Upon arrival, the hotel clerk warned us not to step out at night, to travel at minimum in pairs and to watch our backs. And this was for exiting the hotel room into the hallways! Looking out the windows at night, we saw black hoodlums wandering the streets and making mayhem. The next morning, we cancelled the rest of our stay and went to Georgetown. My daughter lived in Oakland for a few years, in a safe neighborhood. She transited unsafe streets to get to work. I'm sure it's the same everywhere - do your homework before settling down in an unfamiliar place because there's bad 'hoods everywhere.