Throwing in The Towel

Buying a home seems like something I should be able to do and in fact SHOULD do. So I regularly look at my finances and think that it is possible to buy a house in Oakland. After all, the city has one of the highest murder rates in the nation so home prices can't be that high.

My mortgage broker just informed me that I'm pre-qualified for a $350,000 loan. After 5 years of saving and driving Uber for 14 hours a week I'll have the $88,000 down payment that goes along with a $350k loan. Of course, I'll save this amount if I give up vacations, cable TV, and eating at anything nicer than the awesome tacoria down the street.

In my joy at the good news I searched for a home. Here is a Zillow map showing the properties available in Oakland in my price range.

Here is a map showing the July crimes in the area where homes are available. Each colorful icon represents a crime.

This map only shows the area where homes are available in my price range. This map also is restricted to crimes involving drugs, violence or property theft (not destruction).

What does all of this mean?
Being a teacher AND driving for Uber (being an Uber Teacher) means living in neighborhoods where crime is as common as candy on Halloween. It is enough to make me want to throw in the towel.