Huge, lovely apt. in Berkeley (Elmwood) vs. small, charming apt. in Pac Heights for young couple from NYC?

[tanglenet]

You will also be within walking distance of the University which has it's pros and cons. On the plus side you have Moes Books (my favorite) and others; Amoeba Records and others; and Pacific Film Archives, and the best movie house in the Bay Area for showing vintage, obscure and rare international films.

[rkwalton]

Originally Posted by NYCtoSF

"son"...I love it.

If Berkeley has better talent than Stanford then it might be worth a visit or two

Not sure what you mean by "talent" in this context (and that's probably a good thing.)

Stanford is where a lot of companies are doing a lot of valuable work and innovation. That can't be denied. However, the town is just dull to me. Except for the university itself you'd never know there was a college there.

Berkeley is a lot more vibrant. That's for sure.

Originally Posted by tanglenet

You will also be within walking distance of the University which has it's pros and cons. On the plus side you have Moes Books (my favorite) and others; Amoeba Records and others; and Pacific Film Archives, and the best movie house in the Bay Area for showing vintage, obscure and rare international films.

I moved to the area right before winter break. It was nice during the break and you could tell Berkeley was a bit slower and a little quieter. The students came back and it was mildly annoying but I expected an invasion. The worst thing was the day or so before the semester started when all these students were on the buses with their heavy luggage. I think it would be worse if Cal was on the quarter system like UCLA and some of the other UCs are. That cycle would happen three times a year instead of just two.

I do like that there is so much that is walkable. That's very much like NYC. Between biking, walking and mass transit, it's really easy to get around. The only time it sucks is at midnight when you're reminded that AC transit goes to a night schedule at midnight.

[lucillenyc]

Congratulations! My fiance and I made a similar move. We are originally from NYC and are moved to Rockridge this weekend after living in SF for a year.

I think you made a good choice. SF is great, but it is a surprisingly un-user friendly city. Parking is a pain, taxis are a joke, and public transportation (outside of a very limited area) sucks, so it's hard to take advantage of all the amenities of the city. It's so different from NYC. I rarely leave my neighborhood here.

The East Bay is a different lifestyle, but we've been enjoying the vibe and the ability to get around.

Originally Posted by Naiden

Great responses, thank you!

To clear up a question someone had about why were looking so closely at the Pac Heights apartment that sounded so bad: it was actually a really charming apartment in a Victorian and, more rare than that, it allowed our small dog. We didn't realize just how difficult it would be to find an apartment in the city within our budget, that we actually liked, that allowed our dog!

Given all the great things people on this board, as well as friends of ours, have said about Berkeley, that the commute to Emeryville was less than 3 miles from Berkeley, that parking in SF is a pain and finding an apartment we like in a neighborhood we like (thanks for the North Beach suggestions! We had dinner there and really liked the vibe) that we can afford, takes our dog, and has parking, or at least allows us to afford parking...well, we chose the beautiful Elmwood apartment.

Looking forward to checking out what seems like a totally different lifestyle than NYC! Thanks for all the thoughtful responses. Hopefully we won't be missing out on too much by living across the bay.