i hate oakland, redux
October 17th, 2006 Stephen Lau
just wanted to send a big “f- you” to the little pricks who broke into our car, and our garage last night.
sigh. i really hate oakland. i can’t wait to move.
[tags: PlacesToAvoid, Rant]
12 Comments Add your own
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1.
Aaron | October 17th, 2006 at 09:35
Hi there,
Glad I”m not the only one who hates Oakland.
I lived there a couple years, became a crazy person, an activist, bought a house, thought I could change things. I had the same experience as you. Simply unwelcomed. Oakland is littered with trash, thugs, violence, disrespect, disorganization. I lived near the McArthur BART. When I sold my house I made money, so if you own, sell now. Or just hold onto your real estate investment if you can afford it as the prices seem to keep rising in California. My anonymous friend, Oakland is a broken place. It’s not anybody’s fault, it’s everybody’s fault. Nobody should live there. It’s dirty. Filthy. Segregated, too. It’s also an embarassment. The City Council and Mayor are an embarassment. You should join me in Portland. It is truly heaven here. Not to rub it in, but it’s damn near perfect. I’ll take rain every day of the year here rather than sunny Oakland. Ever since I moved here I have been a happy person. One of many examples — I got our luggage stolen off our front porch in Oakland after a trip to VISIT portland once. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Honestly, the housing prices are bearable, and the people are incredibly friendly. I am truly sorry you are still there. With Sun’s iWork program you can actually move with approval from your manager.
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2.
Stephen Lau | October 17th, 2006 at 09:40
i would if i could - but my fiancee is in her residency program at Highland Hospital (for another 2 years), so we have to live close enough for her to be able to make it into the hospital when she’s on call.
trust me, once she’s done - we’re getting the hell out of oakland.
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3.
Richard Friedman | October 17th, 2006 at 09:57
Oakland does have its problems, but there are good parts and bad parts. I don’t think the city government is any more screwed up and incompetent than any other city government I’ve seen (I lived in Berkeley for 30 years), but like any urban area, its all about neighborhoods.
I’m lucky to be living in an Oakland neighborhood that is active, friendly, and communal. We all watchout for each other, and we have keys to each other’s homes. There are some communities where no one knows their neighbors, much less likes them.
Ok, so we’re on the border with Piedmont (aka Baja Piedmont), but its still Oakland. I’ve had more problems with my car being broken into in San Francisco than here. But like any city, it depends on neighborhoods. I’m actually much happier here in Oakland (now 8 years) than all the time I spent in Berkeley.
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4.
My neighbourhood is great… I love my neighbours, and know them well. What I don’t like are the thugs and lowlifes that come into our neighbourhood and break into our homes and cars.
The “redux” in my blog title refers to an incident less than a month ago where we had someone attempt to break into our home while we were at work.
Two break-ins in less than a month piss me off, royally.
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5.
Geoff | October 17th, 2006 at 10:51
Makes me appreciate my setup - I can even leave my patio window open during the day with no worries….
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6.
John Hoffmann | October 17th, 2006 at 11:34
You can have both sunshine and friendly neighbors in Austin.
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7.
Jason | October 17th, 2006 at 18:39
I guess the crime is just the price you have to pay for a first-rate NFL team.
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8.
Michael | October 27th, 2006 at 01:00
That sucks, Steve… I’m sorry to hear that. I hope they didn’t take anything that can’t be replaced?
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9.
Steve | October 27th, 2006 at 06:05
Jeez, man. I didn’t realize that even your neighborhood has this kind of crap going on. I’m sure you’re finding a good way to make your garage & house break-in proof (or at least equipped with loud alarms).
Set your beagle dogs to kill!
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10.
Connie | October 30th, 2006 at 15:48
Sorry to hear about that Steve. I worry about that all the time, too. Every day I walk to the store on Piedmont Ave, I see car window glass on the sidewalk. Fresh, always. I love Oakland, but I agree with this Aaron fellow. We’ll never change it. I will most likely move outta here to raise my child because I see it as somewhat bearable for a 30-something…but absolutely inappropriate to raise a child in. I’m not saying that I need a neighborhood where I can leave my doors open (though that would be nice, too), but at least somewhere that the city landscape has more to offer than shards of glass, even within what is considered a somewhat nicer area.
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11.
John R | January 18th, 2007 at 22:52
the A’s leaving is just another sign of a town in decay…no matter what happens,Oakland will always be a second class crap city that spouts B.S. about pride and community but still has side shows crack houses gangs graffitti etc.
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12.
TM | March 16th, 2007 at 17:31
First of all, the A’s leaving has more to do with the greed and ego of the A’s ownership than it does “a town in decay” as John R Said incorrectly mentions in his rant. It is business–nothing personal and it happens all the time. Many teams (baseball, football,etc.) have left cities such as New York, LA, etc…I really don’t see that as a sight of a town in decay—it is business.
Secondly, you attract what you put out—so if Oakland is a crap place to you it is becasue you are more than likely a crap person. I have lived all over the US and in Eurpoe for over 10 years, and I still chose to came and make the Bay Area (Oakland specifically my home)…I have been here many years now and my expereiences have been among the most interesting, unique and wonderful in my life.
Cool if you choose to believe whatever about Oakland—to each his own—but I discover new things everyday (such as the largest number of artists per capita next to New York is right here baby!!!) But of course really getting out there and discovering all the great things sitting right at your feet is probably not on your radar when you are more into being negative.
Besides that, I doubt very seriously any of you have really had frequent encounters with gangs or crack houses other than what you’ve heard on tv. Oakland, like many other cities (except for Portland, SF and Seattle), has a large number of minorities. If you are white, it seems like you expect everything to be pristine and that divesity is achieved if there is one or two other minorities at your favorite bar or something. Yes, Portland is wonderful becasue it is mostly white and safe and has all the hyper pristine, pseudo-cool stuff many of us whites flock to (and yes, even some minorities). If that is your thing–more power to you. I am not that fearful or naieve or ignorant.
Oakland is not the place where everything is just handed to you, but there is a hell of a lot here if you are truely open to it—and the majority of it has nothing to do with the negatives the media constantly dishes out. I bet if they were as vigilant a bout the poistives John R ould have a different outlook….maybe, I don’t know. All I do know is that I have had friends and relatives visit me here for a few days up to months—whether there were from another country or another part of the states–they come back everytime and want to do and see more. Luckily, I’m not close-minded so I have lots I can show them and do with them—lots I want to share with them.
Oh and by the way–if Oakland was such a “crap” place, why are so many SF business people and restauranteuers opening up businesses here—obviously they see a lot of potential to make money—-and it isn’t with a crackhouse.
Sure we could go back and forth about why Oakland is or isn’t–but like I said, it is what you make it and it has been a great place for me. Btw—I do have kids and I couldn’t imagine raising them anyplace else…remember Columbine was not in an urban area and the kids in the burbs get their crack in the burbs from other white kids. Crystal Meth is killing kids in the burbs and rural areas—no gated, pristine community can shelter you from things like that.
I hella love Oakland!
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