A Comprehensive Guide to Oakland, California

I spent 13 weeks living and working in Oakland, California. If you are considering moving here or living here, check out this comprehensive guide to Oakland and the East Bay.

In this guide, we will cover the following: safety in Oakland, my favorite parts of Oakland, neighborhoods of Oakland and other East Bay cities. 

Safety in Oakland

Let’s start with most people’s first thought when they hear Oakland, California- safety. 

When I accepted my work contract in Oakland, my first concern was safety. Oakland has a bad reputation. It’s considered one of the top 10 most dangerous cities in the US with both violent crime and property crime being prevalent. After living and working in Oakland, I can confirm that there is a good bit of crime in the city. 

I worked in an emergency department in the middle of Oakland (where victims violent crimes go after the incident). It was very common to have patients that were victims of either gun or knife violence. That said, a large majority of these incidents are drug related and the incidents tend to occur between people that know each other. Yes, you could end up in the wrong place at the wrong time, but with some street smarts, you can avoid most violent incidents.

How to avoid becoming a victim of crime in Oakland

While anything can happen at anytime regardless of location, it makes sense to be extra cautious in cities like Oakland. Here are some tips to keep yourself safe in Oakland:

• Familiarize yourself with names of areas and streets to avoid (See my list of the most dangerous parts of Oakland below).
• Stay aware of your surroundings- Don’t walk around with your head buried in your phone
• Don’t flash valuables. Robberies are common in Oakland including some incidents of armed robbery. Don’t make it obvious that you have something worth stealing.
• Don’t leave anything visible inside your vehicle. Vehicle break-ins are very common in Oakland. Something as simple as a phone charger could result in a smashed car window. Also, be mindful of where you park your car. Better yet, use public transport like BART (Click the link for tips on how to use the BART system). 

Most Dangerous Parts of Oakland:

• International boulevard (formerly East 14th Street)- known for prostitution and drug deals
• Areas south of seminary drive including these neighborhoods: Coliseum, Eastmont, Fitchburg, Webster, Elmhurst and Sobrante Park
• West Oakland neighborhoods of Ghost Town and Acorn

Positive things about Oakland

So, we’ve talked a lot about the biggest downside of Oakland, crime. Now let’s give Oakland its due diligence and talk about the positives of living in Oakland. 

Random fun fact- If you hear someone in Oakland say they are going to “the city”, they mean San Francisco. If you hear someone say they are going to “town”, they mean Oakland. 

My favorite things about Oakland

Diversity/Culture

Oakland is the most diverse city I’ve lived in so far. I love the culture and variety of thoughts/ideas that brings. I truly believe that exposure to various cultures and ideas helps you to grow as a person. It gives you more to learn and draw from when forming your own thoughts and ideas. 

Did you know that similar to San Francisco, Oakland has it’s own chinatown? 

Food

Another benefit that goes along with a diverse population is diverse foods. I love trying new and authentic foods, and Oakland’s food scene has tons of options. 

Proximity to fun things to do

Oakland is part of the bay area, so you have quick access to San Francisco and Napa wine country for a day trip. You can get a northern California’s beautiful northern coast in less than 1 hour. The hills provide numerous hiking options with epic views of the bay. Snow sports are available within a few hours. Bonus tip- Sports Basement has a “ski bus” that will take you from various locations in the Bay Area to Tahoe during ski season all in one day! For more tips on fun things to do in proximity to Oakland, check out my Bay Area bucket list.

One added benefit to Oakland- you get all the benefits of it’s better known sister, San Francisco, but with a lower price tag. 

Neighborhoods of Oakland and Things to Do

One of my favorite things to do when I’m living in a new area is to explore various neighborhoods. I love to walk around and pop into shops/restaruants/bars occasionally for a drink or bite to eat.

Speaking of hoping around to different areas, Oakland (and the rest of the bay area) has a large public transit system- BART- click here to learn more.

Anyway, back on topic. Here are the neighborhoods that were recommended to me as well as my impression of them:

Downtown

Downtown Oakland has a mix of nice areas and seedier areas. Its sits in the center of many of the neighborhoods that will be described next, so you’ll likely get a little of downtown if you hop around exploring these areas as I did. In general, I found Broadway street downtown to be nice and fairly safe to walk around. 

In addition to Broadway street, I highly recommend checking out the Oakland Museum of California. The museum has 3 floors, each with a different focus- natural science, history, and art. I found the history section to be really interesting. There is also an exhibit about the Black Panther Party which was founded in Oakland. In fact, the history of black rights activism is a huge part of the culture of Oakland. 

Lake Merritt

Lake Merritt borders downtown Oakland (the museum mentioned above actually sits right between downtown and Lake Merritt). It’s a lake in the middle of the city where many locals enjoy walking or jogging. You can also kayak or paddle board on the lake. 

In general, Lake Merritt feels safe along the waterfront. There are some areas once you get further from the water that can get a little less pleasant, but this varies greatly around different parts of the lake. My husband and I have walked around different parts of the lake several times, and we really enjoyed it. 

Jack London Square

This is a walkable waterfront area along the bay between Oakland and San Francisco. Oakland in general isn’t very touristy, but out of all the neighborhoods, this comes the closest. The area is named after the famous author, Jack London. There are several restaurants in this area, a place to rent kayaks, and a couple of Jack London theme’d monuments (a statue and a replica of the Jack London cabin). The plaza at Jack London square occasionally holds community events as well. 

My husband and I spent a few hours in Jack London square where we ate at Plank (a restaurant, beer garden, arcade and bowling alley) and took in the Chinese New Year celebrations. I felt pretty safe in this area especially compared to some other parts of Oakland. 

Piedmont

The Piedmont neighborhood is another area that I felt safe walking around. There are some restaurants, cute shops, and a theater here- Grand Lake Theater. It is also home to Oakland’s largest farmers market, the Grand Lake Farmers Market, which takes place Saturday mornings.

My husband and I spent the morning walking around the farmers market before venturing up Grand Avenue to Mountain View Cemetery (yes, I know that sounds weird).

Mountain View cemetery is actually a cemetery, but it also has beautiful views of the Bay and the city of Oakland from the top of the hill. Many Oakland locals hike, jog, or walk their dogs around this cemetery.

After the cemetery, we explored Piedmont Avenue stopping inside Doña (a really cool, contemporary Mexican restaurant).

Overall, I felt safe in this area and I think it’s worth a visit if you are in Oakland. That said, I visited all of these areas during the day, so I’m not sure if the scene changes at night. 

Temescal

The same day that my husband and I walked around Piedmont and the Mountain View Cemetery, we also walked to Temescal. Just a fair warning in case you plan to do the same, it was a lot of walking!

The area of Temescal we visited is Telegraph Ave. I was told that this is the “up and coming” area. Honestly, I wasn’t impressed. Don’t get me wrong, Temescal had its share of places that looked worthy of stopping by for food or drinks, but it also had a fair amount of sketchiness. By sketchiness, I mean some establishments had bars on the windows and there was a fair amount of graffiti on buildings. We even found fentanyl testing kits in the bathrooms of one establishment (which is great for harm reduction, but a bit of a culture shock). Temescal was okay during the day, but I was ready to get out of the area before dark. 

I do think that the city is trying to turn this area around, which may be where the “up and coming” reference came from. This was in 2024, so maybe it will change (which brings up the issue of gentrification, a hot topic in Oakland, but that’s for another time). 

Rockridge

I didn’t visit this area during my stay in Oakland, but it has been described as a safe and  family-oriented neighborhood with lots of young families. 

Alameda

Alameda is a little island off of Oakland located in the bay between Oakland and San Francisco. While it is really close to downtown Oakland, it is still considered to be a very safe area. It’s a bit quieter than Oakland, but does have a few nice restaurants and some breweries to enjoy. 

Berkeley

Berkeley is primarily a college town centered around the University of California, Berkley. Surrounding the university, you have some fun areas to explore.

The main street of downtown Berkley is Shattuck Avenue (located to the west of the uniiversity). You also have Northside and Southside (respectively to the north and south of the University). All 3 of these areas are very walkable and felt safe. As expected, there are lots of college-aged adults running around. 

My husband and I spent an afternoon exploring Shattuck Ave, Southside and the university. If you get the chance, check out Jupiter. It’s where we stopped for lunch. They have an awesome selection of pizza and beer with a cool beer garden to enjoy. If you want another suggestion, one of my coworkers recommended Top Dog. Top Dog is a hot dog restaurant which is supposedly uber popular on college game days. 

Another place worth mentioning in Berkley is Tilden Regional Park (located east of campus). While I didn’t make it to this area myself, several people recommended it for it’s hiking trails. 

More towns in East Bay- San Leandro, the tri-valley, and Walnut Creek

San Leandro

During my 13 week contract in Oakland, my husband and I actually live right outside of the town in San Leandro. San Leandro is a fairly quiet, residential working class area. It has the necessities, but I wouldn’t go out of your way for it. That said, we did really enjoy living here as it felt safer than Oakland, but still provided great proximity to work and to be able to explore Oakland during the day. 

Tri-Valley

A little further East of San Leandro is the tri-valley area which is comprised of Dublin, Livermore, Pleasanton and San Ramon. These areas a much smaller and quieter than Oakland, but they have some fun things to do too. Particularly, I recommend downtown Livermore. It’s a cute, walkable street with several restaurants and bars. If you are a beer fan, I suggest Hops & Sessions which is a self pour taproom. You pay by the ounce and can sample as many of their beers as you like!

Walnut Creek

East of Oakland is Walnut Creek which has a nice downtown area spanning several blocks. While not as busy/metropolitan as Oakland, it is still much busier than the other outskirt towns mentioned above. I felt very safe in this area.

My husband and I ate dinner at Rooftop Restaurant and Bar for Valentines day. The views of the hills in the distance made it the perfect place for a chill and romantic evening. The food was top notch as well. 

I hope you found this guide to Oakland, California helpful. This city definitely has some issues, but it has a lot of culture and cool things to do as well. Comment below with your experience if you’ve been to Oakland. 

If you are interested in other bay area things + more, check out this post with my northern California bucket list (most of these are accessible from Oakland!).

Interested in more city guides? Take a look at this page with blog posts on the places I visit as a travel nurse.