[and jan – duh ! of course you are mentioned]

john… i think that it’s true that SF is no manhattan, but i do think oakland is like it’s brooklyn. here’s why: oakland has lived in SF’s shadow for so long, people have really weird misconceptions about oakland [similar to some misconceptions i’ve heard about brooklyn], people in SF often have a prejudice about oakland [like manhattanites do to brooklyn – although honestly manhattanites often snub ANY other area], and oakland is FULL of artists and local community with great galleries, eateries, etc.- like brooklyn. in fact it’s thriving so much that it’s burgeoning on becoming too hipster [thankfully oakland doesn’t have a williamsburgh – at least not yet].