Here's What Downtown Oakland, California Looks Like Today
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- Oakland just might be broken for good.
Some say tech will help - bringing in new fancy high paying jobs and companies. Some say tech is making things worse here by blowing up the cost of living and forcing people into the streets.
Here's the Oakland PTSD T Shirt featured in the video: my-store-57884...
Downtown Oakland everyone! Don’t get too excited. This isn’t a very fun place. In fact, it’s not a very nice place at all. Oakland has always been the cheaper, more culturally stimulating ugly sister of San Francisco across the bay. And based on what I saw and from what people are saying, Oakland is in a bad place right now.
For this drive, we’re going to tour downtown Oakland and visit a few neighborhoods here. It was late in the day at the end of October and the skies were partly cloudy.
You probably won’t be wowed by this downtown. But it’s actually nice compared to the surrounding areas. Cause Oakland is a very rundown place in every direction. Trash graffiti and homeless people seem to be in every nook and cranny. You can see that in other videos I did.
Downtown is one of the few areas in Oakland that’s not completely trashed. Yet. It’s in west Oakland which is the better Oakland - but that's not saying much. This downtown isn’t fancy and it's very dangerous at night. A little later I’ll talk about my night walk through downtown, but as you might expect it wasn’t pleasant.
Oakland is trying to gentrify the downtown area. They’re tearing out old ugly warehouses and putting in sparkling new condos in parts of town. However, it can be hard to justify paying $5,000 a month for a condo here when the first floor windows get smashed, people are getting shot nearby or your car is vandalized. And all the new growth has outpriced a lot of people here, so there are a bunch of empty buildings. People here wonder why they can’t be turned into cheap apartments.
Now I talked to several people while in Oakland this day, and there seems to be a dichotomy among residents here. On one hand, there’s a lot of pride among people in West Oakland. Oakland is very funky and gritty and rough around the edges, and a lot of people here are into art and music and self expression. It’s often hard to tell what’s vandalism and what’s art. Or what’s both.
Many residents have pride in Oakland, and they think San Francisco is an overpriced bunch of snobs without a sense of community and culture. Here in Oakland you pay $5k for a condo only to have your windows shot out. But across the bay, you pay a million bucks for a house with poop on your porch.
People I talked to say they look out for one another on this side of the bridge and they want change. A lot of people here say they want to make Oakland better - or at least not let it get worse. Some will say Oakland is pushing BACK against the negative that has crept in. Locals will tell you stories about how during protests, the community would stand guard to protect the small business owners from being looted. Or how people will demand a more even playing field for the poor.
But when I drove around Oakland and the surrounding areas, it was hard to see evidence of the community pride. It’s like people live in what they used to call paradise, but now treat it like hell.
Oakland is challenged in many ways. Drugs, gangs, shootings, graffiti, trash, homelessness and poverty are issues that are getting worse all the time. And it used to be that you could flee up into the surrounding hills to get away from Oakland’s drama, into areas like Walnut Creek. But it’s even creeping into the nice neighborhoods, too.
Here in downtown, it’s not very safe. Besides the property crime that happens on just about every block, there are often shootings. Sometimes you can hear gunfire down here every night of the week.
It’s not ALL bad here. Because it’s cheaper here than in San Francisco, a lot of technology companies have moved into the downtown area. There’s certainly a startup scene here and with that comes a lot of smart, motivated wealthy people. The city has a downtown economic development plan with hopes to revitalize the area with additional housing, public spaces, and other improvements. So that’s good.
#california #moving
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The best video on this topic!
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Why did you say shut up for
I'm not American, but watching this guy drive through peaceful streets that basically just look like they need some life (the intersection at 5:00 actually looks very nice) and say that he could get mugged and he's on "his toes" is pretty hard for me to understand. I feel like any major city has the exact same problems as Oakland, California has, please correct me if I'm wrong though. All Im saying is if this is what is considered broken in America then you guys are in a good position in your country.
I'm actually surprised by how calm and nice this video looks. Oakland looks nothing like this, from what I've seen as of late.
The homeless encampments are all over, and growing. A lot of once nice places just look really run down now, the streets are in a sad state of affairs and desperately need repairing, and crime? Arghhh... Yeah. That's definitely an issue.
This video was surprisingly calm. I'm in Oakland several days a week, and I wish things were this "zen". It's actually depressing.
Oakland has a lot of crime , poverty ,gangs and drugs more so than most cities it's size . That's the problem .
I grew up in Oakland and there's a lot of race violence, mostly gangs. But now I only visit every few years or so and every time it gets worse with the homeless/drug problem. People who aren't in their right mind and will gladly stab or shoot you to get their fix. Walking around at night feels like a zombie movie with all the twitching people.
@arizenation3188 I got a question if you don't mind answering, I'm planning on heading out there for a concert at fox theatre with my girlfriend but having second thoughts, I'd like to hear what your opinion is on if we'd be pretty safe in the area? I'm mexican by the way if that matters
Our local government loves to replace the old residents when they no longer benefit thier agenda unfortunately. Most of the people you see trashing and living in the streets used to have lives and live in the homes they are now parked around.. At least the ones that lucky enough to not be dead already .
Oakland is actually a beautiful city with lots of parks and victorian's and beautiful trees. There are redwood forests and lots of hiking trails. Lake Merritt is nice and totally safe during the day. My 98 year old grandma talks about how beautiful Oakland was when she was a child. It's a shame that this beautiful city has gone so far downhill because it has the potential to be a gem.
He never said it wasn't a beautiful city, it even says it in the title.....
Lake Merritt is a dump now. Sad
My hometown I love it but haven’t been in the area for decades.. I agree so much potential
"Totally safe during the day"
bruh Lake merritt?🤣 where 3 PEOPLE have been robbed and killed in the last months including the mother of a 2 year old baby girl ? and then another victim was beaten, Dragged, and shot for a Louis Vuitton bag .....why not show it?🤣
Oakland is a picture of the future of all California under Governor Gavin !
Unfortunately I think your right.
This is the same state that gave us Adam Schiff Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi so what do you expect
@@Ryguy-lg2xz yeah they are soft leaders but their human beings let's still try to love all people.
Futurles would be the correct terminology!!!
Even the police keep a couple of cars together under this wonderful governor.
This is what decades of terrible policy and governance leads to.
THe woke voters deserve the blame first. This is what they voted for.
@@kanank13 exactly! It’s every city in America now. Sad.
How? Be specific
@@portland675 You're asking a lot from this comment section, all they know is "liberals bad" and "BLM burnt down blank city"
@@portland675 are you really clueless?
KEEP VOTING DEMOCRATIC CALIFORNIA
@@timweb1510 votes don't matter they get selected.
Like florida is better ugh
Idaho Wyoming and Montana are better anyway. So was Colorado before all the Calis screwed it up
Democrats needs to be remotes from the voter roles! Most people vote either Republican or Libertarian as they represent the center and right.
Oakland is not for the weak! I was born and raised in Oakland, ALL cities have a rough side. It looks like you're only driving around a five mile radius. There's a lot more to Oakland than that.
I live in Oakland too and I was thinking the same.
There's probably a few nice blocks
THANK YOU. Someone that understands, all city’s have bad neighborhoods and good neighborhoods and what this channel is focusing on is only the bad places. If you drive a bit more around downtown and not just focus on Chinatown, there is jack London square, Uptown, lake Merritt and other places that aren’t even around downtown. Dimond, rockridge, piedmont etc. this guy also went past broadway like 5 times and broadway is one of the nicest streets in Oakland which shows that you were trying to highlight just the bad stuff. focusing just on the bad places is kinda manipulative because people watching this video that never have seen oakland will be mislead that it’s an awful city with nothing good, even though most of it is really nice.
Broad way is cleaner and safe but the whole thing is done…… People should get some help but I don’t blame them I blame the expensive price no wonder why people are doing this it’s beacuse of how expensive it is
Oakland has a lot of problems. And a lot of homless are in the center of down town. But you didn't really go anywhere. You circled china town went down 12th street, did a 180 then went back to china town. You went nowhere past outside of 12-15th street. You missed all of uptown, the lake area, jack london square and the college area.
I agree, this was a very limited (and seemingly biased) presentation of Oakland.
@@susanbrown4507 It's very much biased. The video said "here is the rest of downtown Oakland" but that's not true. Its the same street on 12th where he left Chinatown where he just did 180 on the same street. Even people who have never been to downtown Oakland can just google downtown Oakland and see its MUCH more to it than that. Oakland has its problems though. in fact there is a global housing shortage and drug pandemic in every major city on earth. in cities where homelessness isn't that visible, often criminalize homelessness and even make it illegal to give food or money to homeless persons. So I'm curious where he lives now.
I honestly don't know why anyone listens to this guy... it's incredibly frustrating that he spends a few days or so in a place and claims to be an expert. Also, I am really upset that he's marketing and selling those OPTSD shirts. Not cute, not funny. He needs to take that off of his online store and donate any money he's made to an honest Oakland-based organization that benefits the community, like EFAM and Cob on Wood.
He has a biased agenda. It’s not an honest review. He literally generalizes based off two blocks.
"Noo all the bad places are not here but a few blocks away from here". You're just coping your city is Mogadishu.
I hate driving by Oakland. The whole bay are in general looks really bad. Trash, homelessness,BLM signs, crime
Lol what? BLack lives matter signs offend you?
@@portland675 they support communism and abolishing the police. Two things I oppose
@@MrMet-ih5jv That is 100% false
@@portland675 look it up
The signs are a problem?
When I lived in SF 20 years ago, tech companies were just coming in and changing the city, and a lot of my friends were moving to Oakland. It was up-and-coming with a vibrant cultural scene, cheaper rent, and better weather. Although it had a reputation for being dangerous, there was a feeling that it was improving, and that some day it would rival San Francisco as a premier city by the bay. It is sad to see that both cities are regressing now. The point that was made in this video about not wanting to go there because it isn’t safe should concern the city’s leadership. If there is no physical security, then businesses will not invest and people will not come there to spend money. In turn, the city will deteriorate. I avoided going to Oakland, and now I avoid going to SF because I don’t want my car windows smashed. (There’s always someone who replies, “Good. We don’t want you anyway.” It’s working out fine for me and everyone else in my shoes. I hope it works out for you too.) As far as I know, there has always been corruption and incompetence in the city governments of both Oakland and SF. I don’t know how you turn this around.
We just avoid California altogether. Well, we avoid the total West coast of the US.
Stop voting in the same liberals over and over again.
One of my nieces lives in Oakland and has a good job working for Google.I live in Raleigh NC and will take Raleigh any day over any area in California.
@@jan22150 It is weird talking to some of my friends who live up there. It’s like they’ve been brainwashed so they can’t see what is happening right in front of them. One friend was complaining about Republicans. Meanwhile, she has had her car broken into multiple times, and her apartment broken into by a psychotic crack-addict neighbor that the landlord was unable to evict. That neighbor made is unsafe to go in and out of her apartment because he and his girlfriend were always hanging around behaving erratically. I told her she is literally the poster child for how Republicans view progressive dysfunction. I wonder if she will ever stop voting for more of the same.
It's called Progressives, Democrats and your term culturally vibrant you primarily talking Joggers who commit the majority of violent crime.
All of these cities...same problem.
Ya because America will rot up😨😱〽🔻❗
1000 years from now, the homeless will still be homeless.
And to think the cheapest and most successful way to fix it is to simply give people housing. But we refuse to do it, and then we all suffer.
being homeless will be the new thing and the working man will get laughed at
Are they ever going to extinction?
This dude said he was scared for 5days, scarf of what!! Oakland like every other town mind ur business you be alright
LA has it's problems but Oakland looks way worse and way dirtier.
Wow.
He's scared of fast scooters and loud doors apparently
Not true at all lol.
LA is the dirtiest city in the galaxy
I'm sad watching this because in the '70's I worked in Oakland and it was pretty nice! LOVED DOGGIE DINER! There was a great Hof-Brau to have lunch and some cute boutiques..great book and newspaper place, nice department stores, friendly people walking around. Lake Merritt was great...I'm tearing up just thinking about it 😢...oh and Boz Scaggs had a New Year's Show at the Paramount Theater - New Year's 1974 which was incredible and great clubs to go dancing...great memories of Oakland! I lived in Berkeley and Alameda at the time..very nice
The seventies were great in Oakland. When cocaine hit the streets in the eighties, all hell broke loose. It has been lights out since then.
Empty streets. Seems that people do not walk anymore, except for homeless people. All drive Toyotas. Feels something off with this city. Looks more like a computer game, no life there, no heart, dead robotic town.
What a dump!! Sadly all coastal cities are going to hell. Very tragic. Vote useless politicians out!!
Visit my home city of Portland, that went to shit real fast. Not coastal but near the Wilamette and Columbia River.
Unfortunately. It’s not just costal cities. Memphis, St Louis, Philadelphia ,Little Rock, Montgomery , Chicago .... etc...come to mind.
Not really. Visit Cambria, CA. Its quite beautiful.
@Nat D I think he means anything within 2 hours of the coast is "coastal." Oakland isn't really coastal but an short drive to the ocean
True. Was born and raised in Oakland but moved to the Seattle area when I was 8 years old. It didn't seem similar at first but its slowly and slowly getting the same way.
I was a cop in Oakland 28 years ago. I wouldn't go back there without a gun for any reason in the world. It wasn't a nice place back then and it's only gotten way worse.
Jerry Brown wasn't too bad as governor of CA, although far from perfect, but Gavin Newsom has destroyed the state and has no clue what he's doing.
U nuts? Brown was a complete sell out acehole. He gave 10's of millions to illegals! Gavin is straight evil, yet doest get impeached!
@@benrichards9667 I'm going by the lesser of 2 evils. He at least had experience and kind of knew what he was doing.
Of course he knows what’s he’s doing! Wake up!
Gavin is holding his breath.....LOL
It breaks my heart because Oakland was my home for 20 plus years, I lived and walked around on all the streets in this video. Having grown up in poverty as an adult Oakland was all I could afford and I lived there longer than I'd lived anywhere in my life. I grew up witnessing crime, homicides and the downtrodden but after the looting and dead guy I saw under a yellow plastic sheet then hauled off by the coroner I just couldn't take it anymore, all of my previous trauma returned, the callousness of criminals and the disregard for victims made me move with a deeply heavy heart that I had to escape my home and move far away from my friends in Oakland. My new neighborhood is calm, quiet and peaceful I see animals here coyotes, owls, lots of crows and can hear the waves crashing at night but am deeply saddened that I had to flee my home because of corrupt government, political correctness and violent criminals. I think 50% of my building moved, too. Those sociopaths who say good you left don't return fail to understand the psychological impact Oakland had on some really decent people who couldn't take it anymore and left.
And can you believe a lot of people on here are defending oakland?
@@NickJohnson why is that hard to believe ? Who hurt you growing up ? Seems you just wake up to post negative FALSE mainly assumptions from the camera I guess it’s a step above from keyboard right?
Lol. Its ruined & you moved because of political correctness & corrupt politicians? I hate to burst your bubble, but those things are pretty much anywhere you go.
@@NickJohnsonI know how much you like the bash Oakland. Look at San Bernardino where you’re from it’s a shit hole just like cities like Riverside, Stockton, Bakersfield etc…
@@NickJohnson how long have u lived in Oakland?
This is not representative of what Oakland looks like. If you go to the run down parts of any major city, this is what you’ll find. Conditions have absolutely worsened as a result of the pandemic in terms of encampments and crime, as is true across the country.
The truth is that there’s a bustling food scene, vibrant and beautiful waterfronts a few blocks from this, dozens of “full service” new condo and apartment buildings, and most Oakland is actually verdant residential territory. It’s a sprawling city, so barely anyone lives downtown except for transplants from SF who don’t get it.
Exactly I live here and this guy is def pushing a certain narrative. Also graffiti doesn't mean unsafe.
Get real What about lake Lake merritt?🤣 where 3 PEOPLE have been robbed and killed in the last months including the mother of a 2 year old baby girl ?🤣😭🤣😭 and then another victim was beaten, Dragged, and shot for a Louis Vuitton bag .....?🤣
@@rdzrdz2312 yeah 3 compared to the 111 that happend in east Oakland it ain’t that bad bruh lol
Irresponsible procreation and uncontrolled immigration is causing most of the crime waves. Unwanted unloved children and uneducated unskilled people immigrating from third world nations are destroying the US. It's better here in Canada but not a lot better. As a 25 year old, I'm not real optimistic about the future. My grandparents, who are baby boomers, are living pretty well in the US. they did well in their careers and enjoying a pretty good retirement but I think the baby boomer generation are the last of the affluent in both the US and Canada. The world really. It's sad. I'm an engineer with a degree but I have to live with my mother here in Toronto because I can't afford housing. Think about that for a moment. A college educated engineer with a pretty good job but can't afford rent or to buy a house.
Move to Arkansas. Sounds like you will love it.
And not all boomers are affluent. Many, many elderly folks are homeless and living on the streets. Some boomers are wealthy but there are rich millennials as well. In fact, the middle classes were beginning to be destroyed in the 70s with manufacturing going to right to work states for cheaper labor.
Wow....a young woman with a levelheaded understanding about why she's living home with her parents. That's unbelievable. We might see some progress yet. Immigration uncontrolled and flooded will kill and it's already affected the younger crowd of a future. Especially when it comes to shelter. You don't need a degree to add the unbalanced population that we have.
You are a true 🤡
Get a second job
This is what happens when years of liberalism/progressivism goes unchecked for decades.
@@clemfandango5886 Would rather be in West Virginia than Oakland tbh. Less likely to get murdered and lots of nice countryside. In the south all the crime happens in Democrat voting cities like Atlanta, Memphis, St Louis, Montgomery and New Orleans
@@clemfandango5886 I agree. Both parties suck that’s why I don’t vote.
NO....,a country involved in wars all around the globe
@@Chris-pq3wp 100% correct
@@clemfandango5886 I have lived and grown up I south my entire life and have never seen or been associated with anyone in the Klan. That is a very uneducated statement to assume because someone is white and in the south they are with the klan.
Have lived in downtown Oakland since 2003 - time flies ! Biggest problem is there is no affordable housing. You can’t have developers come in, gentrify the shit out of an area and throw people, many which have lived here all their lives, out into the streets. The pandemic has also dealt another heavy blow and made it almost impossible for small businesses to survive. To sum it up in one word, GREED !!!! The entire country is going to shit and your videos are proof
Or maybe because property taxes are high, so no one wants to invest there. Maybe it is expensive for a reason? You can blame greed, but I think there are other reasons. Wasn't rent cheaper in the past?
Yep, greed 100%
Greed on both ends of spectrum .
Yes. Coming from someone born and raised in the east bay I have seen the downfall since the tech industry has boomed as well. They have brought all the gentrification. People moving in from all over the world and we are pretty much getting pushed out.
Sabotage! our government has sold us out. Everything we are told is a lie, our president was not even elected.
Soft on crime, tough on life (for tax-payers).
I blame Trump and then covid.
J. Biden
Covid phyop
aka. The people that actually work
Well at least Biden promises to cure cancer now.
@@kandyaxelrod8797 I hope this is sarcasm.
From what I've seen, California's idea on how to fix the state is to gentrify everything. Money can only coat a problem for so long. A town where I live that had been gentrified to oblivion is actually worse off now for how expensive the town has gotten.
I can see that's exactly what's happening with most metro areas minus some such as Saint Louis, Missouri which has a great museum and zoo, but nothing more I'd want in my life.
Exactly.
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GOVERNOR NEUSOM, NANCY PELOSI, DIANE FINESTEIN, JOE BIDEN, HILLARY & BILL CLINTON, O'BAMA, and co are letting the homeless people sleep over at their house - spread the word!!!
Kids did not get accepted to any college or university with free tuition after high school. UC Berkeley is the enemy for the community that only increase homeless people for the poor, while the educated rich get wealthy, despite no one will dare to say it.
I believe this has less to do with wokeness and more to do with 40 years of policies which has destroyed the middle-class.
What I really hate is the state we are in. There is no discussing what is actually wrong, or how to fix it, with people pointing fingers. The WOKE crowd wasn't even a thing, when Oakland's problems began.
@@Lildizzle420 There was a section in the build back better bill that offered incentives to cities and counties to abolish zoning ordinances that don't allow multi family dwellings. Build back better was voted down, of course. I hope California abolishes single family zoning like you said. That will help a lot.
When I was a little boy, my grandmother lived in Alameda and we regularly went to Oakland. I remember a clean and safe downtown, and have many memories of good times at the Oakland Zoo and Children's Fairyland. What I see now looks like the dystopian timeline where Biff Tannen had the sports almanac.
I'm guessing you were a little boy well before 2015. See my comment thread for more details.
I agree when I was about 10 or so. I would take the bus downtown alone. All my mother asked me to do is be home for supper. If I was that age and my family still live in Oakland, that traveling alone would never, never happen. Nice fancy tall office buildings now, by no street life that would interest me.
Oakland is safer now than it was 30 years ago.this video is a big pile of 💩
GOVERNOR NEUSOM, NANCY PELOSI, DIANE FINESTEIN, JOE BIDEN, HILLARY & BILL CLINTON, O'BAMA, and co are letting the homeless people sleep over at their house - spread the word!!!
@@nicoleerny635 It certainly isn't as safe as it was in 1968. I can't say about 1991 (in many places around the US crime peaked in the mid nineties, but many of those same places are now approaching the same levels of crime), I do know that by the mid 1970s it was well known to be a place to stay away from. My aunt lived on East 14th until probably 1973 when she GTFO.
Here in Oakland, you pay 5k for a condo only to have your windows shot but across the bay, you pay a million bucks for a house with poop on your porch; lol😂
As someone who has lived in the area you showed this video felt very out of touch. You really overplayed how bad downtown Oakland is. It's pretty safe and clean, especially in comparison to the actual bad parts of Oakland.
As someone who was born in Oakland in 77 he has plenty videos stating that very fact and is just pointing out the very obvious disability Oakland has, engineered and otherwise.
I rent an office in downtown Oakland. The other day, I couldn’t get inside because someone was sleeping in the entry way. I called the non-emergency police line and yet no one came.
It was such a disappointing moment.
Oakland is the hood...but it has hella nice areas too.
Enough with the hella, fella.
The future of oakland is...it will look like Falluja,Iraq or Mogadishu , Somalia.
I feel like this is the only channel that really describes how well the US is on a downfall.
Why does the intenet and world notmalized hating America like Justin bieber in early 2010’s and Kardashaians
@@hermeslein6614 . Maybe because Americans love thumping their chests with false pride and incorrectly believe they are greatest country on the planet. The truth is that much of the developed world caught up with the USA many years ago and some even surpassed the USA in overall quality of life. The one thing the USA is best at is war mongering. Eventually, that too will come to an end as the country is imploding.
@@MrSupernova111 lol many americans these are leftists who hate thier country very much no one hates america as much as Americans
Oakland right off the airport was so bad, we didn’t stop at red lights.
There are many locals in Oakland who don't stop at red lights and who also exceed the speed limit straight through 4 way stops without even slowing down.
20+ years of far-left politics and Oakland is now Detroit's "sister city." LA and SF are not far behind.
Is there a racial demographic that is not being discussed in this video?
I watched the video. Unfortunately you are mostly just highlighting the negative. There are many neighborhoods that look much better than what you depicted in your video. Yes there are some rough areas but there also many great areas. I would suggest creating videos that are more balanced.
I would suggest you stop wasting time suggesting things lol
Hes showing a bias depiction of the city because he knows that his viewers only want to see the bad…sad but those who are smart will know that Oakland is way more than this.
Scott Govers, I'd suggest you make your own channel.
If you had to absolutely destroy it overnight, call on the damn Democrats: look at Oakland, SF, LA, Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Philadelphia, NYC and so on ……
Dang I never realized how boring the color of cars were until watching this video 😂.
I’m always saying that....white is so cutting edge these days...
yup! The 1950's are long gone....
White, red.& silver is pretty much the colors todays car dealers offer. Once in a great while, blue or a faded green. When cars were outstanding it used to be, Metallic blue and candy apple red Pontiac G T O's and Chevy Chevelle's. Green, blue, or red Metal Flake Chevy Corvettes. The same thing that happened to Oakland happened to corporations. What people want will get zero consideration. What they will get shall lead the dealer or entity behind them to the mother load of money, And the consumer gets no choice other than the bland obvious. Todays car all look identical, a Toyota looks exactly like a Chevy, Ford, Honda, Buick, Acura, They all look the same.
@@richardbartolo2890 i miss seeing the pastel cars of the sixties and fifties,....gorgeous....
It's always interesting, Property owners will leave a space empty rather than lower the rent value to reflect the market.
People I used to know would call it Coke-land, for obvious reasons. 😆😄😅
Nick would live to see you do some direct comparisons of cities. I.e. Kansas City Vs. St. Louis or Dallas/Houston.
I could!
@@NickJohnson what were the gangs you're referring to?
@@MJ-bm8oq coming from him he’d make up 100k hangs out of “Oakland “!
@@MJ-bm8oq 2’s 3’s and 4’s
I moved to Oakland 20yrs it was beautiful. 7yrs ago the rents went up and the trash moved in. I blame the mayor oh and that Newsom ugh
I understand what he talking about but just cause Oakland looks bad doesn't mean us people here are bad too
I am a Black man and I feel safer in Oakland than I do in Walnut Creek. The gangs in Walnut Creek are large and well funded. The Walnut Creek police department and the Contra Costa County fire department are two of the largest gangs in California. These gang members have pension plans.
God is Love.
Looked like a City in anywhere USA complete with a few nice apartment buildings What happened to the slime, grime and crime? Your slacking Nick!
Anywhere north of dc and near the ocean but not like any city in 90% of the country
I grew up Oakland CA lived on lake shore on lake Merritt. 1975 to 2000. It is great place back then. Great ethnic restaurants. Walks around the lake. Rent boats on the lake. Great place to live back then.
Still is, truthfully, this video is idiotic
I left San Francisco twice to live in Oakland. I enjoyed living in Oakland when I was young!
It's still great. A little wobbly after corona but so much great stuff did survive.
I lived in Alameda county for 35 years. Oakland has always had a promise of becoming a great place, but it has never happened. I am a big fan of Oakland as I have always seen it as the underdog. As you can tell from the video downtown Oakland does not look that bad. I think what Nick found is that it does not have the hustle and bustle of SF. You feel alone downtown and given the reputation it makes you feel unsafe. As Nick said Oakland is complicated. You will see the crazy people but you will also find many kind people that want you to find the enjoyable parts of Oakland. The guy that greets you with a welcome coming out of the BART station is certainly something you won’t see in SF. But alas I have retired and moved out of the Bay Area. The reasons for moving just overwhelmed any reasons for staying.
Born and raised in West Oakland. I remember when Oakland was the little brother to San Francisco. Both cities were fairly clean back then. Parts of San Francisco became dirty, graffiti everywhere city. Drugs and the homeless problem really grew. When San Fran people migrated to Oakland, they brought the good bad and ugly with them. Parts of Oakland to me looks like the worse parts of San Fran. 580 freeway going thru Oakland was always clean. Now it's a dumping ground. Lake Merritt was always clean and there was very little violence there. Downtown now has all these new apartments which have very little parking. The last two super liberal mayors for Oakland have been horrible for the city. I have no problems with liberals, but super liberals' politicians have been horrible for Oakland and California period. Just my opinion. Northern California has morphed into the negative parts of Southern California. Moved from Oakland many years ago. Now we are ready to leave California.
*_Luke 19.10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”_*
*_Matthew 11.28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."_*
_Jesus Christ loves you. Repent and be saved. Only Jesus Christ saves. God bless you, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family._
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Oakland does look bad... and no way it's not on purpose...
SF is just as bad.. TL,HP,Swampy D..
1979/82 was station in the navy, in alameda. did a lot of (10) k road races around the bay area, oakland, held the best races and even with the crime, never had any problems catching the bart or waiting for the bus.
Appreciate the service. Lots changed unfortunately...
Vote Democrat, vote dystopia
@@clemfandango5886 you are comparing states that have always been poorer to California which used to be the model state and was very vibrant. There can be many underlying issues on why that vibrancy has gone down the toilet. those in political power who can make direct decisions that affect locally have direct affect on where things are today there. Now with that being said, what political party has the strongest hold there and has for many decades, the democrats. Why do so many people there keep voting in this party, they are literally killing the state with outrageously poor land and financial management. 🤔
@@clemfandango5886 the national elections have very little to do with state of decline in California. It’s state and local that make decisions, laws and policies that impact localities. 40 years ago California wasn’t in current state it’s in now. Again who is in control of political decisions there, democrats-point finger and lay big blame on them. Stop voting them in. It’s like taking a medicine with a really bad side effect but because you are told it is beneficial you keep taking it anyway. Just a point to think about
@@clemfandango5886 you are correct and I wish you and your wife the utmost success and happiness at your new destination
@@clemfandango5886 actually I have never been to California but hope to one day visit and see the geographical beauty in person
Oakland’s always been pretty REAL. None of this is new. Many parts have also gentrified big time.
West Oakland has never been considered the better part lol
😂🤣😂🤣 I let tht one slide
Oakland has been that way for a long time. I worked downtown in the 1970s. the government is always proclaiming Oakland is up and coming.
There are plenty of issues in Oakland, but it’s a pretty fantastic place to live. Go to telegraph, old Oakland, lake Merritt, Jack London square.
Next time have someone show you around so you just don't show the bad parts.
Show me one major city without homeless and crime
I'll be waiting
Why should any city have ANY homeless or crime at all?
Singapore.
And in the US, there are plenty of East Coast cities that learned how to manage these issues much better. When I lived in Boston, I left my car outside for five years and nobody smashed the windows.
Oakland? Literally one evening after two hours. And the police didn't care. Why should they?
Them wasnt even the bad parts... just the empty ones...😂🤣
You obviously don't know Oakland that well & there are other cities as bad, if not worse.
🤮 you need to travel more hun
@@NickJohnson I HAVE traveled, "hun" and grew up in New York City.
Hey Nick, thanks for showing Oakland. It really is hellish and I don’t blame anyone in particular but everyone in general. Lack of support, poor management, broken legal system, and I can go on forever. When visiting Oakland you really have to be careful. There’s been a lot of car break ins and robberies in broad daylight. Don’t make yourself an easy target by hiding all your valuables and you should be fine.
that earthquake cant come soon enough
I remember over 25 years ago setting a boat in the water @ the 5th Ave boat launch on the Embarcadero and spending a day on the bay with my cousins...one visiting from Oregon....We returned to find the truck window smashed and my poor cousins purse that was hidden underneath the seat long gone.....Smash & Grab has been a long time Oakland tradition....Started going to Alameda after that event....Even to this day....Alameda has a very pro-active police force....Oakland PD....They have always had problems.
Watching this video makes me want to pick up some Chinese food.
Me too
Golden medal 🏅 🔥
I live in a veterans homeless shelter here on 8th st. The beginning of this video is a cruise down 7th st.
@@sanbruno6010 !!
Appreciate ya service!
As a Bay Area local and someone who lives in Oakland I agree that Oakland has really bad areas but you have to show the good areas too, Oakland Zoo, Montclair, The Cathedral Building, Oakland City Hall, Chabot Space and Science Center, Shepherds Canyon Park, Lake Merritt, Reinhardt Redwood Regional Park, and other places. Oakland may not be the best city, but it’s my city. Another thing I would like to point out is that other big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York also have areas like this. Every city has its ups and downs.
I’m not saying that this video is wrong, there are many places like this in Oakland, but I just wanted to point out some of the highlights of the city.
Nick should tag along with CharlieBoi13 in a collaboration effort. That'd be insane!
Hope you will come check out downtown Nashville. There is a growing litter and homeless problem here. Some of it within 50 yards of City Hall…a lot of people from California and Washington and New York have moved here, and unfortunately it seems they have brought the same mindsets with them as well…
I'm going to!
@@jackip2ava conservatives won’t make it any better though.
@@kaydenchan7093 You are wrong about that. Wherever an influx of people turns a city from red to blue, the same thing happens. It all has to do with values. If you don't see a difference, you aren't paying attention. Liberalism: No individual responsibility, rights without responsibilities, handouts, equal outcomes instead of equal opportunities, identity politics, guilt by ancestry, etc. Conservative: You are responsible for the outcome of your choices, work hard, no one owes you anything, safety net, not a trampoline, work toward equal opportunity insofar as it is possible, but you are responsible for the outcome of your life. "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself." Ben Franklin
@@frankrosenbloom no it’s you who’s wrong, everything you said is just myths and lies and false accusations.
@@kaydenchan7093 Sorry, but you are reacting emotionally, as do most liberals. Everything I said can be shown to be true. You don't want it to be, but reality does not depend on your wishes. I'm ready to accept what you say, but show me evidence and proof of where I am wrong. You call me a liar. Specifically show me where I have lied. Back up your assertions and persuade me.
Way to go Democrats!
I don’t recall it being better with Republicans either how about way to go corporations. But unlike you I trust no government representative with corporate ties. I also don’t believe in democrats or republicans
More like corruption land
Liberalism gone wild.
Sorry......but it was capitalism going wild, deciding to outsorce millions of US manufacturing jobs to India and China.
@@iananderson3799 that is the lamest excuse I have ever heard. Democrats have ruled that area for decades.
@@12NFLtitles It the root cause of the decline of the USA as a whole. Reps allowed big businesses to do as they wished - and they knew they could maximise profits by paying an asian company to manufacture goods, at a fraction of US wages. Simple economics, sir.
@@iananderson3799 what a joke, get a clue dude.
@@12NFLtitles ok.......give me one.
I lived in Oakland in 2020. I couldn't believe I was in the USA as a hundred people marched down my street boldly chanting "Death to America" in a thunderous roar. They promptly destroyed my Target completely, burned down a fast food drive-thru, and called it "justice". I moved out soon after.
No-one has clued to the fact that property price is what's the driving force tech moving price up down just with homelessness
ITS JUST CALIFORNIA WAY
Oakland suffers from the same cancer most mid to major U.S. cities do, Progressive politics.
It’s too bad that you missed out on so much beauty of Oakland. Like Merritt college, mills college,Jack London Square,Oakland zoo, Lake Merritt, Oakland museum, and even the delicious taco trucks lol
I lived in North Oakland years ago, and the downtown area looks better now than it did then. However, it was always dreary and depressing downtown. The government tried to improve the area by building a new federal building, and moved a lot of employees over from the SF Federal building. But at 5:00 pm, they got the hell out of there. It was never safe, and not an area they would want to be in at night. I would drive out to suburban areas to shop and dine; there was nothing in downtown Oakland, and I wouldn’t go there if there were, due to the street crime.
Still got some homeless encampment problems just like any other Californian Cities.
*_Luke 19.10 for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”_*
*_Matthew 11.28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."_*
_Jesus Christ loves you. Repent and be saved. Only Jesus Christ saves. God bless you, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you and your family._
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Always look closely around your car because people can come and rob you even when you’re in a red light
I really hope you succeed in keeping yourself and people like you out of Oakland.
Your video is so unbalanced. You specifically turned your camera away from blocks with beautiful restaurants and sped past tree lined streets with shops. You never even properly drove up Broadway or by the lake. Whatever time of day this is it certainly doesn't capture the liveliness and bustle you'd see on a typical weekday afternoon.
Also downtown is NOT "in west Oakland." West Oakland is west/northwest of downtown.
Exactly. He kept driving past Broadway, it was ridiculous.
During the day in downtown I have no worries ever, but at night yeah I always feel a bit on edge and definitely keep my guard up a little more. Never walk under the freeway overpasses at night.
GOVERNOR NEUSOM, NANCY PELOSI, DIANE FINESTEIN, JOE BIDEN, HILLARY & BILL CLINTON, O'BAMA, and co are letting the homeless people sleep over at their house - spread the word!!!
It would be nice to see a gang on homeless camping out front of the politicians house
Nick is one of the greatest journalists of our time.
@@kandyaxelrod8797 Go
he shows more than just two sides of the story. That's why youre right, its not good, its great journalism.
Most of the pro sports teams have left Oakland. It must have been a real blow to lose the Warriors and then the Raiders all within a few short years. Here in Philly we take big pride in the fact that all 4 pro major sports teams play in the city proper.
At least Bmore, Cleveland and Detroit still have their teams.
Things look bleak for Oakland... they really do.... I used to live in San Diego and over the years they have lost the Chargers and the Clippers. But I don't think people cared ...
San Diego deserves the chargers back. They have their Padres tho. San Francisco has the warriors (where they began in the Bay Area when they left Philly) giants, and even tho the Niners left 45 min south of SF. They are still in the San Francisco Bay Area and are still the SF Niners. Oakland is about to lose the A’s as well. Sad to see.
Kinda makes you wonder 🤔
Typical “progressive” attitude around here of lets keep doing the same things over and over again and expect different results. Look what decades of this political leaning have done for St Louis, Baltimore, Detroit and Philadelphia.
Raised in Oakland Ca. Grew up in Felix Mitchell's 6-9 Vill. Went to local schools. Survived it all with no Felonies. I moved to Texas 15 yrs ago. Best decision I ever made. Now I am a Co Pilot for LifeFlight Helicopter Rescue. I miss Oakland Ca., Well I miss the Oakland ca I grew up in, not this new 1.
Cool
A Godless society will always deteriorate to depravity and violence.
I left Oakland in 2014 and lived in the area for 20 years. Moved to the east bay in 1992. I loved Oakland and it was still so vibrant when I left eight years ago. However, I had witnessed a car jacking. A friend still there was jacked. Another friend a victim to home invasion and held up at gunpoint. They got maximum withdrawal from his bank account, 10k. A friend in the hills said she never drives downtown anymore after the pandemic because things have grossly deteriorated. Glad to be outta Ca in general.
see that is not downtown oakland look it up it looks wayyy better than that, that may be one small part of it but not all of it not all of oakland is slum it is a great city
It's actually much nicer and more developed than it was back in the 70's, 80's and 90's. Back then downtown Oakland was like Escape From New York at night. At least now there are restaurants, bars, nice, new buildings and nearby Lake Merritt has been landscaped and renovated.
true but then the losers come and graffiti everything.
Yeah, it looked real charming in the video. SARCASM! LOL
I lived in Oakland twice in part of the 70’s 80’s & 90’s. Downtown became developed in the 90’s. Oakland had a number of nice neighborhoods back in the day. I enjoyed living in Oakland until I got mugged in ‘94.
My brother used to live there. Saw a lot of poop on the sidewalks as well as trash and homeless people everywhere when we visited him. Could you do Rockford, Illinois next? I believe it was ranked one of the most dangerous cities in the world at one point. When I used to live nearby it murders wouldn't even make the news anymore because there were so many every day.
Democrat run cities: Real problems No solutions
Republican run cities: No problems Real solutions
Oakland was fine before Libby. 8 years of bad government destroyed this city 🤣
Ok, this is going way way back in time but while I was in the Navy back in 1971-1974 both Oakland and San Francisco were wonderful and I loved walking all over both cities, day and night. I loved Golden Gate Park. I’ve never been back since leaving and I’d hate to see these places anymore with how bad everything’s gotten.
Make America Great Again!!!!
Yeah keep trump out of office
That stolen slogan from the Reagan campaign. Trump is just a thief. He wanted to turn America into a Russian like state where the thieves run everything. The current situation we are in is bad enough without that nonsense. Conning people is his game. Reagan would be angry at how his campaign slogan was used for Trump's con game.
@@colbyschweikert9932 do you really think he would allow the family, the family he loves with all his heart and soul, to live under the rule of communist tyrants?
Average rent for a one bedroom apartment in Oakland is $2000. They won't turn empty buildings into cheap housing cause slumlords would have to lower the rents.
In SF you pay $1000 a month, just pop in front your door. This is what Americans considered as a normal way of living - gunshot, drugs, violence, robbery.
I was born in Oakland. I've left and returned several times throughout my life. I am never going back to that shthole. The place and it's people are in freefall decay, and anyone placing hope and faith in some kind of fabled return to yester-year don't even know what that means.
I used to defend Oakland in that same belief system...but the reality is that tha Town is trashed and will never get better.
Got kids? Get out of there.
I found myself in this video lol 18:49
Wait what? The person walking in the blue shirt?
@@NickJohnson yea lol
I’ll bet if legal firearm concealed carry were permitted in Oakland crime would drop by 10% within a year
Damn!! There are barely any historical buildings and structures. It's almost as if the city were founded just in the 1960s or something like that.
I mean, even if everything was clean, well-kept and shiny, the city would still appear uninspired, soulless and BORING from urbanism and sightseeing perspectives. 😞
White boy is you crazy? You better get out of there. That goes double for East and West Oakland.
🤣👏👏👏
The last time I saw Oakland in shambles was after the LP earthquake, fire, and RK Riots. Now? Just. Just JFC.
I grew up in the Mt Diablo foothills and had hoped to visit.. but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. We may leave the west coast before I get a chance.
The violence in Seattle and Portland are not the same type of high population density violence; you have to remember that nobody lives in the PNW compared to CA. The violence here (Portland, though I lived in east King Co for six years previously) is sporadic and extreme (many shell casings, broad daylight, completely random victims.. they're either shooting normies on purpose or they're firing from the anus) and it's all over the place, not just in specific parts of the city.
Imo, the worst places for violence are the sub-urban burbs (still in Multnomah/West Clackamas but with land around them and parks but not "the burbs" outside like Lake O, West Hills, Beaverton etc) where homeless meth heads scream at all hours of the night and drive their cars up and down bike trails. They chase residents around with knives and try to kidnap kids pretty regularly. No cops and laws barring suspect descriptions and mug shots is only making this worse and I stg the city commissioners drink gasoline regularly but that's a slightly different rant.
It's garbage up here but I'd take it over Oakland for the breathing room alone. Idk I might email you more on PDX/SEA as I think the issues are misunderstood when compared to third world countries like California and Detroit.
Email me I'd love to hear more! NickJohnsonNC18@gmail
I never thought I'd hear California and Detroit in the same breath but it's looking more accurate by the day. I'd honestly rather live in Detroit vs some of Cali. People are much friendlier, rent is wayyyyy cheaper, and there's an actual pride in the people. California just went to crap these last few years. Deep decline
We are picking up our trash in Detroit. Don't ever insult us by putting us in the same category as crapofornia.
California has the 5th highest GDP/Economy in the world? I bet you didn't know that?
@@NickJohnson Oakland was not in such a bad shape Until they Realize that it is prime real estate in each direction you can make it to major work areas so what they did was they start putting people out and raising rent above the prices that can be paid people who refuse to leave their city became homeless places that was once it's once 700 or 800 just 4 to 5 years ago now rents 4 probably about 2500 back in the day you probably could find a one bed room in Oakland for about 8 to 900 now now you're probably going to find it for 2500 and up
I'm from Oakland,it's the kind of place you get in and get out as quickly as possible...run!
The biggest sin our politicians have made is allowing people from Oakland to escape into the rest of the country.
The quality of graffiti tells you how educated the locals are..
Oakland’s on the up....
@@jillw.2524 well I think they all ought to get off to art college.
I can definitely corroborate Oakland being a mess, with points that apply from having proven themselves SEVEN YEARS AGO. Thankfully, I don't live there, but I have been there and I can cite how there's *_GRAFFITI ON THE FREEWAY._* Just.....why? And yeah, I saw it myself on the I-880. Also, I can corroborate the violence point. Did you know that I nearly got shot dead by some territorial sniper while I was on the westmost part of I-880? Just....HOW does that happen? And this was in WEST Oakland, ON A FREEWAY.
You're not getting anything better from personal handlings either. For starters, I was scammed into a soulless group home in April 2015 in a case of desperation, and you guessed it, it was in Oakland, even if it was the east half. This group home fully dictated what you had to eat regardless of whether or not you liked it. The more damning part, however, was the absolute LACK of security. My designated room had its door be so busted that it practically had NO lock. Good thing my mom bailed me from it making sure I didn't have to stay in the group home for long. Oh, and I should cite how there's a family member, a sister of mine, who lives in Alameda who thinks there NO problem at all with Oakland. What the f- ...oh right, said sister is PAINFULLY indifferent, though mercifully not sadistic but that doesn't change her crap.
So yeah, long story short, Oakland sucks.
I can confirm based on a few of my friends up there that they cannot connect the dots to see how failed leadership leads to failed policies leads to crime and poverty.
Few months back saw all graffiti on the freeway, then wonder how the hell did they get up there.
@@mikefisher2673 It's possible it was done at night when nobody would have been able to notice to effect, but the fact that it persists instead of being put through cleanup indicates how the people at the top simply don't care.
@@MasterKnightDH yes most likely done in early morning or late night, but as high as some of the graffiti is painted did someone lower them with a rope. I think, how did they get up there? Was circus acrobats in town.
I saw a lady who looked like a zombie walking on the center divider right before that graffiti spot. She was balancing. Poor lady, I wonder what became of her. You see the craziest things around here.
40 billion dollars in aid to Ukraine, meanwhile our cities looking like battlefields.
Great videos Nick, you do a great job.