Although San Francisco gets all of the attention, Oakland is known for its better weather, affordability (only compared to SF), better character, and down-to-earth vibe when compared to its next door neighbor. It’s also serious about being Green. Oakland’s empty lots have been transformed into urban vegetable patches, and buying locally grown food is simple. Oakland is indeed Hella Cool. And they know it. 

**Here's a strong take on the advantages of Oakland from a local:** 
*That Oakland has the best weather in the Bay Area — certainly in the true (central) Bay Area — is inarguable. And the location is ideal. If someone dropped into the Bay Area from outer space they would require an historical explanation for why San Francisco, and not Oakland, is the leading city. One can head out of Oakland toward the Sierra with an hour’s lead on the San Franciscan, with similar advantages toward the wine country.*

*The culture of Oakland is honest. The culture of San Francisco is fake. I say this as someone who spent a great deal of my student and working life in San Francisco and who loves and respects that great international city deeply. But if you are here to live, not on vacation, Oakland offers an unaffected — even self-deprecating — tone that works on a daily basis.*

For more reviews of Oakland from locals check out: [**The Buzz**](https://lookyloomove.com/locations/oakland?page=buzz)

The Bay on a Budget (Kind of)

The Best Thing About Oakland?

As disgruntled young San Franciscans go in search of friendlier climes, and the pandemic and property prices displace residents and put rental properties in the hands of corporate developers, gentrification threatens the nature of what makes Oakland great. See Brooklyn for comparable history. 

**Here's a local on the pros/cons of Oakland:**
*Oakland is a much bigger and more diverse town than people think. It can be a very nice town to live in but the news doesn't cover quiet prosperous neighborhoods. Also when I say diverse I don't mean that there are people with a lot of different racial backgrounds, though there are, I mean that there a lot of different kinds of people with varying backgrounds, traditions, and expectations. People who have not lived in an diverse environment sometimes have a hard time making accurate value judgement about Oakland. Oakland is large enough and diverse enough that it really isn't one thing. Large stretches of the city are very well off and beautiful while others are very poor and grim.*

The hype. 

The Worst Thing About Oakland?

While making a short trip across the bay to SF is a popular (and always available) social option, Oakland is filled with its own entertainment and cultural scene. There’s an incredible history of social movement -- minorities of all kinds have a cultural voice in Oakland. Oakland has serious coffee, craft brews, food, and street art scenes. I mean c’mon, where are you going to get a city, an ocean bay and redwood parks that overlook stunning views all in one place? And there’s even a gorgeous lake (Lake Merritt) right in the middle of downtown.

Lifestyle Of Oakland

Not to be redundant here, but making the short trip over the bay to SF is a popular commuting option. Taking advantage of SF’s big tech and finance wages for non-SF rent is always going to be a solid financial decision, and the Bay Area’s phenomenal public transportation system makes that convenient. Back in the east bay, big name companies like Clorox, Kaiser Permanente, and Pandora call Oakland their home. The health sector is big in Oakland too, and that combination of solid local and short commute options make it a great place to live for work.


Workstyle Of Oakland

It’s easier to get to downtown San Francisco by public transit than it is from even some San Francisco neighborhoods, and Berkeley is an even shorter hop. If you’re not all that interested in San Francisco, Oakland is a hot location in its own right. It has been experiencing a massive growth in jobs, especially in tech and media. Seven companies within Oakland made Forbes magazine’s list of the country’s top 100 fastest growing companies. 

Location, location, location.

Why You Should Move Here Now?

**The good the bad and the ugly**

C’mon where are you going to get a city, an ocean bay and redwood parks that overlook stunning views all in one place? And there’s a gorgeous lake (Lake Merritt) right in the middle of downtown, very serious coffee, craft brews, crazy good food, street art, hills with hidden staircases and an incredible history of social movement -- minorities of all kinds have a cultural voice in Oakland. There’s even another city right in the city (Piedmont) which makes no sense from a city planning standpoint, but there it is. Oakland has the kind of  genuine sense of place that many towns would love to have while running the gamut from hard core urban to wooded hills and parks. (And, when people say “the city” they mean San Francisco. Oakland is a town -- The Town.)


**The Best Thing About Oakland?** 

A bridge away from San Francisco (or a 10 minute BART ride), better weather, more affordable, more character, more down-to-earth mom and pop and more hip. It’s also serious about being Green. Oakland’s empty lots have been transformed into urban vegetable patches, and buying locally grown food is simple. Oakland is indeed Hella Cool. And they know it. 


**The Worst Thing About Oakland?** 

The hype. As disgruntled young San Franciscans go in search of friendlier climes and the pandemic threatens to displace residents and possibly put rental properties in the hands of corporate developers, gentrification is pushing through threatening the nature of what makes Oakland great.

**How You Living?** 

In a funky old house on a quiet street walking distance to anything. Residential streets are home to both single-family and multi-family homes, ranging from older Victorians to renovated row homes. Rockridge, Temescal, and Grand Lake are super trendy. Laurel and Diamond districts are cute little neighborhoods with their own shopping plazas.


**Why You Should Move Here Now?** 

Location, location, location. It’s easier to get to San Francisco than even some San Francisco neighborhoods and BTW, Berkely is also a short hop.  If you’re not all that interested in San Francisco, Oakland is a hot location in its own right. It has been experiencing a massive growth in jobs, especially in tech and media. Seven companies within Oakland made Forbes magazine’s list of the country’s top 100 fastest growing companies. 


The city of Oakland is just east of San Francisco, across the Bay. The west side of the city runs along the bay and the east side is surrounded by natural preserves including Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, the Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve, and the University of California Botanical Garden. Just south of downtown Oakland is Alameda. Located in the bay, it’s a city that includes Alameda Island, Bay Farm Island, and other minor surrounding islands. Just north of Oakland is the popular area of Berkeley, home of UC Berkeley. Inside the city limits of Oakland is the city of Piedmont. It's a separate city although it’s completely surrounded by Oakland. The city detached itself from Oakland in the early 1900s and has since kept its reputation for being a more wealthy area. Local Piedmont residents, because they have a higher median income and, by design, better schools and local services, fear rejoining Oakland because they believe it would reduce their standard of living. The geography of Oakland can be split into what is called “the flatlands” and “the hills.” These terms can also symbolize the economic divide between Oakland’s residents. The hills cover about ⅓ of the land in Oakland and were historically considered to be more affluent. 


The Area

Oakland is California expensive without being SF expensive, and that’s an important distinction. If you’re moving to Oakland, take into consideration your budget, how close you want to be to bars and restaurants, and how close you need to be to BART. We suggest you start your search in Temescal. It has an artsy, slightly hipster vibe, in a good way. It’s super convenient to BART and Telegraph Ave has coffee shops, breweries, restaurants and more. 
- Temescal
- Grand Lake
- Downtown


Young Professionals

Downtown

While Oakland doesn't have a particular neighborhood like the Castro known as the center of LGBTQ+ community the town has the highest concentration of lesbian couples of any city in the country and the second-highest same-sex couple households right behind San Francisco. 

Popular areas include Temescal; a hip, spot with a growing arts scene, coffee shops and easy access to the local BART station. It also has its own craft brew scene, plenty of restaurants, shops, and nightlife to enjoy. 

Uptown is another good option. It runs along Broadway in downtown (we get the irony) and the area is home to the Fox and Paramount theaters, tons of bars and restaurants, and even an ice skating rink. 

LGBTQ+

Temescal

If you don’t want to give up the Oakland scene, but need to find a place to settle down, we suggest looking for a home or apartment in Piedmont Avenue. It feels more suburban than other areas of Oakland, but still has walkable amenities. It’s just northeast of Downtown, but not in the hills. You’ll have your choice of apartments, bungalows and super cute American Foursquare homes. Despite feeling suburban, Piedmont Avenue runs through the center of the neighborhood and has a grocery store, theaters, coffee shops, and restaurants. 
- Piedmont Ave
- Grand Lake
- Lake Merritt


Young Families

Piedmont Ave

If you’re looking for a suburban feel with a dash of city living, check out Rockridge. It’s not the Hills, so you can avoid feeling like you’re super far away from Downtown. It can be expensive, so keep that in mind when you start house hunting. We thing it’s worth it for the tree-lined streets and the bungalow style homes. It’s mostly residential, but the west side of the neighborhood has restaurants, bars, coffee shops, and boutiques. It’s close to BART and, to top off the pros, it has a Trader Joe’s.
- Rockridge/Upper Rockridge
- Montclair
- Temescal


Established Families

Rockridge

Oakland

**What is it like to live in Oakland, CA?**

It’s different than it used to be. But I’ll get to that in a moment because the question is about now.

That Oakland has the best weather in the Bay Area — certainly in the true (central) Bay Area — is inarguable. And the location is ideal. If someone dropped into the Bay Area from outer space they would require an historical explanation for why San Francisco, and not Oakland, is the leading city. One can head out of Oakland toward the Sierra with an hour’s lead on the San Franciscan, with similar advantages toward the wine country.

The culture of Oakland is honest. The culture of San Francisco is fake. I say this as someone who spent a great deal of my student and working life in San Francisco and who loves and respects that great international city deeply. But if you are here to live, not on vacation, Oakland offers an unaffected — even self-deprecating — tone that works on a daily basis.

Bottom line is that Oakland has never been, and likely will never be, a city with a great and impressive downtown as San Francisco has. It is, above all, a city of great residential neighborhoods with individual character. It’s a city with the most remarkable parks. In fact, nothing more characterizes the contrast with SF than the contrast between Golden Gate Park and the magnificent outdoor experiences of Sibley and Redwood Regional Parks, unparalleled for anything directly adjoining a true city. (The memory of Chief Justice Earl Warren, had he not been responsible for so much that America is proud of, would be honored solely for the incredible insight he showed in getting this land set aside many, many decades ago.)



**What do you like most about living in Oakland, California?**

The weather here is really great compared to back east. While I do need a parka, mittens and a hat in December and January, there are days in those months where it hits 70 degrees by 3 pm. Conversely, summer days rarely break 85 degrees. Often I need a sweat jacket in the morning and sunblock by 2 pm. But the temperature is between 39° and 90° .

Given patience and driving skills, the freeway will take me where I want to go in a reasonable amount of time. I can go from Oakland to Santa Clara or Marin in an hour if I time the commute correctly. (It also can be 3 hours of bumper to bumper like it was coming back from Kaiser Santa Clara the other day) There is adequate but crowded public transportation to much of the Bay Area.

We have sports teams, music venues, theater, arts, parks, gardens, and recreational facilities at our beck and call. Colleges, access to brilliant scholars of all disciplines are here. There are paths for walking and bike riding, roads for a pleasant drive. We have gourmet dining as well as Taco food trucks. There are churches of every denomination and religion. Old and new architecture are amazing.

Oakland is a multicultural experience. Most of us just want to get along and enjoy the variety of cultures coming together in Oakland. To be sure, there are those that will ruin a good day just to do it. We can choose to protest in the tradition of Gandhi and King. We can celebrate our diversity. Again, there are those who will commit crimes of personal and property because they can.

**What do you like/dislike about living in Oakland?**

Oakland's bad PR comes from preconceptions people have about the Bay Area in general, I think...

San Francisco is seen as an idyllic architectural, urban, and cultural fairyland.

Berkeley is seen as a hippie paradise with a slow pace of life.

Oakland doesn't fit into the national perception the way SF and Berkeley do, so it doesn't make the news or the movies or the media for its upsides. As a result, it only makes the news for sports, and for crime. Crime is a real problem here but I'd argue it's also exaggerated due to Oakland's proximity to these perceived "paradises" to the West and North.

In reality, all three cities - San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley are urban, cultural, architectural fairylands with a deep-seated leftist culture, a slower pace of life, and issues with violence and trash. Parts of each city play to the strengths, and parts of each city to the weaknesses. All three are more similar to one another than most people who haven't been here realize.

Each has its own flavor, of course, and sure, the best architecture in SF has the other two beat, and the highest concentration of homeless people has the other two beat, too. The hippiest hippies in Berkeley have the other two beat, in the worst ways and the best. The most violent neighborhoods in East Oakland have the other two beat, and the food, arts, and music are starting to break away from the other two as well.

I love living here because I'm in the center of it all, and I've started to treat Oakland as my favorite corner of this megacity of Oakland/Berkeley/SF that I spend time all over when I'm in search of different things. (Because BART, for all its issues, allows you to treat these as a single city.)

**Why do you live in Oakland?**

I have lived in Oakland now for nearly 20 years. When I moved in a briefly considered SF and ruled it out for 2 reasons: not integrated. Too much visible homelessness.

I live in the Adams Point/Grand Lake/Piedmont Ave grey lane.

Why I live here in Oak, enjoy it, and continue to live here:

it is more integrated (and diverse). And there is a distinction

people are friendlier, you are greeted on the street. Neighbors say hi. Stuff like that. It can feel like a small town in many ways.

it is pretty convenient to get around from where I live via any mode: walk, bike, transit, or drive

excellent weather

good access to cultural amenities, great food, and entertainment (food and cocktail game has increased by a ton since I moved here)

less homelessness than equivalent areas in Berkeley and SF.

city pride

close to lots of things if I want to get out of the town. Even if it is for an afternoon of summer ok the other side of the tunnel

Obviously it’s really expensive. Overall housing quality sucks (regional issue). We have too many homeless people and too few solutions. Infrastructure needs work. We have few retail options.

But as long as I am calling the Bay home, I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Oakland, California

Diamond In The Rough

Looklyloo Score: 90