What is it like living in Berkeley, CA?

My brother lives in Berkeley. When I visited at the beginning of summer, I was very impressed by the whole area. Personally I think it’s a really “friendly” place. Lots of hippies and vegans and biking and stuff but there’s nothing wrong with that. But it totally is a college town, I don’t know if you mind that or not. There’s tons of shops and restaurants around which is nice.

I have lived in Berkeley for almost a year and I think it is great! More specifically I live close to the Cheese Board, which has some of the best pizza in the area, where there are lots of good restaurants. It is twenty minutes walk from Solano and downtown Berkeley so it is very easy to go shopping. Plus getting to the city is easy on the BART from either the Downtown Berkeley or North Berkeley stop. Where we are also has less students so it is a bit quieter as well.

I have lived in quite a few places, LA, New York, Mountain View, and Berkeley is the first place I actively want to stay in.

Aw yeah, I forgot about how convenient the BART is. I miss it. There’s like, what, 3 stations in the area, too.

I live in South Berkeley, near Ashby BART, and I absolutely love it. Amazing farmers’ markets year-round, bike-friendly streets, wonderful weather (as long as you’re okay with a little fog in the mornings), good schools, beautiful Tilden Park in the hills for biking, hiking, and picnicking, close to shops, countless delicious restaurants…We drove an hour and a half into San Franciso the other night for a birthday dinner at a nice restaurant that was tasty, but I left thinking there were so many more even tastier and special restaurants right here in Berkeley. The pace of life is much mellower than in San Francisco too.

As far as neighborhoods, you first have to decide whether you want hills or flats. Hills will give you spectacular views and/or cozy nooks in the redwoods, but mostly higher prices and less walkable/bikeable. Flats will give you more options in pricing, more diversity of neighborhoods and people, and more shops and things in walking/biking distance. I would recommend avoiding neighborhoods too close to the UC campus, because prices will be inflated and parking is horrible. Some parts of west and south Berkeley are still transitioning (ie gentrifying) and so are still less safe at night. But there are so many great neighborhoods aside from that – the “Gourmet Ghetto” near the aforementioned Cheese Board, the Elmwood, west Berkeley near the up and coming 4th street shopping area, and my very own South Berkeley which personally I think is a great combination of good home prices, diversity, safety, and charm.