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Latest Oakland hotel reviews
As others have mentioned, many of the murders in Oakland are gang or drug related. You're probably not going to run into these problems as a tourist since there isn't much that you'd probably go to or want to see in the neighborhoods in which gangs and drugs are heavy, except for maybe near Oakland Coliseum or some place like that.
Generally the closer you get to the Bay (and away from the hills) the worse the neighborhood is likely to be. The exception to this rule might be Emeryville and Jack London Square which are big shopping areas on the Bay.
Even if you stay out of the bad areas, you have a chance of getting robbed or mugged in other areas at night, especially if you're on foot alone, and especially if there aren't other people around or much foot or car traffic coming by. Muggings and robberies even happen in some of the areas where the neighborhoods themselves are ok, but people looking to cause trouble come through looking for easy targets.
The Temescal area of Oakland (40th St to 51st St North & South and Telegraph to Broadway East to West) has a number of funky businesses and places to eat Korean and other kinds of food and lots of hipster art school kids and young professionals living nearby. It's been an "up and coming area" for a while. It might possibly be a place you'd go and it's not a bad neighborhood itself, but there are a muggings in the area sometimes. These muggings seem to be from people coming from other parts of Oakland who are trying to cause trouble. I'd also be careful around the Oakland Technical High School which is on the Broadway side of Temescal since kids come from other areas of the city and some bring trouble with them.
Piedmont Avenue is generally somewhat safe, but there have been muggings around here when someone is by themselves after dark. Rockridge and Montclair are similarly nice and generally safe but have similar occasional problems.
Downtown and uptown Oakland isn't too bad during the day and generally isn't bad for going to restaurants or places at night as long as other people are around and you're there when it's not too deserted. Be careful here, but it's not either the best or worst part of town.
As a tourist you might visit or stay in a shopping or hotel area such as Emeryville or Jack London Square. From these neighborhoods (near the bay) it could be easy to go into a neighborhood like West Oakland or North Oakland on your way out (or by mistake). If you're staying in Emeryville or Jack London I would drive a car through the less good neighborhoods in between these neighborhoods and other parts of Oakland. If you're trying to get to MacArthur BART from Emeryville take the Emery-go-round shuttle or a bus after dark rather than walking, even though the walk is probably only about 20 minutes.
I'd avoid walking alone near Lake Merritt after dark because of muggings. There are other areas you might go to such as Lakeshore and Grand which aren't bad but have crime that comes through.
Essentially, stay away from the really bad neighborhoods in Oakland as much as you can. These are are usually near the bay (aside from Emeryville and Jack London Square) and avoid walking alone in deserted areas by yourself after nightfall in the "in between" areas. Even in the richer neighborhoods near the hills there can be some crime but it's not as likely.
Written Mar 2, 2008
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Oakland is a large, urban center that is reputed to have a high level of criminal activity.
But you must be clear that like in any American city, there are predictable places where life is more, or less, dangerous.
So, as a tourist, you can feel comfortable in Rockridge, Montclair, Piedmont Ave, Jack London and ever increasing swaths of Temescal and Downtown.
But as in any other American city, it also pays to keep your wits about you. Happy/safe travels
Written Jan 15, 2008
Oakland in my opinion is one of the best kept secrets in cali, uf u no wat your doing here if you have a reason to be here I.e. Family, etc. I'm from north oakland which use to be way worse but has been cleaned up an underwent a lot of new urban development. Still stay out of the north if u don't have any business here. Please stay out of west oakland its probably the worst part of oakland rite now. If u past mlk way goin westbound anywere frm the 40's to 6th st. Ure gonna be in bad shape. Lastly avoid east oakland especially deep east oakland (past 70th st.) If going to the arena or a raiders game stay on i880. Directly east of the coliseum is lockwood gardens an rudsdale st. U will get ***ed up quickly. Stay in berkeley, piedmont, rockridge, san leandro, and lake merritt a cool area too. Jus use caution and common sense... thanks
Written May 31, 2007
I grew up in the town. We went to an A's game one evening. We brought a keg into the parking lot which aparently is not allowed. They kicked us out and we drove to a nearby dead end street in a residential neighborhood. We put the keg in the street and started throwing the football around and soon enough people came out, drank beer with us and hung out until we walked the six blocks to the Colessium to catch the game. And when we got back our car battery was not stolen. FYI we were all a bunch of "white boys".
Updated Mar 12, 2007
Oakland is a great california city an a cool place to visit if you have an agenda an u no what your going to spend your time doing dont wonder around. I grew up on the north side of town on 61st an shattuck which use to be a high crime area but has sense calmed down drastically. Basically here's the rundown: North Oakland- bordered by alcatraz to 40th(north and south), telegraph to san pablo (east to west) is not a place you should visit if u dont have any business here u might get robbed. West Oakland bordered by west mac to 5th street (north to south) and from about mlk to whereever it ends and is definently a place u dont wanna go its probably the worst part of oakland rite now. Avoid Ghosttown, Acorn projects, campbell village projects, etc. and lastly east oakland is very huge dont go if u dont have a reason especially deep east oakland (70's to the 100's). its o so dangerous. Cool spots is peidmont, claremont, jack london and the hills. be safe when u cum to the town thanks.
Written Mar 2, 2007
WELL IF YOUR TAKING A TOUR ON THE STREETS OF EAST OAKLAND YOU REALLY GOTTA WATCH OUT FOR THE GANGS AND SPECIALLY WHEN WALKING THRU E15TH ,MITCHELL ST, FRUITVALE FVG, 36TH LOCOS, BRIDGE ST, 38TH LOCOS , 60'S UNT, THOSE ARE MAIN STREETS WERE GANGSTERS HANG OUT THOSE ARE VERY DANGEROUS
Written Nov 13, 2006
My experience in Oakland has always been positive. Yes, there is crime like any other City but not in the tourist areas and not focused on downtown. Unfortunately most of the crime is contained in a couple of the poorer areas of the City Most of the crime is domestic and or drug related. If you use common sense and don't deal in drugs visitors to Oakland will be fine. Oakland is the best kept secret in California. I love it here and travelled all over the world and still come back to Oakland!
Updated Oct 21, 2006
Starting with North Oakland :
The area within Acatraz ave., Telegraph ave., and San Pablo ave is really dangerous at night. Avoid walking alone if possible this area has a heavy reputation for its drug/narcotic problems.
West Oakland :
Now the area from W. MacArthur Blvd., Broadway ave., and 5th St. is also really dangerous do not make eye contact with people and avoid walking through crowds of young people and stay away from runned down neighborhoods. Crime in West Oakland is very high and it happens alot during day time as well as night. Stay away from ¨ The Lower Bottoms ¨
The area that is outline by Mandela Pkwy, 5th Street and the Bay Area Waters its the most violent part of West Oakland
Downtown Oakland :
Be carefull at night time you see alot of homeless, beggars, and young people looking for trouble due to the clubs located Downtown. Its pretty safe during the day, the Oakland Police Department is located on Broadway. Most of the criminals you see around are heading to the city lockup just a few blocks from the police station.
East Oakland : ¨The Flatlands¨. Area within Park Blvd., Bancroft Ave., and E.98TH Ave. Now this part of town is infested with crime and chaos.Theres always crime on International Blvd. DO NOT wander around past 11pm unless you want to put yourself in harms way. Theres too many bad places to name so heres the most notorious.. from E.20th to E.27th they call it Murder Dubz, From High Street to Seminary Ave., and from E.73rd Ave., to E.98th especially from E.90th to E.98th Ave. you see many gangs and witness plenty of violence it is not a place for tourist the smart thing will be to stay away. Theres always gang fights, shootings, Sideshows and many homicides in this part of the city.
Written Jun 18, 2006
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Oakland in all its wonderful ethnic diversity, is not the greatest after dark, downtown. Cabs are hard to find, and lots of gangs and homeless late at night. After a concert at the Paramount, it was over an hour to get a taxi and quite sketchy in that area.
Updated May 27, 2006
No part of Oakland is truly safe. I know, I grew up in Oakland. When there wasn't nothing to do in the flat lands, people would go up to the hills and rob you. East, West, and North Oakland all have a rebellious young generation. East Oakland, being the biggest is the most historcally ghetto part of Oakland. Most of the Bay Area rap stars came from here. Ghettos include the 7o's, Rollin 100's, dirty 30's, murder dubs, funk town, 69 ville, ect.. West Oakland is where the Black Panthers started and is mostly an African American ghetto (Though they've been trying to clean it up). Ghettos include: Lower Bottoms, Ghost Town, 18th st., Dog Town, ect.. North Oakland is probably the better part out of these two, but only because of it's size. It's the smallest part, but has it's ghettos and historically bad neighborhoods also. This is where a lot of the Black Panthers actually met and this is the closest part to Berkeley. But as of recent, South Berkeley and North Oakland have been having wars, and in 2002,2003 more than 22 people were killed with in a 10-15 block radius, not to mention that Bushrod has always been a mess. Notable ghettos are Bushrod Park, Golden Gate Park, 62nd st., Gaskill, ect.. Stay away from Oakland. Visit Berkeley and San Francisco, but stay away from The Town. Oakland is ghetto on all sides!
Written Mar 2, 2006
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