Here are some nice neighborhoods of Oakland (besides the hills) that are also near shopping districts:- Rockridge (near College and Claremont)- Montclair (near Mountain and LaSalle)- Lake Merritt Lakeshore (around Lake Merritt, and near Grand Ave. and Lakeshore Ave.)- Piedmont (I m talking about the part of Oakland near Piedmont Ave., not the city of Piedmont, which is very expensive.)Of course, all nice neighborhoods in the Bay Area have very high housing prices compared to the rest of the country, and Oakland is no different.The neighborhoods I mentioned above are some of the more fashionable or yuppier neighborhoods of Oakland, but there are other possibilities:- The Temescal district (around 51st and Telegraph) is an improving neighborhood, with an influx of good restaurants in recent years.- Much of Oakland that lies above the area bounded on the west by Telegraph Ave. and MacArthur Blvd. is pretty decent. I know some people who live northeast of the V formed by highways 13 and 580 (in the Laurel District), and their neighborhood seems quite pleasant, although not fancy.---The answer above (Sobrante Park) is a bad joke; this has a reputation for drugs and crime.You might take a look here:http://www.oakland.com/neighborhoods/Although this site has a real-estate-boosterism ring to it, it describes the nicer parts of the city. The one thing there that surprises me on this site is West Oakland. This used to be a grimy and poor industrial district. Perhaps it s improving, but I m just not familiar with it (except as the last BART stop before San Francisco). I think it still has a bad reputation for crime.If you live in the Bay Area, you have to get used to the fact that for the price of a near-mansion in much of the country, you get a small house on a small piece of land here. After the real estate bust, however, this is a much better time to buy than a couple of years ago. Rentals are also relatively expensive.You mentioned shopping. The neighborhoods I listed above all have nice shopping districts, but mostly with small local stores. For more shopping options, it s a quick ride on BART from Oakland into downtown San Francisco. The only problem is that it s difficult to find parking at many BART stations, so living within walking distance of BART offers an advantage. Of course, there are also large malls scattered through the Bay Area, but not in Oakland.I mentioned that neighborhoods that lie above MacArthur Blvd. are mostly safe, but there may be some exceptions. For instance, the area around MacArthur in east Oakland (e.g., around 73rd Ave.) is a high-crime neighborhood. Here s a link to a map of homicides in Oakland. I don t want to scare you, but it gives you some notion of which neighborhoods are safer.http://www.sfgate.com/maps/oaklandhomici��
Actually there are none.. sorry. But as long as your wearing a raiders jersey and keep to yourself you will be safe and fine. Good luck! :)
Sobrante Park