[rdl]

Absolutely true. For an intern without a car, the critical factor is probably BART access. The best non-ghetto + BART at a low price is probably around 19th street, so "Uptown", toward Adams Point. There are apartments in the $1200 1BR range, vs. 2-3x that for short term in SF (!!!). I'd still probably suggest trying to find a roommate, sublet, or company sponsored thing, even if it's tiny or sketchy, nearer work and social stuff, in SF or PA/MV, though. Temescal (which is farther up, near MacArthur BART) is also a good choice. There's a weird auto-dealer wasteland in between, which was a horrible zoning choice by Oakland, but they're working on redeveloping that, so it should be a continuous area of interesting stuff from ~16th to ~40th at some point.

OTOH, I live in Oakland and drive. I've never gone to anything in Oakland except Amazon locker pickup, Whole Foods (but prefer Berkeley places), and the 580/880 onramps. I step into my car in an underground garage and essentially don't get out until I'm in the civilized/Promised Land (Peninsula).

Berkeley is also maybe more fun as an intern, even if you work in SF, and has BART. I'm not sure what summer housing is like there -- I'd assume there are vacancies in places rented to students during the year over the summer.

Nitpicking: Piedmont is an enclave contained within Oakland (but independent), but Rockridge is part of Oakland. (it's also "Adams Point", not Adam's Point)