I'm half Italian and half Chinese Hawaiian...and some other shit mixed in...Born and raised in Oakland California USA. Oakland is a very diverse very beautiful and very seasoned and mature city. Everyone has its ups and downs. Oakland has some very beautiful areas Parkland lakes and is a coastal city that is it is on the edge of the Bay. Which through the golden Gate where the golden Gate bridge is leads out to the Pacific Ocean. I think I prefer the protection of the bay and the golden Gate versus being right out there on the actual ocean coast whereas sunami could come. If a tsunami were to come to the Bay Area, it would be stopped pretty readily by the narrow passage that is the golden Gate which is the only water passageway that feeds the bay and is also fed by the bay is also fed by the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers.
Anyway I like Oakland I like living out here in the very diverse and sometimes challenging but worth it when it comes to all of the cool things to do and all the scenery and the hills and you know I've got skiing 2 hours away I've got a beach life an hour away and and everything in between so California is also the fifth largest economy in the world. And a lot of super smart super progressive super Cutting edge people tend to gravitate towards California and the bay area.
I know the cost of living is high the congestion is a nightmare I hate the freeway congestion. The crowded streets the streets aren't as crowded with pedestrians and things like that I just stay away from crowds in general I work for myself make my own hours and that's how I've chosen to structure dealing with the you know the congested traffic situation here in the bay area. But the traffic situation can be blamed on the big car manufacturers and oil producers that would rather see us stuck in traffic then riding a train system that should have been put in place long ago that goes all the way around the bay from Marin county across the golden Gate down the peninsula.