I have been living at the Raymond for nearly three years and have always found the place to be very clean. The lobby and plants are very nice. Mostly young professionals and appears to be a positive and friendly vibe about the place. The location is awesome as it is a five minute walk to the 12th st BART station, whic is nice as I work in SF. And in the other direction Lake Merritt is just a couple blocks away. It borders Chinatown and seems very safe. I have never heard of any of my neighbors being broken into and, unlike San Francisco or West Oakland, you never see car glass on the St. Alice St has more of a neighborhood feel. I think Oakland apts are rent controlled like SF but the prices are half of what you would pay in the city.