Anonymous wrote:Stay out of Oakland. Nothing but black crime and murders and the worse public school system in the state.

LOL! All lies. There is high crime and some schools are not great but Oakland as a whole is not bad. Stop generalizing!

Rent a room near SFSU or City College. Both are close to transportation.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just know the places you *shouldn't* live in... like Hunter's Point, Bayview area.

OP here, thank you.

Yes, where I should NOT live would be a good search criteria as well

Thanks for the helpful information !

Like anywhere, if the price is "low" in comparison, it means it's a bad area.

When I used to live out there several years ago, Protrero Hill was supposed to be an up and coming area (though they kept saying that for years). It's near Bayview so be aware.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Marina would be the classic choice (assuming you're straight), but I'm not sure what rents are like there now. I lived in the Haight for many years - easy Muni ride to downtown.

marina is damned expensive, but gorgeous.

+1 My DH used to live there when we were dating. OP could probably rent a tiny room for that budget but not a whole flat by himself.