University of California Berkeley neighborhood safety? (San Diego, Fresno: 2015, violent crime, house)

[DanDC.]

Hi there!

A friend of mine is still considering two offers. Either staying here in D.C. and study a master in law at Georgetown University or going to the University of California Berkeley to study the same program there.

The question is:

He is familiar with D.C. after having stayed her for a year. However, he has never been to California and a little bit apprehensive. He's been told that UCB neighborhood is not as safe as the one in Georgetown.

Also, the transportation in D.C. is much easier since the university is at the heart of the city compared to UCB, and that UCB has a huge campus which might be intimidating.

I know it is subjective, I've never been to California before. I am worried about the safety of my friend. We are both international students.

Please advise.

Thanks in advance

[Rebelfootball]

DC is one of the most crime stricken areas in the US, although the Georgetown neighborhood is nice. Berkeley is a college town with hippie crimes, colleg crimes. California is a big state so it shouldnt matter that you have or havent been, if you were in Orange County or San Diego two very safe areas of the US or if you were in Fresno or other Central Valley areas that arent the safest in CA all that matters is where your friend will live. Berkeley has better and worse neighborhoods, but in general much safer than DC, its not even close.

There are many places to compare cities and look at crime between DC and Berkeley, so Ill use one According to Area Vibes:

Murder rate:
DC 24 per 1000 residents
Berkeley 1 per 1,000

Violent crime
1203 in DC per 1,000 vs 440 for Berkeley

Berkely is higher in robbery, and vehicle theft, but in crimes most people are looking at DC is one of the worst in the US.

[boulder2015]

Originally Posted by Rebelfootball

DC is one of the most crime stricken areas in the US, although the Georgetown neighborhood is nice. Berkeley is a college town with hippie crimes, colleg crimes. California is a big state so it shouldnt matter that you have or havent been, if you were in Orange County or San Diego two very safe areas of the US or if you were in Fresno or other Central Valley areas that arent the safest in CA all that matters is where your friend will live. Berkeley has better and worse neighborhoods, but in general much safer than DC, its not even close.

There are many places to compare cities and look at crime between DC and Berkeley, so Ill use one According to Area Vibes:

Murder rate:
DC 24 per 1000 residents
Berkeley 1 per 1,000

Violent crime
1203 in DC per 1,000 vs 440 for Berkeley

Berkely is higher in robbery, and vehicle theft, but in crimes most people are looking at DC is one of the worst in the US.

I think you're missing some zeroes chief...

[bmw335xi]

I'd stay with Georgetown University. Berkeley has an atmosphere of being a parasite to society, if you care about your career then you must be a corporate pig who deserves your car to be vandalized or your wallet stolen and the city itself is quite run down, full of homeless, not much to do besides smoke weed every day.

[tanglenet]

If your friend is not interested in visiting the school (UCB) for themselves, it sounds like they have already made their decision.

[Rebelfootball]

Originally Posted by boulder2015

I think you're missing some zeroes chief...

As I mentioned above, just going off of what Area Vibes provides boss...

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not ok

[jade408]

I went to Berkeley and I'll share my own experiences. I haven't spent much time around Georgetown, but some in DC.

If you require things to be shiny and new to be nice, skip the Bay Area all together. We don't have much new stuff and it is super pricey.

Berkeley is reasonably safe. The most common crime near campus is property. Time. And you. Red some basic streets smarts. It has cleaned up a lot since I went there. Some of the blocks I didn't like are way better now. There are a lot of homeless people. Ca is ground zero for it. You get used to it, but it can be a little depressing.

Pros - not only does Berkeley have a great rep, it is an excellent place for international students. It is probably one third international students at this point. I lived in the International House and it was a life changing experience. There is one in DC, but the Berkeley one is a lot bigger. A large portion of my college friends are non-American.

The Berkeley campus is big and a nice place to walk aroind. It is fairly easy to get to SF but the trains are crowded.

An important note. Berkeley students are no longer very liberal. Don't believe the news. The student demographics are affluent elite these days. Not many hippies. Excellent networking.

[DanDC.]

Originally Posted by Rebelfootball

DC is one of the most crime stricken areas in the US, although the Georgetown neighborhood is nice. Berkeley is a college town with hippie crimes, colleg crimes. California is a big state so it shouldnt matter that you have or havent been, if you were in Orange County or San Diego two very safe areas of the US or if you were in Fresno or other Central Valley areas that arent the safest in CA all that matters is where your friend will live. Berkeley has better and worse neighborhoods, but in general much safer than DC, its not even close.

There are many places to compare cities and look at crime between DC and Berkeley, so Ill use one According to Area Vibes:

Murder rate:
DC 24 per 1000 residents
Berkeley 1 per 1,000

Violent crime
1203 in DC per 1,000 vs 440 for Berkeley

Berkely is higher in robbery, and vehicle theft, but in crimes most people are looking at DC is one of the worst in the US.

Georgetown University is situated in NW D.C. where you have: The White House, Embassy Rows, all government agencies etc...

What you are talking about is NE D.C.

The comparison is not fair.

[DanDC.]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I'd stay with Georgetown University. Berkeley has an atmosphere of being a parasite to society, if you care about your career then you must be a corporate pig who deserves your car to be vandalized or your wallet stolen and the city itself is quite run down, full of homeless, not much to do besides smoke weed every day.

Can you flesh it out a little more? I need to hear more about this point.

[DanDC.]

Originally Posted by tanglenet

If your friend is not interested in visiting the school (UCB) for themselves, it sounds like they have already made their decision.

He cannot visit it until May, which is too late, he has to make a decision before that month.