Source: Wikipedia.
Oakland is California’s eighth largest city and it’s set just across the San Francisco Bay from San Francisco itself. Though Oakland is somewhat of a smaller brother to San Francisco it’s a highly desirable place to live, and the great news is it’s a fabulous city if you don’t own a car. According to Walk Score Oakland is the 10th most walkable major city in the country, with an overall Walk Score of 68.
Downtown Oakland
Downtown Oakland is the best neighborhood to live in if you want to get everything done on foot. A Walk Score of 96 shows that this neighborhood, right in the heart of the city, has everything you need within walking distance and as a bonus it has excellent public transportation and is also very bikeable. Most of the facilities are leisure based such as restaurants, bars, coffee shops, galleries, and stores, but there are also some schools here with a good graduation rate, and several public parks. The downside is a high crime index – Downtown Oakland is the un-safest neighborhood in the whole city, 60 percent higher than the Oakland average. You have a 1 in 9 chance of being a victim of crime here.
Civic Center
The Civic Center neighborhood is just to the east of Downtown Oakland and it has a lot going for it as a great place to live. Being the ‘civic center’ of the city you’ll find plenty of public services such as Alameda County Administration, the Superior Court, and Alameda County Vital Records. Oakland Public Library is right within the Civic Center neighborhood, as is the Oakland Museum of California, and it’s great that you have access to Lake Merritt. There are a couple of schools that have a great graduation rate, and restaurants, bars, and convenience stores complete the picture. Civic Center is the second most walkable neighborhood in Oakland with a Walk Score of 96, but like Downtown it is not the safest place to live in the city.
Chinatown
Chinatown is the third most walkable neighborhood in Oakland with a Walk Score of 95. Set south east of the central business district Oakland’s Chinatown dates back to the arrival of Chinese immigrants in the 1850s so it’s one of the oldest Chinatown’s in North America. There are Chinese and non-Chinese owned stores and services including grocery stores and restaurants, as well as one public school, but the graduation rates here are well below the city average. Crime-wise Chinatown isn’t too bad – it comes in safer than 32 percent of neighborhoods in Oakland, though the crime index is 41 percent higher than the Oakland average.
Lakeside
As the name suggests, the Lakeside neighborhood is set on the west shore of Oakland’s Lake Merritt so residents can enjoy a nice scenic outlook when living here. Also known as the Lakeside Apartments Districts, and also sometimes as The Gold Coast, this is a historic district of Oakland that includes a couple of public, lakeside parks. Lakeside has a Walk Score of 94 and includes schools, restaurants and stores, plus there are many other services within easy walking distance.
Old City
Old Oakland is a historic district adjacent to Chinatown and just south of Downtown. This was the original downtown when Oakland first grew during the 1860s and although many of the shops and businesses that used to be located here moved to the north it’s again a vibrant neighborhood today with plenty of attractive Victorian buildings. The area is on the up with more and more trendy bistros, restaurants, bars and shops opening, and right now it’s still quite affordable. You’d have to travel a little farther to get to schools, but the good thing is the Crime Index – it is 1 percent lower than the Oakland average and Old City is safer than nearly 70 percent of the neighborhoods in the city. Old City has a Walk Score of 94.
