Moving - Berkeley (Sacramento, Oakland, Pleasanton: middle-class, apartments, to rent)

[Cris81]

Hello everyone, we are considering a move to the East Bay area. Job will be in the financial district, so access to the Bart is a must. Our preference would be somewhere close to the Univ. I will be taking a part time course there. There is a nearly school age preschooler, so a good public school, low crime, access to a park and walkable. Do you have suggestions on an area of Berkeley that will meet this criteria. Thank you for the help.

[Cris81]

Budget is less than $2k for a 2-bedroom. Thanks

[veganwriter]

You want to be in North Berkeley.
The area between Shattuck and San Pablo Ave ... north of University. That's your target area. Everything you asked for is there ... a few small parks, but the entire area is eye-candy for landscaping... so in one way, the neighborhood is your "park."

Now if you have a large bank roll, then you'll be able to look at the area above Shattuck heading into the hills. (No, that's unfair... while it's an upper middle-class part of town, there may still be apartments you may luck up on... but since Berkeley post-dot.com era has become a lot more reactionary than it's previous "Liberal" incarnation, don't bet on it.) There are some great parks and walking trails in that section.

That area has also become more unwelcoming to diversity.
If you like that, then you'll be in hog heaven. (I shouldn't use that term ... it's mostly white and Jewish now.)

If you want more diversity, look at:
University Ave to Ashy ... above Sacramento (Avoid the Sacramento Street area... doesn't sound like your cup of tea) and heading all the way up to the campus. Once you get above Shattuck, you are in the U.C. Student Housing area. It's not for everyone. ((chuckle)) Oh man... could be fun ... but remember, you'll be around a LOT of Freshmen undergrad types. (Parties and noise are not uncommon.)

Have fun with the culture wars that Berkeley has become!

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

This is the only ad I found on Craigslist that meets your criteria, but it looks pretty good:

1921 Francisco, Clean 2 Bed, Great Location, Walk to UCB

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

Found one more in N Berkeley:

Modern 2 BD/1BA North Berkeley Apartment

[Cris81]

Thank you! This is very helpful. Can you talk a bit about the culture war? We will be moving from North Carolina. I hate it so much here - no public transportation, churches every corner, big box retailer every where, too much segregation, isolation in suburbs, no connection with neighbors. We could possibly afford a bit more, but wanting to save money to buy a house at some point.

[NoMoreSnowForMe]

I don't know anything about culture wars in Berkeley. I love Berkeley and would love to live there. Lots of diversity, good energy with the university. But, I don't live there, so maybe there's something subtle people feel who live there?

My daughter works for UC Berkeley, and would have loved to buy in Berkeley, but couldn't afford to. Plus Berkeley has rent control, and if she ever wanted to rent her place out in the future, she would have to deal with that. She bought in Oakland at the beginning of the foothills above the coliseum. She goes over the hill to catch Hwy 13. She loves working in Berkeley.

You might find churches every corner in Berkeley, but they won't all be Christian :-) You'll find everything in Berzerkley (what we fondly call it, as well as the People's Republic of Berkeley). I love it's quirkiness.

[Cris81]

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by veganwriter

You want to be in North Berkeley.
The area between Shattuck and San Pablo Ave ... north of University. That's your target area. Everything you asked for is there ... a few small parks, but the entire area is eye-candy for landscaping... so in one way, the neighborhood is your "park."
[b]

I would go in the opposite direction in N Berkeley: east of Shattuck for better neighborhoods (though that will be pricier, but still do-able on your budget). The better schools will be there. Also look in Kensington, bordering Berkeley to the north. I've also heard that Albany (also bordering Berkeley in the same general area to the north) has good schools. Look at listings for "Berkeley hills" along with "north Berkeley".

[MrWillys]

Never lived there, but worked at Alta Bates hospital for 3 years. Don't discount the little town of Albany just North of Bezerkely, or the Rockridge, or Piedmont areas of Oakland. You'll find this part of the bay area to be quite different than South Carolina. First thing you do is find Zack's pizza! I'm from a little town 30 miles away called Pleasanton, but I could live in these areas mentioned, and BART runs close to any of these areas also.