SperlingViews - Berkeley, California

The 60's have left Berkeley and now it is about MONEY...and the people there have plenty of it and nice hybrid cars (looks like 2 per household) and with a great bicycle community there...people should be bicycling more not driving in this small area town. They are so sick of the poor people they are getting ready to implement a "sit/lie ordinance" to cite or jail homeless people!! NICE!!!! (sarcasm). The UC Berkeley students are not much better...growing numbers of out-of-state spoiled rich students who don't care about rising tuition fees (a regressive tax on the working & poor class) and are indifferent to local mom & pop businesses.[read more...]

The climate in the Bay Area, Berkeley, California is wonderful. You get the ocean breeze coming through the Golden Gate Bridge and in over the bay and right through my kitchen window. The hills behind the city offer a get view of the bay and surronding areas.[read more...]

Berkeley is a great place to live. It is culturally diverse and the schools are great. There's lots of people here from the East Coast which is a plus for me, since I'm from New York.[read more...]

very noisy[read more...]

While it ain't perfect here, there seem to be more than a token few in Berkeley who appreciate and embrace this community's diversity - a diversity beyond the Bay Area-norm [well, mostly] of ethnic diversity. Think big-city urbanism in a small-city package: a big university (that expanded to many other campuses up & down the state); a distinct architectural style (thank you, Bernard Maybeck & your peers); a tradition of fighting for people's rights (and not just for free speech or disabled access), and even a different way with food - the same town with the Gourmet Ghetto (& all the foodie lore that started there) has a history of helping out with the coffee-chaining of America/world. Old hippies, young Goths. Campus Greeks, gaming geeks. Pink ribbons & green fabrics. Saris & Crocs. Picket lines & drumming circles. Electric cars, biodiesel garbage trucks, & cyclists of every stripe. I don't necessarily love 'em all, but I love the fabric of the community they strengthen by their presence here![read more...]

Berkeley has changed in my thirty years since going to the famous university here. And it's stayed the same. How it's the same: there are still all kinds of people here, everyone you'd meet anywhere else. And there are more of the people who are in some ways unusual, yet still healthy and productive citizens. The unusual part of our town has become less about alternative politics and more about a rainbow of interests in yoga, buddhism - and being widely informed. (Or maybe that's a sign of my gray hairs and who I know best.) How it's different: it feels wealthier, more mainstream, and safer year by year. The military ROTC training on campus is less hidden and has grown much larger, and the business school is much loved and has grown too. There are more students wearing interview clothes all day long (and fewer are wearing everyday clothes to meet interviewers). One key thing that has stayed the same: My saying to friends from out of town is "We tolerate everything in this town, except intolerance." In other words, loudmouts with no patience, whether of the right or the left, are not widely respected here; the protests are much calmer now, and more like what I've seen in mainstream cities.[read more...]

Hi, I've lived in Berkeley for 14 years, attended the University there but never graduated. I worked as a waiter there. What can I say about it? Well it's very liberal, intellectual, and international place. Plenty of things to do, if not in Berkeley then within 8 miles away in San Francisco, and neighboring Oakland (3 miles away). The weather is very good (not humid at all) but the only downside is the winds at night which tend to be brisk. Berkeley itself is also much more laid back then San Francisco. What I didn't like about it, and why I would not go back, is the cost of living. It is VERY EXPENSIVE, especially for me as a waiter. If you're not a professional making at least $60,000 a year, or if you're not a student attending UC Berkeley, do not move there, or Oakland, or San Francisco. There are less expensive places to move to in the U.S.[read more...]

Berkeley has lovely mild weather year round. Most of the time is like late spring else where! Tons of flowers blooming, warm sun and cool air punctuated by an often short rainy season. Not bad![read more...]

Berkeley is a great city for students, close to sf, but enough of a small town feeling to allow you to focus. Lots of great food, the Berkeley Bowl makes shopping at any other grocery store seem pathetic. It's not a place I would want to stay after college though. With the number of homeless people and the incidents that you have to deal with a daily basis I can't imagine having a family here.[read more...]

Great transportation, lots of diversity and restaurants, but it costs so much to live in Berkeley, and the Bay Area in general. You can't go out and do anything because it costs so much to get there, the event costs money, and it costs lots of money to get back. If you make over 60 grand a year, you'll love this place, but if not, you might want to think about living someplace else.[read more...]

Berkeley is ethnically diverse, with liberal politics. There are a lot of homeless people and a lot of washed-up leftovers from the 60's. There are also a rapidly increasing number of extremely wealthy people. It is difficult to buy property unless you make lots of money, I mean lots. The weather is decent. For a town so expensive and so concerned about ecological sustainability, the air and water quality are not that great. Air quality is actually pretty bad. Berkeley feels tolerant yet elitist....it is a weird place.[read more...]

You can basically be anybody you want to be here and that's fly. Though it's radical days of protesting have gone down, it still maintains the spirit of liberalism and acceptance. There is a huge gay population in Berkeley, as well as the SF Bay Area in general, and there's a large mix of all ethnicities here which is nice to see. Lots of good indie music, and excellent food-- almost everything is gourmet and not that bad in price. you can cut back on fast food and try food from cultures around the world. I'm from Los Angeles originally.. so I grew up on fast food, but I like the change. The weather is a bit cooler than southern california. and the sun is stronger here as well.. meaning, it feels like the sun is burning a hole through your head when it's out, but the second it goes away (and it does a lot.. unexpectedly) the temperature drops 10 degrees.. so have a jacket. Commuting is super easy. Everybody here does Mass Transit, from Bus (ac transit), to subway (bart), and free carpools (casual carpools). [read more...]

Berkeley has a small town feel. A great deal of the people that came up in Berkeley in the 40's 50's 60's stayed in Berkely. It's the kind of town that you dont need a car. You can walk or take mass transit to just about every where you want to go. Extremely diverse ( eg. black, white, mexican, asia, straight, gay, transgender, low income to upper middle class neighborhoods. Set right off the SF bay it's a bit cooler in Berkeley opposed to Concord, Hayward, Hercules but central to all. A lot of movie theaters independant and regular franchise like AMC or UA. Plenty of different resturants, including Vegan to Raw choices. BUT Berkeley is too exspensive most people can not afford to live here, the average house thats squat big cost 500k easy and thats not a special looking house it's a small 2 bedroom with 1 bath. Cal Berkeley, Bayer Health Care are two of the big employers. This area is often referred to as BioTech Bay[read more...]