I went with had painted up my nails and sprayed up my hair, which I had totally forgotten about LOL. The answer? "Nah MF we ain't got no bathroom here". No guns or broken bones though.

I worked in downtown Oakland for a couple years, went out to eat, worked out in the gym, walked around the city. Never had a single problem. Not one. The only people that are truly freaked out by Oakland are people that have never been there or the ones that live in the heart of the violence.

[Beenhere4ever]

In those crime-ridden cities, do you ever have to drive THROUGH a bad area at night? One other thing: We recently had a huge outburst of crime. People from our "bad areas" came downtown and did some wilding. I almost never go downtown. Have no need or desire most of the time (they've been working on it as an "entertainment" district for years, and now the undesirables can't stay away). But it can be hard to get from one good area to another good area without passing through a really bad one. Altho, people who only drive on freeways do have a point in this regard. Freeways involve no stopping, so even if the freeway goes through a bad area, the chances of encounters are minimal, even if you break down.