Originally Posted by
jade408
Probably. You know how we also have those super tricked out cars too!
Serious crime in Oakland is the same way. But car break-ins are equal opportunity in certain neighborhoods. But that isn't particularly shocking. I live in a safe area, there are occasional car-breakins on some streets. But more serious stuff is rare. Like occasionally I'll hear about someone's phone getting stolen. When I moved to my area is was more on the middle class scale. Now it is trickling up to upper middle class, but it is still diverse. I don't think there is an ethnic majority. If there is, it means 50-52% white, but not further.
Totally an Oakland cheerleader! I wouldn't say it is a conventional tourist attraction, but if you are in the Bay you should visit. Particularly if you like architecture or food.
We have loads of Art Deco buildings downtown, and lots of good neighborhood housing stock from all sorts of eras. And lots of tasty high quality food places. You can get "expensive" tacos with pastured meat and handmade organic tortillas.
Sure they are like $3.50, but that's not bad when you factor in ingredient quality and chef pedigree. Cheaper than going to a 5 star place. I love that we've got
cheap places by a Michelin stared chef or someone fresh off a turn at a super high end place.
The central neighborhoods are pretty bikable, and that is spreading to the edge areas to, slowly but surely.
There is ONE car here that is red and covered in flames. The funny part is that it is some 4 cylinder compact. But, you can tell the kid who drives it loves it. Other then that.... the tricked out cars are pretty limited to spinner hubs and after market window tint. (Which gives the police a reason to hassle the drivers-it's illegal here.) Unless you count classic restored cars. Lots of them.
Oh, we have that too. And last summer we had a problem with a bunch of wanna be hoodlums beating up people for their cell phones. I did have a run in with them but luckily I was by my brothers car and hopped right in. An hour later they jumped a guy. I reported it afterwards, sad I didn't report it before hand. (They got them. This town is wired for video both publicly and privately. They were 15-17 year old morons. That is pretty much it as far as serious random crime, thank god.)
This is a very diverse area. We've got old Polish sections with beautiful old churches in gold, Irish and Italian places with their interesting graveyards and festivals, some German enclaves still (Beer!!!), a small Jewish community, a lot of Hispanic folk, black folk from Philly, and a lot of new Indian immigrants who wear saris to go to Wallmart. It makes this area interesting. We have some great food around.. if you don't mind looking (or a warning from the chef that the cooking is authentic therefor SPICY! LOL)
That said, you drive 20 minutes out and you are in one of the last strong holds of the Klan. PA is an odd state like that. Each end is full of vibrate melting pots but the center man... the center.