gorgeousr

I bought a house in the Millsmont neighborhood in 2015. I have to admit it kind of scared me moving here, there are a lot of stories about Oakland. I have been here over two years and I am really liking it. My neighbors are mostly older and very folksy and friendly. I live by Evergreen Cemetery, if you have never walked through there you should it is a very historical place, the stones date back to early 1900s lumberjack era of Oakland, there are also many historical sites like Black Panther leader Newton's grave and children who drank the coolaid at the Jim Jones cult. The cemetery creates a nice buffer from what people call "the flatlands" which is where alot of gang activity has historically taken place. I am only about two miles from Coloseum BART a quick Uber ride away and AC transit picks up right by my house which is really convenient and a super comfortable way to get into SF (you always get a nice seat! which is rare on BARt). Alot of new people seem to be moving in and East Oakland is really changing even since I have been here. Still, I have to be honest, every once in a while a sketchy person walks by or sometimes someone starts yelling from an adjacent street. There are some layers to the neighborhood which I often forget about until they remind me they are here. I think the secret to living here is in scouting out your immediate neighbors and building a network to look out for your place. It is lovely to walk up the hill and watch the fireworks from the Coloseum! My home has gone up quite a bit in value, almost half, which is extraordinary, but as we saw in the 2009 crash, what goes up does come down. I love my house, it is pretty cool and historic with some authentic features dating back to the bungalow days when folks came to Oakland to escape to the countryside and get out of the city. How times do change. If you are considering moving here, i would say go for it. There are some great people in this neighborhood and you should not be fearful of living here. One bit of advice also, Oakland has very high property taxes plus ballot measure add ons so just be aware of that when you are purchasing.