If we Love Cambridge, MA will we like Berkeley or SF? (San Francisco: sex offenders, crime)

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by jade408

To the OP: Try Albany or Alameda for walkable towns with good schools. Schools in Berkeley, Oakland and SF generally suck -- especially as your kids get older.

Yeah that's what I came in to say. Alameda is cuter but I think Albany has the better schools. Either is sunnier than SF, I think Alameda would be warmer though plus it has a nice beach on the bay.

Oakland or Berkeley are very nice alternatives to SF but the public schools are pretty bad.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

I wouldn't compare Berkeley and Cambridge. Berkeley is kind of ghetto and dirty. It's not the kind of area you want to raise young kids.

The entire city of Berkeley? Really? Sounds like you've glanced out a window while speeding through it from the Eastshore Freeway

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

Not all of it of course, but I think it makes up a larger part of the city than most cities its size. It's a great area for young adults, but not the kind of city you want to raise a young family. Just my opinion. I think parts of Palo Alto are more comparable to Cambridge.

Not true. A good deal of the city is occupied by families. Berkeley is between 80 and 90% residential. Certainly not all 100,000+ people are young adults. Most young adults could not afford to live in most of the cities. Although it's not as expensive as San Francisco.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by 04kL4nD

Yeah I disagree with Berkeley being ghetto and a bad place to raise a family. Maybe if you live in South Berkeley or by campus on Telegraph Ave. But otherwise I think Berkeley is a much better place to raise kids than SF... It's a pretty big town with a lot of different neighborhoods.

Exactly. Even most of the "bad" areas wouldn't be bad by other cities standards with the exception of west Berkeley below San Pablo Ave.

[jeffredo]

Originally Posted by jade408

To the OP: Try Albany or Alameda for walkable towns with good schools. Schools in Berkeley, Oakland and SF generally suck -- especially as your kids get older.

Pretty much sums it up. We have some very nice neighborhoods with great urban vibes in the Bay Area, but we really don't have an independent enclave in a central area like Cambridge MA that can control its school system in the same way.

[bmw335xi]

Considering it's population is only 100,000, Berkeley faces major city problems. Nowhere did I say the entire city is ghetto. I think Cambridge is a much nicer city. I also didn't say the majority of Berkeley's population are young adults. I said, it's a better city for young adults vs a family. If the OP were a single 25 year old, I'd recommend Berkeley over Alameda. However, in this case I'd recommend Alameda over Berkeley. I think you might like Alameda, it's a cute town and very walkable and bike friendly.

[chirplet]

Berkeley is a pretty big area that includes some super nice family-friendly neighborhoods as well as some areas that feel rough around the edges. I have lived in Cambridge, love the area, and think parts of Berkeley are pretty comparable. Public schools in Berkeley might have a bad rap but actually there are many extremely high achieving children and families in this city, and in the public schools. They are also mixed with students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, and so their API scores might reflect this. However, I wouldn't simply say that Berkeley schools are bad without looking into them - I had the chance to do so, and was pleasantly surprised. They maintain many extra-curricular programs, while the elementary school in the city where we live now has cut most of them. The tricky part about Berkeley is that there is a lottery system by zones (I think three different zones), so you are not guaranteed the school of your choice.

That said, I wouldn't want to live in Berkeley myself for other reasons (I grew up there, and the political leanings bug me, even though I am super liberal).

I think Palo Alto is really nice personally, though it may not be urban enough for what is desired. The schools are thought to be excellent though. I think actually Piedmont would fit the bill, the Crocker Highlands area of Oakland if private school sounds okay after 6th grade, and also agree with Albany.

In San Francisco, families seem to like Noe Valley. I don't know about the other neighborhoods as much.

Best of luck!

[daepro]

Berkeley is very different from Cambridge economically and demographically. That said California is not Massachussetts. My family moved from Western MA 3 years ago and are quite happy. It does take a bit of adjustment.
As for cultural issues a great example for me was when I first moved here in November I had to search to locate Hanukah candles because they were no where near as readily available as they were on the east coast. Shortly before Hanukkah I did manage to get a box from a local synagogue which made me feel very welcome, a minor Hanukah miracle.

[NYC809]

Bostonfam -

I too have lived in Cambridge (Essex St - Central Sq) and had a wonderful experience living there. Co-op markets, diverse people, funky shops, outdoor markets, eclectic music, bars (good beer is important to me!), diverse restaurants, excellent public transport, well-educated and non-materialistic people, beautiful architecture, bike-friendly, religiously diversified (but I would say less common for people to be affiliated with a particular denomination in CA), parks, the list goes on.

The one big thing that I didn't like were the winters...those god awful long persistent and relentless winters.

Imagine a mesh of the neighborhoods of Central Square, Inman Square, Harvard Square and Davis Square melted into one and add nice weather, possibly nicer people and you would get a good feel for what it's like in Berkeley.

Strolling through Berkeley a couple of weekends ago, I noticed how out of control people let their gardens get. Most houses let their yard grow wild (possibly a reflection of their attitude) and very few houses are manicured. I thought this was a refreshing change as I've come from a place where lawns are kept extremely tidy and nice.

[etoile_filante]

Berkeley doesn't have the cobblestone/brick-paved street vibe that Cambridge does, and also has more of an eclectic, fringe element than Cambridge. I really like both areas, but Cambridge is probably a bit more pretentious and orderly. The Elmwood neighborhood of Berkeley is a beautiful, family-friendly neighborhood close to campus, and is the area I would focus on given your criteria. There is plenty of religious and cultural diversity in Berkeley, and you will not stand out by being Jewish.

Berkeley and Oakland, and especially San Francisco, do not have hot temperatures. Summer is 75 and breezy in Berkeley, and around 65 in San Francisco (with consistent fog in the western coastal areas).