safe and affortable place to live near san francisco (Oakland: apartment, to rent)

[mister.5]

hi, all. i am currently moving to san francisco from chicago because i am going school in san francisco. now i am looking for a place that is safe, affordable and convenient(close to the bart stations). my friends told me that oakland is a dangerous place because there are so many gangsters over there. anyway, i have no idea which place is safe or dangerous in CA, so i very appreciate if someone can help me with this: my project is i am gonna spend 500-1000$ to rent a place that is safe and close to the bart stations; it doesnt matter it is house or appartment.

[jade408]

Based on your budget living in Cleveland Heights or the GrandLake (and Adams Point)Area in Oakland are the only choices, with a reasonable commute to SF. That's enough money for a studio. There might be a handful of 1 bedrooms in that price range. You won't find any thing cheaper than $800 unless you are looking for a room share situation.

Cleveland Heights is a litte far from BART, but accessible by transbay bus to SF. Grand Lake is a little closer to BART, about a 10 minute walk from most points.

Most serious crime in Oakland is very concentrated. If you don't go to the areas impacted, the odds of witnessing a crime are very slim. Like every city there are good parts and bad parts. The areas above are good parts. If you leave your ipad in plain view and park on the street, you are risking a car break-in. Other than that not much to worry about, but you need to use some basic urban common sense.

Your budget is extremely limiting. It is pretty safe to assume any apartment under $800 in the Bay Area is in a dangerous area.

[mayorhaggar]

On that budget you can either live with roommates in Berkeley or get your own studio in Oakland. Otherwise you could look at trying to get a studio in the burbs near a BART station, like in Fremont or Walnut Creek or whatever.