An Oakland Diaspora: What Drives Longtime Residents to Leave?

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Vanessa Ladson moved to Antioch in 2010, but she still travels back to Oakland for work, church and her favorite foods. Photo Devin Katayama/KQED

By Devin Katayama, KQED News Fix

Vanessa Ladson has a pool, a hot tub and a laundry room. And on this particular day, a rainbow arcs over her five-bedroom home in Antioch.

On a Sunday in December, she’s wearing a red top, hoop earrings and lipstick: Ladson is ready for church. It’s about 40 minutes away in East Oakland, where she used to live. But she doesn’t think too much about the distance between her home and Lily of the Valley Christian Center.

“It’s my family,” she says.

Read the complete story at KQED News Fix. 

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