Rents are insanely high in areas like San Fransico and Oakland offers much more accommodation options at affordable prices.In the year 2013, the average rent in Oakland came about $1,812 while in the Bay it was around $3,396.Moving to Oakland gives you with a number of decent apartments options and you longer required to settle in a room with dozens of roommates.You can rent a studio for about $1,500 or for $1,000 or less in case of shared living scenario.The average home value can be around $678,000.

Oakland connects with rest of the world via rail, air, ship, and six major freeways.This western terminus of the Union Pacific Railroad and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad lines brilliantly link to all the major national rail destinations. Car sharing/vanpooling is quite common and it allows the use of a car by making vehicles available on a per-user basis without incurring the ownership costs.Oakland has one of the finest public transportation systems in the form Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), AC Transit bus service and Amtrak service.

The public schools are rated slightly below average but for adults, there are a number of options which provide 2-4years degrees programs. You can consider Community College options like-Samuel Merritt University, Merrit College, and Laney College etc.Following Institutions can be chosen for bachelor’s degrees-Holy Names University, Lincoln University, Mills College, and Patten University etc.

Oakland is a hub of several independent publishing houses, companies like Pixar and Pandora, and offer opportunities to youth in sectors like media and tech.You can even explore start-up options. Companies like 3D printing specialist, Fathom rank number 2 in the Forbes list of 100 fastest growing firms. Kaiser Permanente, BART, Southwest Airlines, Alameda Health System etc. are some of the top employers.

Compared to San Francisco and the West Bay, San Francisco has warmer and sunnier weather and expats can experience 261 sunny days per year with the temperature hovering around60’s and 70’s all year round.Weather is quite predictable here.Hail is possible but it’s not a common phenomenon and Oakland experiences 23 inches of rain each year.

Tourists can visit places like children’s Fairyland, Late Nite Art, USS Potomac, Oakland Ice Center, Lake Merritt, and Oakland Museum etc.You can explore options like first Covenant Church Oakland, Convergence, East Bay Meditation Center, and Light of Buddha Temple etc. if you are looking for worshipping places.

If you love spending time in parks around lush greenery, you must visit Frog Park, Dimond Park, Joaquin Miller Park, Mosswood, West Oakland Farm Park, Anthony Chabot Regional Park, Robert Sibley, Bridgeview Trail etc.If you are a fan of music or movies, do visit Paramount Theater, The New Parkway, Piedmont Theatre, The Night Light, Fox Theater, Yoshi’s etc.