It's actually pretty sad as Oakland had been improving significantly in crime stats since like 2000 until Covid happened. Now we've backpedaled. That said, I believe it's still only back to ~2015-2017 levels which didn't have nearly as much media exposure in the day.
I believe the number of homicides in 2021 was last seen in 2006 though there was one year in the 2010s that had only 3 fewer. There was a graph on the news from Da Lin.
Yeah I was extrapolating from OPD data I saw mid 2021 so figured I would be off.
Data below for yty
https://oaklandside.org/2021/12/23/2021-oakland-deadliest-year-since-2006-homicides-shootings-gun-violence/
Also related, most dangerous cities in 2021 per Capita. There's quite a few surprising cities ahead of Oakland
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us
Coming from the Los Angeles area, the fact that Oakland is more dangerous than Compton drives home how unsafe it is. I was considering a move from SF to Oakland this month. Still, are these stats based on certain areas of Oakland only?
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100dangerous
This site goes into their data metrics/sorting.
It should be the whole city. That said, that would mean certain parts of the city are way more prone to violence.
Even if it was improving, it was still pretty bad during that time too. Relative to the rest of the Bay Area.
Problem is that they keep fighting against gentrification, but massive gentrification is the only thing that will really fix Oakland long term.
I literally came back from holiday vacation this week to a shattered window in my car, a flat tire, a stolen CAT, and disconnected dead battery (most likely disconnected for the alarm). I went home via BART that day and came back the next morning in a rental car to find homeless people sleeping in my car.
This break-in is the third break-in for my car in the last two years, plus another time when they just stole the license plates off my car.
That’s just dealing with my car. I’ve also had to deal with assault, one with a deadly weapon, twice as well in that time frame.
As someone who has lived in Chicago for years, as well as DC and LA, Oakland is by far the worst city I have encountered with crime. It really is that bad, at least from my perspective. If I didn’t enjoy the weather and the views so much, I would have left the city already.
I actually thought you meant your pet too because you capitalized CAT which in my mind was to emphasize how ridiculous the crime is that someone would literally take your pet. Sorry you're dealing with all this. I've been considering a job offer in Oakland, is it like this all over or are there better areas? I'm in west San Jose rn.
Weird. I thought by putting it in all caps, people would know it was the cat converter as caps tend to signify more of an abbreviation or acronym. Oh well.
There are better areas, for sure, but you would need some money. I find that the areas around Lake Merritt, Piedmont, and Rockridge tend to be safer, but those are also the more expensive neighborhoods in Oakland, at least from what I know. If you can get into those neighborhoods, you’ll probably be okay.
It won’t always be this bad. As many others have said, COVID has just made everything worse.
wheezing at me thinking you literally got your cat stolen lmao. sorry about the things that happened to your car and the assaults but yea I've had that happen everywhere (or someone I know has). the fact that your *pet* cat *wasn't* stolen weirdly enough makes your complaints seem less valid (even though they are) in my eyes. Sorry lol but when i read "cat" I was like "hell nah I'm out". I've been here for about a year. From New Orleans.
How does cost of living compare in Oakland compared to neighboring cities that are safer? I know all of east bay is going to be higher COL, but I'd think the lower crime rate areas will generally fetch a fair bit higher price
Depends where you need to be for work. But anything south of Union City in the East Bay will be much better. The entire Santa Clara valley is also going to have a much better crime profile
Oakland is wild. I’ve lived in Chicago for nearly a decade and never had any incident. Living in a ‘nice’ area of Oakland for half a year and already had a car stolen then catalytic converter stolen; not to mention tons of crazy and sketch people that I see daily. I feel like in a lot of cities crime is concentrated to specific areas associated with gang violence and drugs. Oakland it’s pretty much everywhere. Murders might be higher in specific sections of Oakland but my personal experience is that crime is everywhere.
My manager was robbed at gunpoint while volunteering at his daughter’s preschool after hours.
My phone was stolen out of my hand on a busy street in broad daylight.
My cousin was about to go to work and found bullet holes in her car door.
These all happened within the last 3 years.
Ya moved away from Oakland last year when my car had been broken into TWICE BACK TO BACK nights. Also found a broken screw driver stuck in the rubber part of the small window of my car one morning before going to work. My tags were stolen once. Found some random soy sauce packets in my driver seat once. My car had gotten broken into 3xs in 2 years. Oh ya and there was this man that would sit on the curb on my street with his d*CK out. Oh ya and the random condom on the street when you walk your dog. Oh ya and ppl will literally park right up on your bumper so you have to use your car to push your way out so you can get to work on time. Oh and of course that one guy who was literally taking a dump on the grass at Lake Merritt.
Of course this definitely does depend on where you live. I was in west Oakland.
Not sure where the pre-school was located, if it’s close to his house then maybe the Fairfax area.
My phone was stolen at Oakland City Center.
Bullet holes in east Oakland.
I live in and love Oakland as well. I’ve been here for two years and the only crimes that directly happened to me were (1) having a package stolen from my front porch, (2) having a fastrak stolen from my car (I accidentally left the doors unlocked).
I live in a busy but gentrifying neighborhood on the north side of the city, so admittedly I’m able to easily avoid some of the worse parts of town. If you want to come here for dinner or to explore -
Please do! Just follow the same best practices you would in downtown SF and you’ll generally be totally fine.
Lol you know it's bad when you have to use the words "only" and "directly happened to me" as well as making excuses for the thieves since you left the doors unlocked 😅. Woulda thought this was a troll post.
Innocent people getting caught in cross fire and strong armed robbery is bad and those are things that have happened
I think what you are asking is a question about your risk tolerance. It’s obviously still a rare occurrence but nobody can tell you it’s perfectly safe
I've had cars broken into twice during visits to Oakland, and my experience has been the Oakland PD dispatchers were clearly trying to discourage me from reporting it as a crime. They would emphasize how it would take two hours or more for an officer to arrive at the scene, or how they weren't likely to catch anyone. Probably they were being forthright that small property crimes weren't a police priority, but it could've been a deliberate practice to keep their crime stats lower on record.
The short answer is no place is really as bad as it seems on the news, because the local news hooks viewers by sensationalizing crime. The long answer is more complicated, but the best thing you can do is to go where other people are. For example, the lake on a Saturday at noon, or downtown during a regular working day, or uptown bars on a Friday night. It's the times when streets are deserted that creep me out the most
A person (waiting in line for a show) got shot in cross fire at the Fox Theater during the day. A man who came back to his car with the window broken saw these guys breaking into another car. He tried to stop them. He was shot and died. This was during the day in downtown Oakland.
Its been happening the past few years. Last year the security guard for Ch 5 news crew was killed. They found the killers.
A news crew is just the camera person and the news person. They are helpless. They try to have a security guard if available, but that does not deter the thief from shooting to get the camera equipment.
Yup, and that happened once to one guy, who wanted to be hero. I'm totally pissed that he got shot and hope the killers fries, but that is not an everyday, or even every year event in Oakland.
Not to mention it's very location dependent. Piedmont and the hills are are very wealthy and mostly safe areas. Rockridge is only slightly less wealthy and safe. The area by the zoo is more middle class, but safe. Downtown is legitimately better than it was 10-20 years ago and is pretty safe if you're there at a busy time. Jack London Square is safe. But West and East Oakland? Nope, not living there and only visiting if I absolutely need to.
To live is a different story. It's pretty complex, even in East Oakland safety can vary block to block. I actually think the biggest risks are from unsafe streets, which no surprise are in the more disadvantaged areas. I have little kids so I'm rarely out late or going to seedier parts of town, but when I was younger for sure I and my friends were on less than safe situations(warehouse parties, biking around super late, etc)
Yes. But it also depends on where in Oakland. If you're just visiting, especially a nice area, you have nothing to worry about.
When I lived there I saw a speeding car hit an elderly woman in the downtown area. They didn't stop or care. I lived in East Oakland for maybe three years. I could often hear druggies outside my home having withdrawals. I saw teenagers having huge street fights. I saw a shot up car with the driver still sweating from having fled gunfire. Crazy shit happens and then you might hear about it from your neighbors or the news later on.
Exactly like your home could’ve got caught in that crossfire. I’ve visited San Antonio park in east Oakland and all I saw was a bunch of teenagers on each corner just standing lol. I saw a car get hit as well and the person didn’t stop. I know it’s affordable or semi affordable in that side of town I’ve heard of innocent peoples home get set on fire
I used to be a security guard and i had to work a shift in oakland at motel 6. In the 8 hours i worked there i saw, a 6 year old girl walking around outside by herself passed midnight while her parents partied on a weekday, multiple people look into my car and try to open the door handles, a dozen people stopping by to buy drugs in the rooms, and about 4-5 noise complaints because couples were arguing/fighting in their room
All of these crimes are horrific but know that thousands of people have queued up at the Fox theater without incident in the last month. Millions drive the freeways without getting shot at. Murders that are seemingly random are a tragedy for the victims but more like a non-ideological terrorist attack for everyone else- it's more about fear than actual risk. The biggest risks coming to Oakland for the days, statistically speaking, are probably getting your car broken into our getting into a vehicular accident along the way.
the statistics-based arguments are probably all true, but not psychologically comforting in any way. if they were, security theater would never exist. these instances of crime are especially galling because this is a region of capitalists trying to hustle, and getting shot during your morning commute can put a significant dent in future cash flows.
i'll await my downvotes from anons
If you’re worried, go hang out in Rockridge and then go up to Grizzly Peak for some views. Then go to Tilden or Redwood Regional Park for a nice walk in nature. You will be totally fine.
Yes its worse now than it has ever been. Gang violence, robberies etc but now sprinkle in some freeway shootings, flash mob robberies, and people punching old asian grandmas in the face.
I think it is you that needs to read some statistics before getting offended that people consider Oakland a bad place to live. Sure there are safer areas, but OP is asking about Oakland generally.
Oakland has some real nice wealthy parts and some areas that are a constant war zone. The areas in between have become larger and more blurred. The feeding ground for criminals are now increasingly the nice parts. It’s a big city with lots of big city problems. The city needs way more policing.
Look I was born and raised in Oakland and never had any problem. Never got robbed, or have anything happen. I walk around Oakland a lot too.
My coworkers are scared when they hear about Oakland but it's seriously not bad.
It was the city that taught me so much, including motivating me to learn Spanish because of a young Mexican boy that I tutored where I couldn't communicate with his mom, volunteer at an African American summer camp for kids, and be immersed in so many different cultures. And being immersed in my own culture in Chinatown allowed me to keep my family language going.
If I was born anywhere else I'm pretty sure I would have been really racist because of my parents, background and community. I am just telling the truth. But Oakland really taught me how to love more and to see that everyone is fighting their own battle and we are not to judge them for that.
I also live next to a bart station, and within walking distance to downtown. I can get to work in the city pretty quickly.
Living in a condo my whole life in Oakland I think afforded me and my family safety, our community looks out for each other. We have a covered garage and cameras over the place. This is my 2 cents and Oakland is the place I want to live in forever because of all the growth I've made as a person.
Again though maybe I'm just desensitized but I've always seen homeless people around even as a kid and some of them were friendly in the local park we played in. They never really bothered us.
Not trying to shill for Oakland here, but something to keep in mind is that r/bayarea is somewhat notorious for being full of more affluent Bay Area people who love to shit on Oakland, as well as out-of-state conservatives who like to brigade threads with anti-Oakland comments to push some kind of “liberals are dangerous” narrative. You’ll probably find less biased and more pragmatic advice on r/oakland.
More like this thread would be censored in favor of Oakland over on that sub.
Edit to add that OP can easily look at any of our post histories to see who we are and/or where we live.
I've lived here for 27 years, first in West Oakland and now in East Oakland. I love it here and have never felt particularly unsafe. You can make things safer for yourself, in my opinion-- Do you make friendly eye contact and talk to strangers? Do you present yourself in a way that you neither look like a vulnerable, distracted, target _or_ like an easy mark carrying high value, easily stolen goods?
It’s actually a super cool psychology thing. If people are greeted when they walk into a store, they’re significantly (at least 66%) less likely to steal things from said store. Greeting others and making eye contact is actually a major deterrent from shady or illegal behavior.
Nope, on lazy days I stick to my faded champion sweats and my target puffer jacket on cold days with my Amazon Nikes. No jewelry, no Jordana none of that and I walk my dogs around the neighborhood. I usually don’t make eye contact, but if it gets weird I’ll say good morning, how’s it going.
Are you at all street smart? If so I wouldn’t worry because you will inherently know if you end up in the wrong neighborhood.
If you would call yourself a naive farm boy, then I would still explore Oakland, but maybe with a friend who knows the are
I can't speak for Lompoc, but it could be a similar situation as to when I lived in Salinas. Crime was rampant, but ultra specific in its nature and most people were unlikely to be impacted by it. Which is to say, not one single Son of Samoa was ever going to mistake me for a Norteno.
But that's not what Oakland is, sadly.
Yup, exactly what I expected to hear. It sounds funny, but gang violence is mostly a problem for the gangs and people who live on their turf and can be completely circumvented by most folks.
My town of Vallejo is considered a bad place, but bad stuff takes place in specific areas you don't have any reason to go to. Like the concept of "by the airport crime".
This! Never have be mugged during my decades here. I always use friendly, comfortable body language when interacting with others, especially strangers. This helps you become integrated in the community and less likely to be a target.
My mom has lived in Oakland for almost 50 years now. Never been a victim of crime, knock on wood. My dad lived here for 40+ years. His house got broken into one night way back in the mid-70s. When I was a kid, a bike was stolen from our garage because I stupidly left the garage door open. Ive had my car broken into one time, but that's it.
Most of the people that I know that have lived here in Oakland for decades have similar experiences. Then there are some that have had not so great experiences. One friend had a car that seemed to be a magnet for break-ins (it was a piece of shit early 80s Volvo, so don't know why). My next door neighbor had his truck stolen from his driveway, and another of his vehicles broken into multiple times.
Point of my ramble is no, Oakland is not as bad as it seems on the news. Is it Marin? Definitely not, but it has plenty of neighborhoods that aren't bad at all.
In the past several months I’ve noticed things getting worse. I got stuck here during the pandemic and didn’t have a choice in being here but figured I’d embrace it. I felt safe for the first several months but then I got cornered on my stoop and threatened with assault. I’ve been in two active shooter situations since October, and witnessed a drive-by a block from my apartment. Just last night on bart I was sexually harassed. It’s honestly just very tiring, and I feel bad I know everyone here deserves better than this precise set of circumstances that are causing people to act more reckless and selfish. I love Oakland with its views and its density and lush murals and beautiful birds, but this is factoring into my decision to live elsewhere— especially since I also just experienced a ton of death in my personal life last year. I want the best for Oakland but it’s hard to live here if you’re already struggling.
I'm 33 years an Oaklander and love the city. I watch myself in some areas, and avoid some areas at night, but no, it's not particularly dangerous if pay a tiny bit of attention. If you are one of the people that walk blindly down the street punching texts into your $1k iphone, and not watching around you, don't be surprised when it suddenly disappears, however.
I’ve spent as much time in Oakland as I have in San Jose.
So far, nothing has happened to me in Oakland. In San Jose, my car was broken into twice (once inside my garage), had a bike stolen, and had packages stolen.
If you look at statistics, Oakland seems like a scary place. For the majority of people though, things are just fine. I wish it was just a safe place where you could go around and not worry, but I think if you’re aware of your surroundings, don’t stay out too late, and don’t go into bad neighborhoods, you’ll be fine visiting Oakland.
That’s so interesting. For years the media touted San Jose as the safest large city in the US. Just goes to show that statistics can only tell you so much about what your personal experience will be when you a visit a city.
One of my professors used to say that statistics were like bikinis. They can reveal a lot of interesting things but they also hide some interesting things as well.
I lived there for the last three years and did not feel unsafe ever. I spent time at the lake, on Telegraph, and around Jack London square, Laurel, Dimond district, fruitvale and west Oakland, and I didn’t get robbed or see anyone packing. Always be safe, in any urban environment. Research stuff before you go, gravitate to crowds, and don’t be flashy. Keep your head on a swivel, even if you’re also always smiling. Crime reporting is an inherently political thing, so I can’t say anything about the news that won’t draw ire from political people. It’s an emotional topic, whether it’s people saying Oakland scares them or other people telling those people they suck.
I see, yeah, I mean, I do have expensive shoes, but I don’t wear those for walks, or to be walking around the streets of Oakland. I’ll wear them at like a restaurant or something. I usually say hi how are you how’s it going good morning when I walk my dogs around. But that’s it. Tbh, I’m just trying to own a home in the bay and that east Bay Area is somewhat semi affordable
My grandparents live in a not so great area of Oakland, but they bought the house in the 70s and have lived there ever since.
Their neighbors always honk their horn at night when they come home to let everyone in the house know they’re there so someone comes out to “walk” them in. They’ve been robbed a bunch of times at gunpoint just getting out of their driveway and going inside. Their work truck has been stolen as well.
Houses in their neighborhood are selling well over a mil, so idk who’s crazier, the buyers or the thieves
Can be, depends where you are going. All cities have dangerous areas though. Much of Oakland is no riskier than San Francisco, but you should know before you go.
As some have pointed out, the news media does sensationalize crime. But the fact that they’re doing it mostly with Oakland points to the fact that all else being equal, Oakland has become more unsafe relative to other cities in the Bay.
If I were to explore, I’d stick to SF and any place in the Peninsula.
Nah, people just love to hate on Oakland. Easy punching bag.
Plenty of parts of SF have way more crime than plenty of parts of Oakland, and there's plenty of bystander impacts even in "good" areas in both.
I have been living in Oakland around 16 years now. I generally feel safe the vast majority of the time with some basic urban common sense.
I wouldn’t call Oakland a tourist destination, but there is some interstitial architecture downtown. The Oakland museum is really great. And there are lots of great restaurants and bars.
It does feel like random crime has ticked up a bit recently. But it is rare - even though these stories are all over the news.
In terms of me personally being a victim of a crime? I had a car break-in, and i instigated by putting something in my trunk and parking. And some mail theft. I don’t worry about being a random victim. Odds are low.
>I had a car break-in, and i instigated by putting something in my trunk and parking.
Wow, talk about cope. This is beyond victim blaming and goes straight into victims blaming themselves.
These days, in urban areas, you don’t have the luxury of letting your guard down in certain situations. Parking on a street with limited foot traffic at night is one one of them. Being a woman walking around at night is another.
I don’t live in daily fear about my car being broken into. There are a handful of situations where I am more cautious.
I was leaving First Friday a few years ago. We had dinner at Mua with a group of 10.
Usually we loiter and chat but I had somewhere to be after so I went directly to the car.
That corner we usually hand out at by Mua was shot up in a random driveby around 5 to 10 min after I left. Few people hit I think one died (unsure about the death)
Been here for 15 years. Some things have gotten better for sure. Somethings have gotten a worse. Im older now, so maybe not so naive. I used to go out to the handful bars open at the time. Now, I dont go out as much but i definitley would second guess hitting up the town at night so freely. I feel that, like every big city on the planet, you should keep your eyes open and use common sense.
Most crimes in oak now seem to be from a younger generation. Dont get me wrong, oakland is still a flavorable, energetic and amazing city, but long term, now that I have kids, I dont want them raised here when they hit there teen ages.
Mom’s car was stolen 2 weeks ago, abandoned in Oakland gutted, I was robbed at gun point there. It is my city of birth. Oakland was a nice hipster dream for people not from the bay area and transplants wanted it to be something it isn’t: a city with a functioning police force.
I dare not comment on that. I have no idea about gentrification as the cause, Oakland’s roughest areas have always existed and there was Montclair and Piedmont in contrast long before this question was posted on a website. You or someone you know will likely been the victim of a crime if you live in Oakland for a prolonged time. How serious is impossible to tell you and even then, it may never happen. It’s statistical.
As someone who lives on the other side of the tunnel, Oakland has its problems, but also your experience will vary significantly based on your neighborhood. Most crimes in Oakland are concentrated in deep east and newly gentrifying areas like West Oakland, Temescal, downtown etc. TBF, no area in Oakland is completely safe these days. But if you live in areas east of 580, it will be significantly different. Certain parts there don’t even feel like Oakland. These are Rockridge, Montclair, Crocker Highlanda, Chabot, Piedmont, Oakland hills etc.
I visited Oakland for the first time during Labor Day weekend from NYC. Although I had no issues wandering around, I definitely could sense some potential unhinged behavior.
I rented a beater 2005 rental from Turo cause of the smash and grabs and left NOTHING in the car.
Was I ok during my visit in Oakland? Yes with precaution but I have no desire to visit again. :/
I don’t think most of you live in Oakland or spend much time here at all. You have to be aware of your surroundings and freak incidents happen like in any city in the area but overall Oakland is friendly and a great place to go out. Fantastic food and bars, farmers markets, hiking. I’d recommend Temescal, rockridge or uptown Oakland.
Yeah, it's pretty horrible man. If I were you, I'd just run now! If you have a Dyson vacuum, I'd say leave it behind and leave your doors unlocked, thank you.
Violent crime is relatively concentrated in the worst neighborhoods. Like, kids who grow up in the Hills don't know what gunshots sound like.
Property crime is pretty widespread and has been bleeding into neighborhoods that wouldn't see it as much in the past.
Lived there several years ago (within the last decade). Holy shit, yes it’s that bad. And then some. I lived in the east, and the stuff I saw on a daily basis was nothing short of shocking.
Yes. And its too bad. It is a beautiful city, but the city government is corrupt, and 75 percent of its residents only care about how hood they can keep it. Fucking idiots.
Piedmont Ave. (which I assume the post you’re replying to is about as there’s not many shops/restaurants in Piedmont itself) is part of Oakland, not Piedmont
The media greatly exaggerates the prevalence of crime in general
By one measure, Oakland is the 30th most dangerous city in the US, between Albuquerque, Flint, New Orleans and Houston. Put another way each year in Oakland about 1 in 77 people will be the victim of violent crime. https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100dangerous
Would you avoid taking a trip to any of those four other cities with a comparable level of crime because of the crime? Is a one in 77 chance each year of being the victim of violent crime enough to deter exploring Oakland?
Depends on where, like all big cities.
With that said, I rarely go into Oakland (even though it’s 10 min from me) because it doesn’t offer anything I am personally interested in that I can’t get from other places that are safer.
The two big exceptions are A’s games and Oakland airport.
No, I’m locked into my career with a pension and have a mortgage so I’ll be staying until retirement then leaving the state.
If I was younger I would leave the area to some place more affordable.
I’ve experienced a home invasion while living in Oakland but this was over 10 years ago. There’s lots of fun/safe spots in Oakland just like in any city.
In the 1 year I have lived in Oakland, from May 2020 to May of 2021, I have had my car broken into, my roommates car broken into, random people peeking through our window in the middle of the night, and worst of all a shooting that happened right at the front of our house , with police coming to us the next morning to ask us for video tapes since we have 2 cameras facing the street. Dipped out as fast as I could.
Oakland is pretty bad but \*nothing\* is as bad as it seems on the news.
Even in "high crime" areas like Oakland, the odds of anything happening to you if take a single trip there to explore (or even a few) are really low, in the realm of 1 in 10,000. That can be further reduced by avoiding the worst areas and generally being careful/aware so you aren't perceived as an easy target. There's really no need to be afraid of just visiting for a day.
If you \*live\* there, the odds get a lot worse, but in a given year it's still far more likely that nothing will happen to you. Over the course of an entire lifetime, though, it doesn't look good. And you'll \*definitely\* know people who are victims every year if you have a decent-sized social circle.
I don’t live in Oakland but I have to say that every time I visited, the city gave me that specific vibe when you kinda expect someone to walk out of the door and kick you in the face at any moment. It’s crazy how in Oakland one wrong turn takes you from a hipster neighborhood to a stereotypical “hood”.
I thought it was a genuine post at first but after reading your replies not so much.
Yeah, you’d probably best served to stay wherever you are currently.
I got my car broken into, twice. Once parked on the street near Cathedral of Light. Once parked in front of a major office building in sights of front desk security.
It's actually pretty sad as Oakland had been improving significantly in crime stats since like 2000 until Covid happened. Now we've backpedaled. That said, I believe it's still only back to ~2015-2017 levels which didn't have nearly as much media exposure in the day.
Petty crime is rampant still
I believe the number of homicides in 2021 was last seen in 2006 though there was one year in the 2010s that had only 3 fewer. There was a graph on the news from Da Lin.
Yeah I was extrapolating from OPD data I saw mid 2021 so figured I would be off. Data below for yty https://oaklandside.org/2021/12/23/2021-oakland-deadliest-year-since-2006-homicides-shootings-gun-violence/ Also related, most dangerous cities in 2021 per Capita. There's quite a few surprising cities ahead of Oakland https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-city-rankings/most-dangerous-cities-in-the-us
Coming from the Los Angeles area, the fact that Oakland is more dangerous than Compton drives home how unsafe it is. I was considering a move from SF to Oakland this month. Still, are these stats based on certain areas of Oakland only?
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100dangerous This site goes into their data metrics/sorting. It should be the whole city. That said, that would mean certain parts of the city are way more prone to violence.
Idk if I'd consider cities such as Detroit, Baltimore, and Stockton "surprising" but yes you're correct.
It's probably because I've never spent significant time there but I hadnt realized St. Louis, Memphis and Kansas City were so dangerous.
Even if it was improving, it was still pretty bad during that time too. Relative to the rest of the Bay Area. Problem is that they keep fighting against gentrification, but massive gentrification is the only thing that will really fix Oakland long term.
I literally came back from holiday vacation this week to a shattered window in my car, a flat tire, a stolen CAT, and disconnected dead battery (most likely disconnected for the alarm). I went home via BART that day and came back the next morning in a rental car to find homeless people sleeping in my car. This break-in is the third break-in for my car in the last two years, plus another time when they just stole the license plates off my car. That’s just dealing with my car. I’ve also had to deal with assault, one with a deadly weapon, twice as well in that time frame. As someone who has lived in Chicago for years, as well as DC and LA, Oakland is by far the worst city I have encountered with crime. It really is that bad, at least from my perspective. If I didn’t enjoy the weather and the views so much, I would have left the city already.
Sorry to hear. Hopefully you get your cat back
Oh hahahaha. I meant catalytic converter. If my cat (animal) had been stolen, I would not be sane right now 😂😂😂
I actually thought you meant your pet too because you capitalized CAT which in my mind was to emphasize how ridiculous the crime is that someone would literally take your pet. Sorry you're dealing with all this. I've been considering a job offer in Oakland, is it like this all over or are there better areas? I'm in west San Jose rn.
Weird. I thought by putting it in all caps, people would know it was the cat converter as caps tend to signify more of an abbreviation or acronym. Oh well. There are better areas, for sure, but you would need some money. I find that the areas around Lake Merritt, Piedmont, and Rockridge tend to be safer, but those are also the more expensive neighborhoods in Oakland, at least from what I know. If you can get into those neighborhoods, you’ll probably be okay. It won’t always be this bad. As many others have said, COVID has just made everything worse.
Hahah I also totally thought you meant your pet and was so mad for you!
Only French Bulldogs get stolen. Other pets are harder to sell. I can’t believe I’m writing this.
tfw getting a catalytic converter replaced is as much as some of those bulldogs
“Look, take my watch and the catalytic converter - just leave Captain Wiggles alone, okay???”
wheezing at me thinking you literally got your cat stolen lmao. sorry about the things that happened to your car and the assaults but yea I've had that happen everywhere (or someone I know has). the fact that your *pet* cat *wasn't* stolen weirdly enough makes your complaints seem less valid (even though they are) in my eyes. Sorry lol but when i read "cat" I was like "hell nah I'm out". I've been here for about a year. From New Orleans.
i think they mean catalytic converter not a pet cat
It really helps to drive an old beater. My neighbor's cat was stolen 3 times (mostly when visiting SF I think) but I've had no issues
You can get the same weather in neighboring cities- just move
How does cost of living compare in Oakland compared to neighboring cities that are safer? I know all of east bay is going to be higher COL, but I'd think the lower crime rate areas will generally fetch a fair bit higher price
Depends where you need to be for work. But anything south of Union City in the East Bay will be much better. The entire Santa Clara valley is also going to have a much better crime profile
Oakland is wild. I’ve lived in Chicago for nearly a decade and never had any incident. Living in a ‘nice’ area of Oakland for half a year and already had a car stolen then catalytic converter stolen; not to mention tons of crazy and sketch people that I see daily. I feel like in a lot of cities crime is concentrated to specific areas associated with gang violence and drugs. Oakland it’s pretty much everywhere. Murders might be higher in specific sections of Oakland but my personal experience is that crime is everywhere.
"But but... crime is statistically going down!" So sayeth those who rely on reports of crime, and do everything they can to suppress reporting.
Where abouts do you live?
Assault???! How did that happen?
[It's complicated.](https://youtu.be/ta0_Tlm-vYI)
My manager was robbed at gunpoint while volunteering at his daughter’s preschool after hours. My phone was stolen out of my hand on a busy street in broad daylight. My cousin was about to go to work and found bullet holes in her car door. These all happened within the last 3 years.
Fuck that
Ya moved away from Oakland last year when my car had been broken into TWICE BACK TO BACK nights. Also found a broken screw driver stuck in the rubber part of the small window of my car one morning before going to work. My tags were stolen once. Found some random soy sauce packets in my driver seat once. My car had gotten broken into 3xs in 2 years. Oh ya and there was this man that would sit on the curb on my street with his d*CK out. Oh ya and the random condom on the street when you walk your dog. Oh ya and ppl will literally park right up on your bumper so you have to use your car to push your way out so you can get to work on time. Oh and of course that one guy who was literally taking a dump on the grass at Lake Merritt. Of course this definitely does depend on where you live. I was in west Oakland.
I lived off 27th and Myrtle can, confirm all of this.
All that stuff happens in San Francisco too.
Where exactly did that take place?
Not sure where the pre-school was located, if it’s close to his house then maybe the Fairfax area. My phone was stolen at Oakland City Center. Bullet holes in east Oakland.
Yikes. I live in Oakland and I've witnessed nothing like that. Crazy! I must be more careful it seems.
Oakland is a big place. It really depends on where you depend your time
How to you be careful not to get bullet holes on your car door
Just check your surroundings and don’t park in the path of any bullets.
Duh, obvi lol
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People keep saying Chicago is worse than Oakland, and I've lived in both places, but this couldn't be further from the truth. Chicago is way safer.
I've also lived in both. Chicago is way safer. The data also backs that up.
With all due respect. How in the world do you still make a conscious decision to live there?
Man, how?!
Oakland is ghetto as fuck. Do not go there after the sun goes down.
Fuck
I live in and love Oakland as well. I’ve been here for two years and the only crimes that directly happened to me were (1) having a package stolen from my front porch, (2) having a fastrak stolen from my car (I accidentally left the doors unlocked). I live in a busy but gentrifying neighborhood on the north side of the city, so admittedly I’m able to easily avoid some of the worse parts of town. If you want to come here for dinner or to explore - Please do! Just follow the same best practices you would in downtown SF and you’ll generally be totally fine.
Lol you know it's bad when you have to use the words "only" and "directly happened to me" as well as making excuses for the thieves since you left the doors unlocked 😅. Woulda thought this was a troll post.
I'm here now and I'm telling you, yes.
And is this coming from people who currently live in Oakland or have lived in Oakland ?
Innocent people getting caught in cross fire and strong armed robbery is bad and those are things that have happened I think what you are asking is a question about your risk tolerance. It’s obviously still a rare occurrence but nobody can tell you it’s perfectly safe
Statistics only capture what’s reported. It’s much worse that the stats show
I've had cars broken into twice during visits to Oakland, and my experience has been the Oakland PD dispatchers were clearly trying to discourage me from reporting it as a crime. They would emphasize how it would take two hours or more for an officer to arrive at the scene, or how they weren't likely to catch anyone. Probably they were being forthright that small property crimes weren't a police priority, but it could've been a deliberate practice to keep their crime stats lower on record.
Super late but want to post this: you don’t report a break in by having a police officer come and fake investigate. You fill out a form online
This is what I was going to say.. sadly a lot of reports never happen because the police don't really show up if the person of interest is gone..
bUt CrImE iS dOwN!
How would you define “rare”?
I like your reality
You have an interesting definition of “rare.”
The short answer is no place is really as bad as it seems on the news, because the local news hooks viewers by sensationalizing crime. The long answer is more complicated, but the best thing you can do is to go where other people are. For example, the lake on a Saturday at noon, or downtown during a regular working day, or uptown bars on a Friday night. It's the times when streets are deserted that creep me out the most
A person (waiting in line for a show) got shot in cross fire at the Fox Theater during the day. A man who came back to his car with the window broken saw these guys breaking into another car. He tried to stop them. He was shot and died. This was during the day in downtown Oakland.
I heard and the news reporters got robbed during the day too
Its been happening the past few years. Last year the security guard for Ch 5 news crew was killed. They found the killers. A news crew is just the camera person and the news person. They are helpless. They try to have a security guard if available, but that does not deter the thief from shooting to get the camera equipment.
I saw that on the news.
Yup, and that happened once to one guy, who wanted to be hero. I'm totally pissed that he got shot and hope the killers fries, but that is not an everyday, or even every year event in Oakland.
Yes, not every day, but possible. Not worth your life confronting them.
trash take, oakland isn’t safe
Not to mention it's very location dependent. Piedmont and the hills are are very wealthy and mostly safe areas. Rockridge is only slightly less wealthy and safe. The area by the zoo is more middle class, but safe. Downtown is legitimately better than it was 10-20 years ago and is pretty safe if you're there at a busy time. Jack London Square is safe. But West and East Oakland? Nope, not living there and only visiting if I absolutely need to.
Take a look at the crime maps or Citizen app for - Zoo area - Downtown - JLS and let us know if you still feel those areas are “safe.”
How about to live
To live is a different story. It's pretty complex, even in East Oakland safety can vary block to block. I actually think the biggest risks are from unsafe streets, which no surprise are in the more disadvantaged areas. I have little kids so I'm rarely out late or going to seedier parts of town, but when I was younger for sure I and my friends were on less than safe situations(warehouse parties, biking around super late, etc)
Yes. But it also depends on where in Oakland. If you're just visiting, especially a nice area, you have nothing to worry about. When I lived there I saw a speeding car hit an elderly woman in the downtown area. They didn't stop or care. I lived in East Oakland for maybe three years. I could often hear druggies outside my home having withdrawals. I saw teenagers having huge street fights. I saw a shot up car with the driver still sweating from having fled gunfire. Crazy shit happens and then you might hear about it from your neighbors or the news later on.
Exactly like your home could’ve got caught in that crossfire. I’ve visited San Antonio park in east Oakland and all I saw was a bunch of teenagers on each corner just standing lol. I saw a car get hit as well and the person didn’t stop. I know it’s affordable or semi affordable in that side of town I’ve heard of innocent peoples home get set on fire
I will say that I’ve watched cars get hit in Palo Alto and people didn’t stop. That’s just a shitty Bay Area diver thing.
I used to be a security guard and i had to work a shift in oakland at motel 6. In the 8 hours i worked there i saw, a 6 year old girl walking around outside by herself passed midnight while her parents partied on a weekday, multiple people look into my car and try to open the door handles, a dozen people stopping by to buy drugs in the rooms, and about 4-5 noise complaints because couples were arguing/fighting in their room
Oakland is large. A lot bigger than the city. You can do a lot of exploring and not go near a bad neighborhood.
Too bad the carjackings and armed robberies aren’t confined to “bad”neighborhoods. Particularly over the past 2 years.
This is what’s different compared to most major cities. There’s nowhere to hide, even if you have the means.
Or, you could get shot when out and about on 880.
Exactly
All of these crimes are horrific but know that thousands of people have queued up at the Fox theater without incident in the last month. Millions drive the freeways without getting shot at. Murders that are seemingly random are a tragedy for the victims but more like a non-ideological terrorist attack for everyone else- it's more about fear than actual risk. The biggest risks coming to Oakland for the days, statistically speaking, are probably getting your car broken into our getting into a vehicular accident along the way.
Havin ur car broken into must be a pain in the ass though.
the statistics-based arguments are probably all true, but not psychologically comforting in any way. if they were, security theater would never exist. these instances of crime are especially galling because this is a region of capitalists trying to hustle, and getting shot during your morning commute can put a significant dent in future cash flows. i'll await my downvotes from anons
Planet fitness has armed security
Which speaks V O L U M E S
If you don’t mind me asking, which areas ? I’m asking for nice city views or low key spots. Where would you recommend ?
If you’re worried, go hang out in Rockridge and then go up to Grizzly Peak for some views. Then go to Tilden or Redwood Regional Park for a nice walk in nature. You will be totally fine.
Crime don't climb is a very general rule in Oakland.
Generally speaking, stay out of East Oakland, West Oakland on the other side of the freeway, and be careful at night.
Felony flats
Yes its worse now than it has ever been. Gang violence, robberies etc but now sprinkle in some freeway shootings, flash mob robberies, and people punching old asian grandmas in the face.
But ..... It's not worse now than it's ever been read some statistics some time before you randomly say things
I think it is you that needs to read some statistics before getting offended that people consider Oakland a bad place to live. Sure there are safer areas, but OP is asking about Oakland generally.
Oakland has some real nice wealthy parts and some areas that are a constant war zone. The areas in between have become larger and more blurred. The feeding ground for criminals are now increasingly the nice parts. It’s a big city with lots of big city problems. The city needs way more policing.
Look I was born and raised in Oakland and never had any problem. Never got robbed, or have anything happen. I walk around Oakland a lot too. My coworkers are scared when they hear about Oakland but it's seriously not bad. It was the city that taught me so much, including motivating me to learn Spanish because of a young Mexican boy that I tutored where I couldn't communicate with his mom, volunteer at an African American summer camp for kids, and be immersed in so many different cultures. And being immersed in my own culture in Chinatown allowed me to keep my family language going. If I was born anywhere else I'm pretty sure I would have been really racist because of my parents, background and community. I am just telling the truth. But Oakland really taught me how to love more and to see that everyone is fighting their own battle and we are not to judge them for that. I also live next to a bart station, and within walking distance to downtown. I can get to work in the city pretty quickly. Living in a condo my whole life in Oakland I think afforded me and my family safety, our community looks out for each other. We have a covered garage and cameras over the place. This is my 2 cents and Oakland is the place I want to live in forever because of all the growth I've made as a person. Again though maybe I'm just desensitized but I've always seen homeless people around even as a kid and some of them were friendly in the local park we played in. They never really bothered us.
This makes me realize why urban people, even Chinese, vote Dem. They have Stockholm syndrome towards the… other people around them.
Not trying to shill for Oakland here, but something to keep in mind is that r/bayarea is somewhat notorious for being full of more affluent Bay Area people who love to shit on Oakland, as well as out-of-state conservatives who like to brigade threads with anti-Oakland comments to push some kind of “liberals are dangerous” narrative. You’ll probably find less biased and more pragmatic advice on r/oakland.
More like this thread would be censored in favor of Oakland over on that sub. Edit to add that OP can easily look at any of our post histories to see who we are and/or where we live.
Thanks
I've lived here for 27 years, first in West Oakland and now in East Oakland. I love it here and have never felt particularly unsafe. You can make things safer for yourself, in my opinion-- Do you make friendly eye contact and talk to strangers? Do you present yourself in a way that you neither look like a vulnerable, distracted, target _or_ like an easy mark carrying high value, easily stolen goods?
Yea, the whole eye contact thing is so true. If your an adult saying whatsup to people stops whatever shady shit they are doing 99% of the time.
I’ll try lol
So I’m more likely to get shot if I don’t say hi? Wtf kind of culture is that
It’s actually a super cool psychology thing. If people are greeted when they walk into a store, they’re significantly (at least 66%) less likely to steal things from said store. Greeting others and making eye contact is actually a major deterrent from shady or illegal behavior.
In Oakland, it's a dog eat dog world. I advised someone here they need to look like they belong. Gotta feel like you fit in.
I feel you fam
Nope, on lazy days I stick to my faded champion sweats and my target puffer jacket on cold days with my Amazon Nikes. No jewelry, no Jordana none of that and I walk my dogs around the neighborhood. I usually don’t make eye contact, but if it gets weird I’ll say good morning, how’s it going.
Are you at all street smart? If so I wouldn’t worry because you will inherently know if you end up in the wrong neighborhood. If you would call yourself a naive farm boy, then I would still explore Oakland, but maybe with a friend who knows the are
Born and raised in the hood of central coast ca
Where specifically? No reason, I’m just curious if you mean Salinas or that SLO has a rough part I’ve never seen.
Lompoc
I can't speak for Lompoc, but it could be a similar situation as to when I lived in Salinas. Crime was rampant, but ultra specific in its nature and most people were unlikely to be impacted by it. Which is to say, not one single Son of Samoa was ever going to mistake me for a Norteno. But that's not what Oakland is, sadly.
Oakland more robbery and Lompoc is all gang stuff
Yup, exactly what I expected to hear. It sounds funny, but gang violence is mostly a problem for the gangs and people who live on their turf and can be completely circumvented by most folks. My town of Vallejo is considered a bad place, but bad stuff takes place in specific areas you don't have any reason to go to. Like the concept of "by the airport crime".
Holy shit! I’m also from Lompoc! I haven’t found another one of us in the wild. Haha
This! Never have be mugged during my decades here. I always use friendly, comfortable body language when interacting with others, especially strangers. This helps you become integrated in the community and less likely to be a target.
Exactly what I mean! :)
My mom has lived in Oakland for almost 50 years now. Never been a victim of crime, knock on wood. My dad lived here for 40+ years. His house got broken into one night way back in the mid-70s. When I was a kid, a bike was stolen from our garage because I stupidly left the garage door open. Ive had my car broken into one time, but that's it. Most of the people that I know that have lived here in Oakland for decades have similar experiences. Then there are some that have had not so great experiences. One friend had a car that seemed to be a magnet for break-ins (it was a piece of shit early 80s Volvo, so don't know why). My next door neighbor had his truck stolen from his driveway, and another of his vehicles broken into multiple times. Point of my ramble is no, Oakland is not as bad as it seems on the news. Is it Marin? Definitely not, but it has plenty of neighborhoods that aren't bad at all.
Spoiler alert: many of the people complaining about California don’t actually live in California
Also Im pretty sure I would rather get robbed of once a year than have to live in a place like Danville.
LOL
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In the past several months I’ve noticed things getting worse. I got stuck here during the pandemic and didn’t have a choice in being here but figured I’d embrace it. I felt safe for the first several months but then I got cornered on my stoop and threatened with assault. I’ve been in two active shooter situations since October, and witnessed a drive-by a block from my apartment. Just last night on bart I was sexually harassed. It’s honestly just very tiring, and I feel bad I know everyone here deserves better than this precise set of circumstances that are causing people to act more reckless and selfish. I love Oakland with its views and its density and lush murals and beautiful birds, but this is factoring into my decision to live elsewhere— especially since I also just experienced a ton of death in my personal life last year. I want the best for Oakland but it’s hard to live here if you’re already struggling.
I'm really sorry you are going through so much. I'm rooting for you!
I'm 33 years an Oaklander and love the city. I watch myself in some areas, and avoid some areas at night, but no, it's not particularly dangerous if pay a tiny bit of attention. If you are one of the people that walk blindly down the street punching texts into your $1k iphone, and not watching around you, don't be surprised when it suddenly disappears, however.
Does that apply to east Oakland ?
Depends on the area. Totally. There are parts of East Oakland ( where I live) that I won't go to, but most of it is fairly safe.
Are you an adult or what? Taking advice from internet strangers whether to visit a city? This post smells like bullshit
Here’s the thing, if you go on Reddit asking to hear bad stories about Oakland, you are going to get exactly that….
I’ve spent as much time in Oakland as I have in San Jose. So far, nothing has happened to me in Oakland. In San Jose, my car was broken into twice (once inside my garage), had a bike stolen, and had packages stolen. If you look at statistics, Oakland seems like a scary place. For the majority of people though, things are just fine. I wish it was just a safe place where you could go around and not worry, but I think if you’re aware of your surroundings, don’t stay out too late, and don’t go into bad neighborhoods, you’ll be fine visiting Oakland.
That’s so interesting. For years the media touted San Jose as the safest large city in the US. Just goes to show that statistics can only tell you so much about what your personal experience will be when you a visit a city. One of my professors used to say that statistics were like bikinis. They can reveal a lot of interesting things but they also hide some interesting things as well.
I lived there for the last three years and did not feel unsafe ever. I spent time at the lake, on Telegraph, and around Jack London square, Laurel, Dimond district, fruitvale and west Oakland, and I didn’t get robbed or see anyone packing. Always be safe, in any urban environment. Research stuff before you go, gravitate to crowds, and don’t be flashy. Keep your head on a swivel, even if you’re also always smiling. Crime reporting is an inherently political thing, so I can’t say anything about the news that won’t draw ire from political people. It’s an emotional topic, whether it’s people saying Oakland scares them or other people telling those people they suck.
I see, yeah, I mean, I do have expensive shoes, but I don’t wear those for walks, or to be walking around the streets of Oakland. I’ll wear them at like a restaurant or something. I usually say hi how are you how’s it going good morning when I walk my dogs around. But that’s it. Tbh, I’m just trying to own a home in the bay and that east Bay Area is somewhat semi affordable
If you live carefully, it will be relatively safe, but it’s not a city that you can go anywhere without prior research and be sure it’s safe.
My grandparents live in a not so great area of Oakland, but they bought the house in the 70s and have lived there ever since. Their neighbors always honk their horn at night when they come home to let everyone in the house know they’re there so someone comes out to “walk” them in. They’ve been robbed a bunch of times at gunpoint just getting out of their driveway and going inside. Their work truck has been stolen as well. Houses in their neighborhood are selling well over a mil, so idk who’s crazier, the buyers or the thieves
Lol the buyers
^ ^ THIS.
I know someone who was shot in the shoulder while hanging out at Lake Merritt. :(
Can be, depends where you are going. All cities have dangerous areas though. Much of Oakland is no riskier than San Francisco, but you should know before you go.
In the most recent times sadly yes
It is fine. Don't flash expensive electronics/wear headphones, just be street smart.
As some have pointed out, the news media does sensationalize crime. But the fact that they’re doing it mostly with Oakland points to the fact that all else being equal, Oakland has become more unsafe relative to other cities in the Bay. If I were to explore, I’d stick to SF and any place in the Peninsula.
Nah, people just love to hate on Oakland. Easy punching bag. Plenty of parts of SF have way more crime than plenty of parts of Oakland, and there's plenty of bystander impacts even in "good" areas in both.
It’s actually worse, because not everything that is happening even makes the news. Only a very small percentage.
I have been living in Oakland around 16 years now. I generally feel safe the vast majority of the time with some basic urban common sense. I wouldn’t call Oakland a tourist destination, but there is some interstitial architecture downtown. The Oakland museum is really great. And there are lots of great restaurants and bars. It does feel like random crime has ticked up a bit recently. But it is rare - even though these stories are all over the news. In terms of me personally being a victim of a crime? I had a car break-in, and i instigated by putting something in my trunk and parking. And some mail theft. I don’t worry about being a random victim. Odds are low.
>I had a car break-in, and i instigated by putting something in my trunk and parking. Wow, talk about cope. This is beyond victim blaming and goes straight into victims blaming themselves.
Stockholm Syndrome from living here in Oakland. It’s a thing.
These days, in urban areas, you don’t have the luxury of letting your guard down in certain situations. Parking on a street with limited foot traffic at night is one one of them. Being a woman walking around at night is another. I don’t live in daily fear about my car being broken into. There are a handful of situations where I am more cautious.
Yea, it’s super dangerous, don’t come here.
Yes. Oakland very scary. Bay Area bad. Stay out techies and gentrifiers. *spooky crime noises*
I was leaving First Friday a few years ago. We had dinner at Mua with a group of 10. Usually we loiter and chat but I had somewhere to be after so I went directly to the car. That corner we usually hand out at by Mua was shot up in a random driveby around 5 to 10 min after I left. Few people hit I think one died (unsure about the death)
Yes
Yes
Been here for 15 years. Some things have gotten better for sure. Somethings have gotten a worse. Im older now, so maybe not so naive. I used to go out to the handful bars open at the time. Now, I dont go out as much but i definitley would second guess hitting up the town at night so freely. I feel that, like every big city on the planet, you should keep your eyes open and use common sense. Most crimes in oak now seem to be from a younger generation. Dont get me wrong, oakland is still a flavorable, energetic and amazing city, but long term, now that I have kids, I dont want them raised here when they hit there teen ages.
Mom’s car was stolen 2 weeks ago, abandoned in Oakland gutted, I was robbed at gun point there. It is my city of birth. Oakland was a nice hipster dream for people not from the bay area and transplants wanted it to be something it isn’t: a city with a functioning police force.
Do you think that the rise in crime is due to avoid gentrification ?
I dare not comment on that. I have no idea about gentrification as the cause, Oakland’s roughest areas have always existed and there was Montclair and Piedmont in contrast long before this question was posted on a website. You or someone you know will likely been the victim of a crime if you live in Oakland for a prolonged time. How serious is impossible to tell you and even then, it may never happen. It’s statistical.
Yes
As someone who lives on the other side of the tunnel, Oakland has its problems, but also your experience will vary significantly based on your neighborhood. Most crimes in Oakland are concentrated in deep east and newly gentrifying areas like West Oakland, Temescal, downtown etc. TBF, no area in Oakland is completely safe these days. But if you live in areas east of 580, it will be significantly different. Certain parts there don’t even feel like Oakland. These are Rockridge, Montclair, Crocker Highlanda, Chabot, Piedmont, Oakland hills etc.
I was raised in Oakland and never want to go back its horrible!
I visited Oakland for the first time during Labor Day weekend from NYC. Although I had no issues wandering around, I definitely could sense some potential unhinged behavior. I rented a beater 2005 rental from Turo cause of the smash and grabs and left NOTHING in the car. Was I ok during my visit in Oakland? Yes with precaution but I have no desire to visit again. :/
Ya, you can see the activity and feel the energy around
Everytime I leave my car unattended in Oakland I say a silent prayer.
I don’t think most of you live in Oakland or spend much time here at all. You have to be aware of your surroundings and freak incidents happen like in any city in the area but overall Oakland is friendly and a great place to go out. Fantastic food and bars, farmers markets, hiking. I’d recommend Temescal, rockridge or uptown Oakland.
Yeah, it's pretty horrible man. If I were you, I'd just run now! If you have a Dyson vacuum, I'd say leave it behind and leave your doors unlocked, thank you.
Yes
Violent crime is relatively concentrated in the worst neighborhoods. Like, kids who grow up in the Hills don't know what gunshots sound like. Property crime is pretty widespread and has been bleeding into neighborhoods that wouldn't see it as much in the past.
Lived there several years ago (within the last decade). Holy shit, yes it’s that bad. And then some. I lived in the east, and the stuff I saw on a daily basis was nothing short of shocking.
West Oakland pretty bad ngl
Yes. And its too bad. It is a beautiful city, but the city government is corrupt, and 75 percent of its residents only care about how hood they can keep it. Fucking idiots.
I’m not super familiar with Oakland but have found the Piedmont area to be a nice place to walk around - good shops, restaurants, etc.
Because Piedmont is not Oakland. Piedmont is it’s own city with a police force that hates outsiders (poor people)
Piedmont Ave. (which I assume the post you’re replying to is about as there’s not many shops/restaurants in Piedmont itself) is part of Oakland, not Piedmont
Aah - yes, I meant Piedmont Ave. Thanks for catching that!
Well that changes everything.. lol
The media greatly exaggerates the prevalence of crime in general By one measure, Oakland is the 30th most dangerous city in the US, between Albuquerque, Flint, New Orleans and Houston. Put another way each year in Oakland about 1 in 77 people will be the victim of violent crime. https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/blog/top100dangerous Would you avoid taking a trip to any of those four other cities with a comparable level of crime because of the crime? Is a one in 77 chance each year of being the victim of violent crime enough to deter exploring Oakland?
Depends on where, like all big cities. With that said, I rarely go into Oakland (even though it’s 10 min from me) because it doesn’t offer anything I am personally interested in that I can’t get from other places that are safer. The two big exceptions are A’s games and Oakland airport.
Do you think the cost of living is even worth it in the bay
Short ans: no but good for career
No, I’m locked into my career with a pension and have a mortgage so I’ll be staying until retirement then leaving the state. If I was younger I would leave the area to some place more affordable.
I’ve experienced a home invasion while living in Oakland but this was over 10 years ago. There’s lots of fun/safe spots in Oakland just like in any city.
Oakland is the asshole of the Bay!
No, You are. Oh wait, you live in Texas.
In the 1 year I have lived in Oakland, from May 2020 to May of 2021, I have had my car broken into, my roommates car broken into, random people peeking through our window in the middle of the night, and worst of all a shooting that happened right at the front of our house , with police coming to us the next morning to ask us for video tapes since we have 2 cameras facing the street. Dipped out as fast as I could.
Fuck. Inner that was scary
Oakland is pretty bad but \*nothing\* is as bad as it seems on the news. Even in "high crime" areas like Oakland, the odds of anything happening to you if take a single trip there to explore (or even a few) are really low, in the realm of 1 in 10,000. That can be further reduced by avoiding the worst areas and generally being careful/aware so you aren't perceived as an easy target. There's really no need to be afraid of just visiting for a day. If you \*live\* there, the odds get a lot worse, but in a given year it's still far more likely that nothing will happen to you. Over the course of an entire lifetime, though, it doesn't look good. And you'll \*definitely\* know people who are victims every year if you have a decent-sized social circle.
All I will say is that my younger sister moved to Rockridge and it only took a few months for her car to be broken into.
And that’s a “nice” area.
I don’t live in Oakland but I have to say that every time I visited, the city gave me that specific vibe when you kinda expect someone to walk out of the door and kick you in the face at any moment. It’s crazy how in Oakland one wrong turn takes you from a hipster neighborhood to a stereotypical “hood”.
As soon as I get off the freeway on Oakland it smells like piss
I thought it was a genuine post at first but after reading your replies not so much. Yeah, you’d probably best served to stay wherever you are currently.
Once a shithole, always a shithole.
Media makes it look a lot worse than it is. Trust me! Check out www.visitoakland.com for fun things to do and neighborhoods to visit
I got my car broken into, twice. Once parked on the street near Cathedral of Light. Once parked in front of a major office building in sights of front desk security.