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Oakland, California will always be home for me. Even though I was born in San Francisco, I have lived in Oakland from the age of three onward. Less than ten miles from the city and all of it’s benefits, yet with the bay acting as a buffer from the funky weather from the Pacific, I’m convinced that the land Oakland, California rests upon is paradise on earth.
The perfect location of Oakland, California is definitely its greatest plus. Though it is of course an East Bay city, it is centered almost exactly in the middle of the greater Bay Area. Hopping over to San Francisco is a piece of cake; the bay bridge takes you there in 15 minutes (without traffic of course!), or you can hop on BART from several different Oakland based stations. Oakland, California is also right next to Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Hayward, and isn’t too far from San Jose or Marin.
Oakland, California has some of the best weather in the Bay Area as well. San Francisco is prone to heavy fog and always seems to be colder than it should be, while the more southern or eastern cities like San Jose or Walnut Creek are often too hot. Oakland is just right. If you like moderate climates that hover in the upper 60’s and lower 70’s with a very short rainy season, an extremely short winter, and never any snow, then you’ll love Oakland, California.
Oakland has something of a bad reputation when it comes to crime, and not without reason. There are indeed several areas of Oakland that are somewhat shady, violent neighborhoods. While Oakland, California never tops the charts, it’s always up there on the list of cities with the highest per capita murder ratio. However, many cities have bad areas, and that shouldn’t deter you from looking into Oakland as a place to stay or live. In some ways, this reputation of Oakland’s may work for you, in that the real estate in Oakland is considerably less expensive than it should be considering its ideal location, and there area plenty of safe, low crime areas of Oakland.
Many people, including myself, are speculating that because of its ideal location, Oakland is going to get some major renovations in the near future. The location is just too valuable to let it go without realizing its full potential, and Oakland is already steadily getting better every year.
Oakland has character, it has a unique charm of its own, and it has a bright future. I’m not biased or anything, but I think Oakland, California is the best place to live on the planet.