And...Oakland!

A few months have gone by, which means I've moved yet again.  I didn't go far- only about 45 minutes away- but the surroundings are quite different!  I left the manicured, Tesla-filled suburbs of Silicon Valley for the grungy, graffiti-filled city streets of Oakland.  For the more geographically inclined, I was technically in the South Bay before, and am now in the East Bay.  As the crow flies, I'm closer to downtown San Francisco, but now I have to go over a toll bridge to get there! Oakland is similar to St Louis in the sense that the neighborhoods are a little patchy.  Beautiful homes can be a couple of blocks from barred and boarded up buildings, so it is always a good idea to know where you are going.

Everyone is being priced out of downtown San Francisco, however, so the hipsters and the young families and lots of other people have been flocking here and the landscape is changing quickly.  As a result, despite the grittiness, Oakland real estate is really expensive! 

Nevertheless, I decided to splurge on my own little rental apartment instead of sharing with a roommate. The area itself isn't amazing- in fact, it kind of borders a not-so-great area- but my street is fine, I've got a nice family living below me, there are fruit trees in the backyard, and I can get to work in 10 minutes, even with traffic.

And the truth is, I chose this rotation not for the location, but for the job.  I am working in an acute inpatient rehabilitation center at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center.  I haven't worked in this setting before, but its the one I've most wanted to try since I first became an OT.  I'm pretty pleased to be here!!

                           (gratuitous Golden Gate Bridge photo from a recent hike, not in Oakland!)