All right then, yay or nay? The comments go both ways.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-is-the-best-place-to-live-in-the-Bay-6212228.php

Meh, B-town is a real sh*thole, no one should ever move there. Damn hippies and commies.

God be sending all of Berzerkeley to H-E-doublehockeysticks. Watch the hot poker, it ain't vegan!

The folks over at People's Park concur.

That's really funny! Is it meant to be sarcastic?

Aside from downtown Berkeley, which is a mess, I can't think of many other places I'd rather live in the Bay. SF is too expensive, Oakland is still a bit dodgy, South Bay is suburban hell, North Bay is whiter than Conan O'Brien, inland East Bay is too removed.

The area around Berkeley is pretty diverse and full of options to raise families. Gourmet Ghetto is a nice place to be, the Rockridge area is a wonderful location, North/West Berkeley is decently affordable if you find the right places, and anywhere around the Hills is just gorgeous. I'd think it'd be great if Cal alum started setting up shop in the best part of the Bay Area, make it a real college town.

Alameda...shhhhh.

parts of Oakland are dodgy, but things are getting better .. I have lived in Oakland since I graduated and find it a great place to live, close to the city, better commutes for many and more reasonable prices.. the diversity is great .. many immigrants, etc.. of course many think that is why Oakland is dodgy .. Used to work with people who lived in Marin .. they would ask me why I wanted to live there when I could live in MARIN ... the reason for me was obvious.. I like the diversity ..

The Berkeley Hills are beautiful. Same with Elmwood, Claremont, Thousand Oaks, etc

Oakbear;842485630 said:

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parts of Oakland are dodgy, but things are getting better .. I have lived in Oakland since I graduated and find it a great place to live, close to the city, better commutes for many and more reasonable prices.. the diversity is great .. many immigrants, etc.. of course many think that is why Oakland is dodgy .. Used to work with people who lived in Marin .. they would ask me why I wanted to live there when I could live in MARIN ... the reason for me was obvious.. I like the diversity ..

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The thing people don't get about Oakland is that it is two different cities. Yes, there are the areas that are crime infested hellholes, but they are for the most part contained, while there are areas like Rockridge, Montclair, Piedmont Ave, and the hills that are a completely different world.

The nice parts of Oakland and Berkeley are great places to live.

The more I think about it, the nice parts of Berkeley, and there are many, are a lot like Noe Valley in SF. Awesome homes, great views, great shopping and restaurants.

This house is killer, and close to campus: http://www.trulia.com/property/3198460387-2815-Oak-Knoll-Ter-Berkeley-CA-94705

OaktownBear;842485638 said:

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The thing people don't get about Oakland is that it is two different cities. Yes, there are the areas that are crime infested hellholes, but they are for the most part contained, while there are areas like Rockridge, Montclair, Piedmont Ave, and the hills that are a completely different world.

The nice parts of Oakland and Berkeley are great places to live.

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There is a certain feel to the downtown/uptown areas as well as Lake Merritt. A sort of vibrancy and liveliness that wasn't there even 10 years ago. Great restaurants are springing up all over town. Rents and home prices are skyrocketing. This is really the new Oakland that many are unaware of.

jyamada;842485643 said:

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There is a certain feel to the downtown/uptown areas as well as Lake Merritt. A sort of vibrancy and liveliness that wasn't there even 10 years ago. Great restaurants are springing up all over town. Rents and home prices are skyrocketing. This is really the new Oakland that many are unaware of.

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+1

teknofreek;842485537 said:

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All right then, yay or nay? The comments go both ways.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Berkeley-is-the-best-place-to-live-in-the-Bay-6212228.php

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If i had to live in the Bay Area, I would head right to wine country. Some of us like our rural settings. Personally, I like visiting the Bay Area, with its diversity of great places to visit. Berkeley has its plus and minuses, but there are plenty of other interesting locations in the Bay Area.

beelzebear;842485541 said:

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Meh, B-town is a real sh*thole, no one should ever move there. Damn hippies and commies.

God be sending all of Berzerkeley to H-E-doublehockeysticks. Watch the hot poker, it ain't vegan!

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So many of you are stuck on small areas that have caused Cal problems. The city as a whole has some of the most beautiful areas where you never have to deal with all these "hippies" or "peoples park!!!" Some of you cannot see the forrest through trees and probably haven't even been in town in years.

wifeisafurd;842485662 said:

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If i had to live in the Bay Area, I would head right to wine country. Some of us like our rural settings. Personally, I like visiting the Bay Area, with its diversity of great places to visit. Berkeley has its plus and minuses, but there are plenty of other interesting locations in the Bay Area.

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Our version of rural is wine country. Can't get more California than that.

Perhaps it's just the outsider in me talking, but I found Berkeley to be a delightful place. I was neither bothered nor bored by the over-the-top liberalism and its reputation for free thinking and free expression at all. I'm sure that all places in the country have at least one place that makes the whole place less than desirable, but I'm a big-picture guy, so I see Berkeley as a very wonderful place where you could learn something new about yourself, other people, and the world.

Berkeley would be much better if the City Council wouldn't make the city a laughingstock by sticking its nose in every single political nook and cranny.

That and the borderline criminal parking enforcement policies.

blungld;842485614 said:

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Alameda...shhhhh.

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Everyone who lives in Alameda always says "shhhhh", LOL

barabbas;842485664 said:

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So many of you are stuck on small areas that have caused Cal problems. The city as a whole has some of the most beautiful areas where you never have to deal with all these "hippies" or "peoples park!!!" Some of you cannot see the forrest through trees and probably haven't even been in town in years.

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Satire and sarcasm.

OaktownBear;842485638 said:

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The thing people don't get about Oakland is that it is two different cities. Yes, there are the areas that are crime infested hellholes, but they are for the most part contained, while there are areas like Rockridge, Montclair, Piedmont Ave, and the hills that are a completely different world.

The nice parts of Oakland and Berkeley are great places to live.

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That is the truth...I grew up on the southern end of Skyline Blvd and it was an awesome neighborhood. Not really the Montclair area but still in the hills with Chabot Regional Forest/Parks in the back yard. I think you're old enough to remember downtown Oakland used to be the pits....I remember the Pussycat XXX Theater downtown, pimps and hoes everywhere on West MacArthur, so many in fact, in the day it was said only Fresno had more hoes walking the blvd. Once they redeveloped downtown, Oakland started on the road to getting much nice with actual business' down there.....

pingpong2;842485681 said:

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Berkeley would be much better if the City Council wouldn't make the city a laughingstock by sticking its nose in every single political nook and cranny.

That and the borderline criminal parking enforcement policies.

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The Netflix series Lilyhammer depicts the Norwegian government as being like the Berkeley City Council, up your rear end with a flashlight about everything.

jyamada;842485643 said:

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There is a certain feel to the downtown/uptown areas as well as Lake Merritt. A sort of vibrancy and liveliness that wasn't there even 10 years ago. Great restaurants are springing up all over town. Rents and home prices are skyrocketing. This is really the new Oakland that many are unaware of.

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Not for much longer, I moved from Uptown (Alice/17th right by the Lake) to the City and my rent went down.

pingpong2;842485681 said:

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Berkeley would be much better if the City Council wouldn't make the city a laughingstock by sticking its nose in every single political nook and cranny.

That and the borderline criminal parking enforcement policies.

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That was my major turnoff with Berkeley when I was a student, but frankly Berkeley has toned it down some, and San Francisco's board of sups has surged far ahead of Berkeley's City Council on that score. And I'd say the parking enforcement is comparable.

pingpong2;842485681 said:

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Berkeley would be much better if the City Council wouldn't make the city a laughingstock by sticking its nose in every single political nook and cranny.

That and the borderline criminal parking enforcement policies.

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100% agree, but I just ignore them. Just like the BOS in SF, where I actually live. Laughable.

I'm not sure "best place to live" is a meaningful metric. Depending on how much you want to spend, how much space you want, family situation and what other things you are looking for, there could be any number of "best places to live." I enjoyed my time in Berkeley but I'm not an east bay guy generally so I would definitely head north or south from SF before heading east. Doesn't mean Berkeley and the east bay in general isn't a great place to live for others but it's not my cup of tea. Even though I wouldn't live there, there are a lot of things I love out there (for example, spent the day at Redwood Regional Park in Oakland on Sunday).

Berkeley's cool and all, especially as a student, but best place to live in the Bay Area? I think not.

jyamada;842485643 said:

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There is a certain feel to the downtown/uptown areas as well as Lake Merritt. A sort of vibrancy and liveliness that wasn't there even 10 years ago. Great restaurants are springing up all over town. Rents and home prices are skyrocketing. This is really the new Oakland that many are unaware of.

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Yup. I moved to Oakland from San Francisco about four years ago, because when looking at apartments near Lake Merritt I found the surrounding neighborhood surprisingly vibrant. My commute to downtown S.F. isn't any longer than it was before (thanks Muni), and I have the benefit of warmer weather.

Oakland right now feels about like S.F. did in the 90s (which means it's probably about 10-15 years away from becoming impossibly expensive).

blungld;842485614 said:

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Alameda...shhhhh.

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Alameda has no access to BART. And the tube is a mess. Can you imagine what it will be like when In N Out opens. Alameda has already jumped the shark

wifeisafurd;842485662 said:

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If i had to live in the Bay Area, I would head right to wine country. Some of us like our rural settings. Personally, I like visiting the Bay Area, with its diversity of great places to visit. Berkeley has its plus and minuses, but there are plenty of other interesting locations in the Bay Area.

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Yeah, I am second-generation Berkeley and now live in Sonoma. The latter suffers the comparison primarily on game days; other than that, for me, Berkeley loses, and that is a 180% turn from my previously-held position.

It depends what you are looking for. The "good place to raise a family" **** is fortunately over for me. I like ferment so Oakland offers that plus excellent amenities and you can still encounter humans from all walks of life.

sycasey;842485753 said:

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Yup. I moved to Oakland from San Francisco about four years ago, because when looking at apartments near Lake Merritt I found the surrounding neighborhood surprisingly vibrant. My commute to downtown S.F. isn't any longer than it was before (thanks Muni), and I have the benefit of warmer weather.

Oakland right now feels about like S.F. did in the 90s (which means it's probably about 10-15 years away from becoming impossibly expensive).

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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-s-Lake-Merritt-drawing-new-residents-5752202.php


Oakland is indeed very nice. I just wish it had more of a dangerous reputation so my rents wouldn't keep going up. But I like it. A lot. I also like that within 2-4 (walkable) miles, there are so many different unique areas, from Emeryville to Berkeley to Piedmont.

okaydo;842485816 said:

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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-s-Lake-Merritt-drawing-new-residents-5752202.php


Oakland is indeed very nice. I just wish it had more of a dangerous reputation so my rents wouldn't keep going up. But I like it. A lot. I also like that within 2-4 (walkable) miles, there are so many different unique areas, from Emeryville to Berkeley to Piedmont.

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I moved in 2010, right before this rent boom started, so thanks to rent control my rent is still delightfully low.

Gonna have a family soon, though, so we will probably have to move (darn).

OaktownBear;842485638 said:

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The thing people don't get about Oakland is that it is two different cities. Yes, there are the areas that are crime infested hellholes, but they are for the most part contained, while there are areas like Rockridge, Montclair, Piedmont Ave, and the hills that are a completely different world.

The nice parts of Oakland and Berkeley are great places to live.

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I agree. After getting married I lived in SF for a few years and actually entered into contract to buy a home in the Mission/Noe Valley area. The contract fell through because of the condition of the property and after exhausting other areas of the City, I decided to move to Oakland where the weather was better than SF, prices were lower, and my commute to downtown SF was shorter.

Rockridge, Montclair, Piedmont Ave, and the hills are great. I would add: Lakeshore and Grand Avenue.
In fact the per family income of the Montclair area is higher than Piedmont (i.e. two income earners) and it is much more diverse than Piedmont or Marin or the Peninsula. Weather is better than either SF or Walnut Creek. Public transit to SF is very good.
Public Elementary schools are good; but public High Schools are not as good at Berkeley. But there are a number of very good private High Schools (O'Dowd, St. Mary's, Head Royce, College Prep, Holy Names, to name a few).

What is interesting is that with the price rise in SF homes, Oakland home prices are rising sharply especially around Lake Merritt and the condos near the Fox and the Paramont.

68great;842485839 said:

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I agree. After getting married I lived in SF for a few years and actually entered into contract to buy a home in the Mission/Noe Valley area. The contract fell through because of the condition of the property and after exhausting other areas of the City, I decided to move to Oakland where the weather was better than SF, prices were lower, and my commute to downtown SF was shorter.

Rockridge, Montclair, Piedmont Ave, and the hills are great. I would add: Lakeshore and Grand Avenue.
In fact the per family income of the Montclair area is higher than Piedmont (i.e. two income earners) and it is much more diverse than Piedmont or Marin or the Peninsula. Weather is better than either SF or Walnut Creek. Public transit to SF is very good.
Public Elementary schools are good; but public High Schools are not as good at Berkeley. But there are a number of very good private High Schools (O'Dowd, St. Mary's, Head Royce, College Prep, Holy Names, to name a few).

What is interesting is that with the price rise in SF homes, Oakland home prices are rising sharply especially around Lake Merritt and the condos near the Fox and the Paramont.

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Other Oakland neighborhoods that are nice are Glenview and Oakmore, just off Park Blvd., above 580 and below 13. Glenview is still a bit more affordable than Crocker Highlands and Oakmore, but prices have been rising rapidly the last couple of years, given low interest rates and relatively few places on the market.

Oakbear;842485630 said:

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parts of Oakland are dodgy, but things are getting better .. I have lived in Oakland since I graduated and find it a great place to live, close to the city, better commutes for many and more reasonable prices.. the diversity is great .. many immigrants, etc.. of course many think that is why Oakland is dodgy .. Used to work with people who lived in Marin .. they would ask me why I wanted to live there when I could live in MARIN ... the reason for me was obvious.. I like the diversity ..

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I live in NO/Rockridge, I'm mainly familiar with N. Oak, W. Oak, Temescal, Montclair and Rock....."more reasonable prices" my arse,
In my 'hood, College and Claremont, houses sell for $500,000 over asking. One 1300 square foot shitbox on 63rd sold for TWICE the $825K asking price.
A buddy bought a fixer in west oakland (18th and Chestnut) $600K. Not sure what reasonable is to you, but if one is willing to spend $600K-$1M, then they should be looking at homes listed between $400K and $700K.....and prepare to be on many a losing bid.
And if you have kids....unless you buy into the Chabot, Peralta,Kaiser school areas.....prepare to pay another $20K per year per kid to get educated.
Don't get me wrong....I love my 'hood......but I bought my home 33 years ago, before wife and kid.
There's no way in hell I'd pay $1M for my home and $15K a year in taxes if I had to now.
Just saying.
Cheers!!
Go Bears!!!!
At least in Berkeley, one can reasonably expect to pay $25% more......not 50-100% more.