I don't know when you were last in Oakland, but that is a wildly inaccurate generalization.
Does Oakland CA have more crime than average? Yes. Is it "turning into a ghetto over the last 40 yrs". NO.
We've lived here since 1990. Moved from SF because it was impossible to buy a SFH there. We live in a what was, when we arrived, a modest starter neighborhood in the hills, and what has now become a highly desirable neighborhood: centrally located, easy public transportation and freeway access, active neighborhood association and listserv.
Like all CA coastal RE, they say, "God ain't making any more of it." CA RE rises and falls like all crowded urban areas –– but when it recovers keeps going higher than before. Our home is now worth about 3–4x what we paid for it, which is an average return for CA home ownership. We love where we live: we have great neighbors, and Oakland is gentrifying at a terrific rate. It is a vibrant, lively, racially and socially diverse community.
Crime in big cities occurs mostly in "pockets". If you don't live in those "hot spots" it is as safe to walk the streets in Oakland as it is in San Francisco (in fact, the one time I've ever been mugged in CA was in SF, in the daytime).
We are foodies – there is little point to living in coastal CA if you aren't one. We can drive for 10 min. in any direction and find Oakland's multiples of: Ethiopian/Eritrean, authentic regional Italian (choice of Milan/Lombardy, or would you prefer Ligurian seafood?), equally authentic regional Mexican (the housemade nixtamalized cornmeal tortillas at Calavera or Nido are destination-worthy), Korean (both traditional and fusion; in fact we have a bigger Koreatown than SF now). Greek? Vietnamese? Indian (yes, both traditional and fusion – ask Anthony Bourdain for his recommendations which were on national TV)? Some of the best artisanal bread bakers in the region are in Oakland – SF may have Tartine, but we have Firebrand, Starter, and Semifreddi (which I prefer to Acme, Berkeley's famed bakery).
And don't let me forget the amazing Burmese, Laotian, Issan Thai, and Michelin–starred CA cuisine restaurants in Oakland, as well.
We consider ourselves fortunate to live here in Oakland. I wouldn't move back to SF now if you paid me. It's changed too much, and it's really a city for young people. SF has always been a transients' town; people come and go, that's its history. Look it up; that's how surrounding cities became settled. All outflow from SF proper.
The weather's immensely better in the East Bay; not too hot, not too cold, not too foggy. There are only seven areas in the world that have a Mediterranean climate, and the SF Bay Area is one of them.
Last year a national publication made headlines when it listed the 10 best food cities in the U.S., and in the SFBA it listed....not SF, but Oakland.
So yeah, if you think Oakland is all "ghetto", please don't come. We are finding parking spaces harder to get nowadays. Sometimes we have to park a block away instead of right in front, the way we could before we got 'discovered' as one of the best places to live in the SFBA.
