90% racism but people will talk in endless circles to avoid admitting it.

Also, sssshhhh. Stop with the hype. Ruining one city is enough.

I always thought a BIG benefit of SoMa is the fact that you can draw employees from East Bay and South Bay (as well as SF itself).

On the other hand, a, say, San Mateo -> Oakland commute is pretty much untenable.

Yup. This is a huge advantage to SoMa. I even hear hesitations around FiDi as it's not easily accessible by Caltrain (let alone Oakland).

The Central Subway and new Transbay Terminal might alter this. That said, I don't think the new Transbay will directly link with BART -- will still be a walk, which is a bit of a shame.

Of course the FiDi is accessible by Caltrain-just get off at Momtgomery or Embarcadero. New stereotype of SF tech workers- lazy and class privileged!

Caltrain doesn't have a stop at Montgomery or Embarcadero. You have to switch to BART before SF, walk, or take one of the muni lines that is slower than walking.

i think you are confusing Caltrain and BART. Caltrain doesn't stop at Montgomery or Embarcadero, BART does.

I live in West Oakland and the favorite game is still "fireworks or gunshots". Its a great place to live if you're in your 20s, but I wouldn't want to move my family here. Maybe up by Berkeley is better?

Huh, that's funny, because West Oakland is mostly families and they are fighting for their lives to stay in their neighborhood due to pressure from people like you.

P.S. if you're scared, move.

Not scared! Most of the families I've talked to around my neighborhood want to move out to a better / safer place. Could just be my specific block though.

I have lived in West Oakland and currently live in Adam's Point (both in Oakland's borders) and it feels like an entirely different city.

Ah yeah, I can see why! But I'm a cheapo startup founder. My safety for a thousand bucks a month? Sure I'll give it up!

East Bay is great. Oakland is starting to look like a decent city.

Doesn't mean there aren't real disadvantages, but it's something most people/startups should at least consider.

Oakland is HUGE. You can't generalize it that much. There are so many sub area in Oakland that range from insanely dangerous and crappy all the way up to incredibly safe and beautiful (Rockridge, Piedmont). Also areas near Oakland like Emeryville are getting much nicer.

Unfortunately the prices in these places are also skyrocketing. I started paying $3k/mo for 1400sqft in a not great part of Emeryville last year. The current price for my exact same unit is $3400.

the East Bay is way bigger than Oakland/Berkeley. Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill, the Lamorinda area, Danville, Pleasanton -- all very nice, safe towns with good bart access. No startups there though.

Those places are pretty far from SF though. Not unbearable, but you're probably looking at >1hr door to door.

That's the point - you don't have to live in SF or rent office space in SF, you can avoid SF altogether while still having the benefits of the startup scene an hour away.

sure there are, a lot focuses on enterprise though. the peoplesoft legacy lives on in various forms over here.

Ego.

+ Fear of (on average) poorer population, classism, and other *isms encoded in the previous two.

East Bay rents went up ~30% in the last year. So people are moving there, and so the wave of gentrification spreads outwards...