The really scary thing is that the government says everything is great.

Oakland is the perfect example of the “Broken Window Theory.” You allow the small crime to be tolerated and the big crime follows.

As a Oakland resident of 35+ years I appreciate this video It wasn't sensationalized for clicks It was just a honest view of someone observing it unbiasely. Niiiiiiice.

Just recently, four Walmarts closed down in Chicago because of shoplifting, and other crimes.

As someone who has lived and worked in Oakland, it is truly a garbage dump now. Don't blame the police when clearly the laws favor the scumbbag criminals.

This is what “criminal justice reform” looks like.

You know it’s bad when a thriving business like In-N-Out picks up and leaves and cops are still in Crown Victorias.

No city in America should ever look like this 😢

Calif spend 17.5 BILLION annually on less than 200,000. Homeless. Someone is getting rich, and its NOT the homeless.

You nailed this headline. Over 14,000 ABANDONED cars in 78 square miles; the third world city….City of Oakland. And companies in downtown telling employees “do not leave your building for lunch.”

What gets me is the working girls were like “wtf? Cussing you out as if “you’re” the gross being. Hahaha. Gotta love it.

One problem with Oakland gov't is nepotism. They keep hiring all their incompetent relatives.

I’m a white guy who was homeless and ended up in Oakland for a night. Found a black guy who took in me and we ate some homemade muffins and got high together. I was blessed to find such a nice man. He also stopped others from messing with me. I’m sober and homed now.

Home Depot in Oakland hires two official Oakland PD to stand out the door to stop robberies they are like the only people that can stop a shoplifter

As part of a flight crew we used to stay at the Hilton by the Oakland International airport…..and shop at the “new” shopping center where the In-n-Out was located……it was only built about 10 years ago….it was nice but was turning into a very dangerous place even before the Covid-19 debacle….I used to go to the Oakland Harley Davidson located near there…but I won’t go there anymore…it’s too dangerous…I wouldn’t let my crew go anywhere near that shopping center anymore. The same with the Shell gas station where we used to fill up our rental cars….dangerous…. or any restaurants in that area..and there were some well established historic good restaurants near the airport …….but the Marxist democrats have ruined Oakland and the whole state of California.

I’m from Fresno and I drove through Oakland a year ago after taking a wrong exit. It was shocking even for someone used to Fresno.

I moved out of Oakland and never ever looked back. It was the worst place I'd ever lived in my life. Absolutely terrible and the people were equally as bad. The place is horrific.

The Warriors left there a few years ago. The Raiders followed suit and now the A’s are the last to go. No professional sports teams left here.

Man the shots from the streets as the above-ground train passing over are straight out of an 80s Arnie or Sly dystopian sci-fi flick.

They need a governor and mayor with huge balls like the guy who made no apologies for cleaning the MS13 gang! This is all so disgusting and traumatizing for the public both criminals and ordinary people.

My granddaughters husband is a young police officer in this town, Oakland, Ca. He said it's the city government, and especially the mayor that is the problem. Police officers in the San Francisco bay area, where Oakland is, are understaffed. Not too many men and women want to be a police officer in these cities where crime is not punished by the court systems. The criminals are brought in, they go to court and are back out on the streets within days. I live 20 minutes from Oakland, these criminals are making their way into the more affluent cities near Oakland. I've lived here for 72 years, this is has become our worst nightmare ever.

Our company no longer acceps jobs in Oakland. After the loss of a service truck and an employee beaten up and in the hospital, none of our crews will work there. The last project was near the former Dennys you showed. We had to hire private security to protect the job site. Each evening, 100% of our equipment was hauled away. If we didn't, it would be gone/looted/burned by morning.

I live in Oakland. Been seeing the same homeless under the 580 fwy on 14th St and MacArthur since I moved here over ten years ago. Rep. Gallo couldn't get rid of him so supplied him with a porta potty. Why??? Why do homeless and thugs get a pass and taxpayers live in FEAR?

Homelessness is a big money maker so it is always encouraged by city officials. Just follow up money and it always ends with taxpayers dollars in the pockets of politicians 😢

The thing you notice about any city in California are the junky RV’s lined up on every curb.

Another place not to get a flat tire. You're a brave man.

Me and a buddy in 1987 accidently drove through a bad part of Oakland heading for the Navy base, no one believed me that there was a school in a dirt parking lot with the flyover as a roof for the school. Then adding to that, drunks in the gutter across the road. I can only imagine how bad it is today.

GAVIN NEWSOM DID IT

California has this more than any other state. Despite having a job, you still sleep in your car at night. $913,000 for a shoebox to live in so good luck affording rent. Forget about a mortgage! Any NFL fans out there wondering why the Raiders bounced for Vegas 3 seasons ago.😢

Having grown up in the area I think I can provide some historical perspective. The West Oakland area is primarily non residential industrial area. It appears most of the businesses in the area have been abandoned, most likely due to sky high leases. Obviously this created an empty no man’s land where poor folks are taking advantage of the empty spaces and creating their own shelters. I think the poverty numbers cited are no accurate because a lot of the poor live off the grid and their lack of income is not reported. The main problem with the SF Bay Area is that during WW2 vast numbers of laborers from the south were brought in to work in the shipyards and munitions factories. Once those war jobs disappeared those folks were housed in essentially low cost military housing and were relegated to low wage jobs. But the cities were OK as long as you stayed away from those low cost housing areas that essentially became ghettos. In the 60s, 70s and 80s most of that housing was condemned and removed leaving large numbers of low wage families struggling to find housing. The dichotomy that you see in an area with most good jobs requiring high education and those educated folks making good money, driving up property values and the cost of living. And then an even larger population of uneducated families that are stuck in a place where there is little to no industrial jobs for the uneducated workforce. The end result is areas of squalor with high crime juxtaposed against areas of relative opulence and high living. It gets worse every year, It is easy to blame the politicians but any solutions to the problems will require drastic action like government subsidized industry and eminent domain actions to remove blighted areas. There is no political appetite for those kind of solutions so folks will just continue to wring their hands and call for more and more police.

Very sad My father was born in Oakland in 1929 his mother watched San Francisco burn from the roof of their Oakland home in 1906. A home they bought in 1930 is still in the family, but it's in the Rockridge district. Amazing how lack of police who make $300k. The mayor made a mistake firing the police Chief he was born and raised seemed like a good guy

I was in Oakland, briefly, when I was in the Army five decades ago. Surprised at city street after street with no people out in broad daylight.

Horrible! Very nasty, very dangerous, very expensive! Why would a sane, reasonable human want to be there? The neighborhoods you drove thru were absolutely beautiful. It's such a shame the city is mismanaged. Thanks.

I had a chat with an Aussie who visited last year. Very fair minded guy - he said he couldn’t believe the changes for the worse compared to his prior visit.

We have a Fox Theater here in Spokane Washington. Built in 1926 and restored to its glory in 1998 . It has once again become a downtown jewel.

Football returns to Oakland! The Oakland Looters vs the Washington Carjackers!

Just saw this...I was born and raised in Oakland, late 60's - 70's. It was a great place to grow up, yes there was crime, but not like today. The down turn was when factory jobs started to leave, then crack hit Oakland. Then all the military bases closed and on top it of that incompetent city leadership. Most people I've grown up with have left the city and /or state like I have. It's very sad what's become of Oakland.

Somebody making $35 an hour working 40 hours a week can't afford an apartment.

Smart safety move doing your tour of Oakland's finest attractions nice and early in the morning. Try that at night, and you're liable to get jacked or even worse.

500 cameras, for what ?For video of people they won’t lock up.

From 1967 to 1976 Oakland had a NHL team (California Golden Seals). So at a point in history, Oakland had all four pro sports teams, and now they have none

Glad you got the footage and made it out safe man!! Safe travels!

Right at that corner with the working girls are the best Vietnamese sandwiches, aka Banh Mi in town. It’s the very outskirts of Little Saigon and used to have some amazing southeast Asian restaurants that went out of business due to crime. The government is just pathetic. Pre-pandemic, Oakland was thriving. Chinatown was thriving. Lots of new restaurants. I really hope things pick up. The weather is amazing year round.

I lived in Oakland for over 20 years and never seen it this bad. One of the reasons I left. Oakland City Council should be ashamed.

My aunt, uncle and cousin left Oakland 30 years ago because it was getting bad. I can't imagine what it is like now.

When I was a young 21-year-old sailor I used to hang out at the Black Saddle bar in Oakland. The place is so different now then then in 1963.

Even lake Merritt has been destroyed by gangs and street takeovers. It's completely disgusting.

I grew up in Oakland. Lived there until around 1970. As a kids we road our bicycles all over the city without any thought of trouble. There was a creek running through our yard that terminated at Lake Merit. Can't even guess how many times we followed that creek down to the lake. And the other end of that creek originated in Mountainview Cemetery. We used to walk to the Fox theater downtown, about 6 miles from our childhood home. LOL. Preaching to the Oakland citizens is useless. One of my sisters still lives in CA, and she doesn't see how this happened. We live in Arizona now. And get lots of CA people moving here, I just pray they stop voting for the things that got CA in trouble. But so far, it seems the reason they left hasn't changed their voting habits. Thanks for the tour. You have confirmed the picture I had in my mind's eye. Now I wonder how or why anyone would go there without an armed security detail. We left the state and haven't looked back.

3rd generation Oaklander and I work there when I'm not working from home. My grandparents moved to Oakland in the 1920's. My company has several office buildings downtown within a few blocks of each other and we are told not to walk between the buildings because it is so dangerous. We have to have a security guard drive us between the buildings. We are also discouraged from parking on the street or going to a restaurant to eat. In the late 80's crime in Oakland got really bad due to the crack cocaine epidemic. I was determined to get away from Oakland back then. I think Oakland improved in the 1990's with tougher crime laws, but then the police got defunded after the Riders scandal in 2001. I got an offer I couldn't refuse to come back to work in Oakland in 2008. There were regular protests shutting down downtown starting with Occupy Wall Street and the Oscar Grant shooting. It really went downhill after COVID because so many employees are now working from home.

Irresponsible government management.

Oakland needs its own Mayor Rudy - Pre Rudy in NYC...crack, filth, and crime.

Well, I guess we should be congratulating the residents of Oakland. They are getting exactly what they wanted. After all they voted for this every chance they got.

Me and my husband lived in Oakland for six months in the mid 70s. Fast forward x amount of years, my boyfriend and I drove to Alameda and stayed in a hotel to attend an antique show. We drove around and saw a side of Oakland that looked, in my view, like Lagos, Nigeria. The area we stayed in was ok, but it is evident that Oakland is going to hell fast.

How does a city lose three sports teams and an In And Out Burger in five years? Run it like Oakland, that’s how.

The soon to be permanently empty coliseum can be seen @ the 14:47 mark

Shocking and sad! I really feel for the people in those beautiful homes that have to deal with being associated with all the trash in other parts of their city...

Working girls at 9:30 in the morning? I guess the early bird really does get the worm! 😆

We saw this 35 years ago. It was a movie called Escape from LA with Curt Russell as Snake Plisken . Nothing but a breakdown of morals , drugs alcohol and lawlessness. Next is SanFrancisco and New York.

Absolutely shocking. The idea one could be attacked buying fuel is incredible. I've been to California a few times and never saw anything like this. I guess the economy is to blame.

It's good to see folks getting what they voted for!👏🤗

$900k median house price to live amongst crime, filth and squalor. For the same price in my Gulf Coast town you can get 3000 sq ft waterfront property, totally tricked out w/ pool, boat dock, etc but for this price you can also include a nice fishing boat or pontoon boat, and a late model car. Low taxes and even lower crime rate.

20 years ago I spent some time in Dominican Republic. Literally nowhere I saw anything comparable to this.

Another very good video. Your style is really great.

Loved the program. Ex pate from Alameda 44 years now in Texas loving it here but I try to keep tabs on Bay Area current events and you filled that check box nice. Peace

This is so depressing. I don't know WHAT is happening to this country. I can only speculate it is due to political corruption. Greed and power. I was in Oakland in the early 80s and it was a decent city. So sad. I hope you enjoy Sacramento. Thanks again for your posts. Stay safe always!

I was born there in 52 when it was safe and beautiful. 3 of my aunts thrived safely in East Oakland at one point.

Great journey, thank you!

Embarrassing, and I don’t even live in California. I guess all normal people can do at this point is flee. Abandon what you can’t sell, and flee for your life.

Thank you so much for showing this place I have lived in the Bay Area my whole life and it has never been this bad. It’s amazing what leadership has done to this city

The people who litter like that vote with the same care

@11:08 They started SNAPPIN on you 😂...HILARIOUS she said why you recording us-he said its 9 am

Living in Denver I see a lot of this 🌻

I live in a pretty decent neighborhood but there is an apartment nearby. Certain shade of people would throw trash out of their car instead of throwing it in the trash bin even if it was just one step away. Trash people will always be trash.

12:02 most dangerous gas station. Crazy that this particular shot looks like a nice postcard compared to the other footage, hahaha.

$900+ is for one of those RVs. Trash pickup is not included

complete juxtaposition to san jose. Im born and raised in san jose and work in commercial real estate in the the lower peninsula. What's funny is that Oakland has one of the highest if not the highest property taxes in the CSA. Part of the composite tax rate includes a "violent crimes prevention" tax... The crappyness spreads to neighboring cities and it reflects on real estate prices and rents. Year over year rents in the city dropped 10% and its continuing to drop.

Looks like Haiti

I grew up near there, my mom worked in Oakland and it wasnt perfect but it wasnt so terrible in the 80s and 90s and as the years have gone on its become dystopian. Shanty towns not just in Oakland but all over the Bay Area. Its surreal how fast the Bay Area fell into ruin

OMG. Felt like I was RIGHT THERE!! thank you so much.....because I'm so glad you did. Have never seen a video like this...I almost felt like I was going to fall into Lake Merrit!.

I worked at one of the large hospitals in Oakland for several years in the years between 2012-2019. I used to take bart and walk down MacArthur blvd to work. I was a Caucasian women and never felt afraid. I loved stoping at the restaurants to get food for lunch or to bring home. I now understand the employees are now requested not to Leave for lunch due to the many crimes against employees So sad.

Sad to see Oakland's downfall. Happy to see you got out unscathed. Take care

"Who runs this city?" The "mayor" is Sheng Thao, and there is a recall effort on her taking place currently. She has been a terrible mayor.

Just because you have a degree don't mean you are educated.

Very interesting and eye-opening, although there are some beautiful buildings downtown. The theatre is gorgeous ! Thanks for showing us around, Joe, much appreciated.❤

No, they probably steal the spray paint. 😅

How can you blame the city for trach. It is the people. Families destroyed. No one being brought up correctly. That's not the city government it is the people living in the city.

This reminds me a whole lot of Seattle in pretty much the same condition now and seems to be getting worse everyday.

I’m from Sacramento, Ca. I live in North Carolina now. To see the decline and the influx of homeless is absolutely devastating. When you close a Walmart store, that speaks volume. The city used to be beautiful, Lake Merritt, downtown Oakland. If you’re going to Sacramento you should stop in Vallejo and Richmond.

Great job Joe and Nic. The statistical inserts were well done in supporting the visuals.

I lived on Alameda Island towards the end of Covid & it is just like the border we have with Mexico in Tijuana. Night & Day , first world to a third world country. Under all of the underpasses there are whole tent communities set up ! I even saw boats on trailers parked on the street with people living in them !

Thank you Joe & Nic's Road Trip for filming and driving. I wonder if there are still nice towns in California?

Excellence tour of Oakland California

This is what the leadership of California want for all the big cities here. We Californians are being held captive to this, while paying top dollar for homes, property taxes, gas prices, food cost, etc, while getting nothing back. It’s nauseating, especially since the rhetoric of these leaders is they are sympathetic to the poor.

I used to live in East Oakland, by Fruitvale Station.

Even the sun don't wanna shine there.... how sad. Thanks for your videos yall 😊

Not gonna lie, I'm surprised you didn't get jacked. Thank goodness you are safe.

Those numbers are not accurate trust me! Poverty level is way MORE then reported. It's not what it seems.

For an European it’s interesting to see this American way of life.

I used to live on 2nd Ave in Oakland in the late 60s. Huey Newton and the Black Panthers had the penthouse along Lake Merrit just about where you were taking those photos.

You know it sucks when you can't find a Walmart.