Korean Job Discussion Forums

[jg]

I moved to California about a year ago, LA to be exact. I liked the weather, but so many other things were a huge disappointment. However, since California is huge, I am thinking about Oakland. FWIH, The city seems to have a cool mix of ethnic groups who, if they don't feel deep mutual affection,at least aren't notably at each other's throats. Also, it is solidly working/middle class like parts of Chicago, Pittsburgh, Long Beach, etc, right? Yeah, thats the vibe I like in cities.

I know it has a crime problem, but I grew up in a part of Chicago with some pretty rough areas, so thats not so much of a concern. What I am looking to avoid is some of the things I hated about LA - high cost of living (even in the hood), unappealing (aesthetically) urban environment and worsening racial tension. Plus LA's downtown is an embarrassment.

I am a public school teacher so I worry about living comfortably in someplace like Pasadena, plus that kinda upscale/cushy vibe doesn't fit me. Also, how is Oakland's Chinese community?

Cheers for any helpful advice given.

[faster]

I love Oakland, but it's getting rapidly gentrified, so housing prices are going up fast. There's also some serious high-crime areas there, but if you want to live in the Bay Area and aren't a millionaire it's a good place to be.

[articulate_ink]

I lived there for four years. It's a good city: kinda grungy in places, but still very underrated and overshadowed by its more sparkly neighbors. Housing prices in the whole Bay Area are insane, so if you're thinking of buying and aren't loaded, it's going to be Vallejo or Fairfield or some similar anal fissure of a suburb.

Long Beach is probably a pretty good comparison. Working class, often overlooked, sort of upwardly mobile.

The ethnic groups there all get along. Like the expensive housing, that's a Bay Area thing: nobody cares much what color you are. I miss that.

Oakland's Chinatown isn't very big, but it's there. The Chinese are an integral part of the fabric of the region and have been for centuries. San Francisco itself is or was more than 50% Chinese; I'm not sure what the breakdown in Oakland is.

A lot of where you choose to live will depend on your job location. I was on the Emeryville border, a few blocks from Berkeley. Living near Piedmont Avenue would be good if you could find something. I've been told repeatedly to stay away from Adams Point (? -- not sure about the name now) north of Lake Merritt, next to downtown. There's a fair amount of violent crime (although this may have changed), even though it's a very attractive neighborhood. The south and east sides of the lake are probably better that way.

If you look into the other nearby East Bay cities, parts of Hayward and San Leandro aren't bad. They're more affordable. El Cerrito's livable but I've been in one of the schools and it was a dump. On the other side of the hills, Orinda, Walnut Creek, and that whole area are very affluent, white, and suburban. Hotter than Hades in summer, too. And there's always Berkeley.

Good luck!

[Tiger Beer]

I lived in Treasure Island - a small island with some housing available between San Francisco and Oakland for a year. I liked BOTH SF and Oakland as the moment you left those two cities, it just spread out forever into suburbs in nearly every direction (except Murin County to the north)..

The big annoyance with Oakland, is the moment you go between the two cities, they hit you with this large bridge fee or expensive subway to connect the two. In some ways, I felt this was a way to discourage much mixture between the two.

I liked Oakland though - A LOT of Asian everything scattered around everywhere. It's kind of African-American with heavy Asian mixed in everywhere and caucasian too. Mix of everything actually.

It has a reputation for being a tough town, but I think its seriously overstated. Maybe tough town for West Coast. I found it to be mellow and relaxed compared to most anything east of the Mississippi River.


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Actually I'm quite curious about Los Angeles. Having lived in San Francisco in the past, I was thinking of Southern California in the future.

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Regarding disappointments. Actually I found the Bay Area to be seriously disappointing with its Public transportation. Everything shuts down around 1am (same time as the bars and clubs), which meant they actually close the bars and clubs around 12:30am so the employees could take the public transportation back if they needed to, etc.

Public transportation was horrendous in general. Not efficient, the lines aren't laid out well, and you have different lines which are not connected to each other at all. The most annoying part of the poor transportaion stysem, is that San francisco in particular passes so many laws trying to discourage autos - but has no decent, efficient alternative system in place.

Back to Oakland however. One serious plus to Oakland is that it is also very close to Berkeley. Berkeley is a really cool, very liberal, college town.

[bucheon bum]

holy shit, a thread on oakland.. sweeeet... my hometown.

People have covered it well on this thread. The frutivale district is becoming pretty popular with young teachers (ie in their 20s). Someone mentioned adam's point. yeah, it has seen some crime recently, a bit bizarre. I lived the past two years by Lake Merrit, near 2 bart stations. pretty nice location, also has young people. Chinatown is about 15 minute walk away. It is a pretty good chinatown too. More "authentic" than the one over in SF.

Everyone I know who moved from elsewhere to the Bay Area has complimented Oakland and its rather chill atmosphere in regard to ethnicity. There really isn't any dominant race these days. A big mix of everything.

I love Oakland/Berkeley. But yes, rent and housing is quite pricey, but not so bad by Bay Area standards. You'd pay more in some boring ass place like Fremont.

[dogbert]

Try Alameda instead.

[VanIslander]

[elliemk]

I lived in the Bay Area for many years. In my opinion, Berkeley beats Oakland hands down. Even though the housing is more expensive in Berkeley, there's just so much charm to that city. And because of the university, there is always a concert, poetry reading, or whatever you are interested in seeing. Oakland has the Coliseum, which is home to the Oakland A's, the basketball team (sorry, can't remember the name of it), and many concerts with famous singers.
If I were younger and moving to the East Bay, I'd definitely get housing with a roommate to start. The cost will be a lot less, and you can save money for your own place. Great deals are to be found in the Oakland and Berkeley hills for little cottages behind big houses, etc. But you have to network to find them. Here's a place where you can check out rental prices in the Oakland/Berkeley area: http://bam.kaango.com/
It has the Oakland Tribune's classifieds. The best deals can be found between quarters or semesters in Berkeley. Anyone who's lived in Korea will be terribly disappointed with the transit systems in the U.S. They simply are not that good. Sure, you can get buses to take you across the bridge and to other areas in the East Bay. The Bay Area Transit System (BART) is the subway (not all underground, however). It's okay, but it does close early, as one poster here said.
The cost of driving is outrageous. Gas there carries one of the highest prices in the U.S. Insurance is ridiculous. But I was born and brought up in the Bay Area, and California will alwalys be "home to me." I loved the fact that I could be in the mountains in a few hours or at the beach in one hour. I could walk among the redwoods in Muir Woods (Marin County) or visit Yosemite for breathtaking scenery or go trout fishing in the Sierras.
I wish you well in your move to my very favorite part of the U.S.!

[CentralCali]

First, it's Marin County. Second, I echo the suggestion to try Alameda City instead. It's right next to Oakland and has a small town feel to it. The BART doesn't run into Alameda; however, you can take the bus to the 12th Street Station. Since the US Navy base there (which is where my ship, the USS CARL VINSON, was homeported while I was assigned to it) closed, the town saw a bit of an economic slump.

Oakland has all the good and bad things of any other big city in the US. I really enjoyed eating in Oakland's small Chinatown. I found it to have much less of a tourist trap feel than San Francisco's did. Oh, the view from the grounds of the Latter-day Saint temple in Oakland is great.

San Francisco, also, has all the good and bad things of any other big city in the US. There are filthy rich neighborhoods and there are slums and everything in between.

As mentioned above, Bezerkeley is a great town, thus the nickname (I love that town). There is a lot to do there and it's plenty of fun. Sadly, one of the city's famous residents, The Naked Guy died on May 18, 2006, by his own hand. You can read about him on the Wikipedia but be warned that some people may find the photo of him on the site offensive as it's, well, let's just say it's a complete photo.

[bucheon bum]

personally I think he (i'm assuming the OP is male) would find alameda to be boring. He sounds like he wants a place with more personality, not some bland (semi) suburb.

[Masta_Don]

[bucheon bum]

well i'm not saying Oakland has much of a night-life or anything, it doesnt. If you want to hit bars and party it up, Oakland isn't where you should be. SF and even Berkeley would be better choices. On the other hand...

Go to the fruitvale district on a saturday and sunday, and you'll see throngs of people. You will have too many taco stands to choose from.

Go to chinatown during the day and see the buzz of activity. People swarming everywhere. Odds are you'll be one of the few non-asians you will see.

Go to Telegraph and hit up the Korean bar when everything else in the Bay (including SF) is closed up.

Go to College Ave. or Piedmont Ave. for some good food and remind yourself what yuppie life is (the latter is more College Ave than Piedmont).

Sure, alameda is close to most of that (especially Chinatown) but still.. It has strip malls and crap you can find anywhere in the USA.

Downtown oakland has some cool ass architecture too. I never really noticed until I was living right next to it and would walk through parts of it on a frequent basis.

SF is a short BART ride away too. BTW, there is now 24 hr bus service in both SF and between SF and the East Bay. Personally I wouldn't be too keen on ac transit at 3 in the morning but it is available.

[just another day]

oakland bay area is great for single asian guys.

this past weekend, i saw about 20 asian guys dating white girls.

hardly any white guys dating asian girls though.

well, its the 21st century after all.

[bucheon bum]

[just another day]

^ nope this was all over oakland, berkeley, emeryville, sf.

u haven't been back to the bay area recently have u? i can tell.