r/berkeleyca

Hi Everyone! I’m moving back to the Bay Area having spent college & early 20s in New England.

My partner will be starting grad school in Berkeley in the fall, so we’re trying to figure out the lay of the land for East Bay housing.

The criteria we’re looking for are…

- Budget: $4.5k

- 2br preferred

- yard & proximity to nature (hiking trails, etc) is our highest priority

- within 15min walk/bike to BART

- within 20min drive to Cal campus / Wright Institute

Would be incredibly helpful to get any thoughts on…

- availability of places that fit our criteria

- when do places turnover in this area? Is it constant throughout the year?

- where are places typically listed? Zillow? Craigslist?

- do we need a realtor?

- advice on where to live in Berkeley / surrounding towns (North Oakland, El Cerrito, Albany, etc

Thanks so much!

I need a new vet for my dog and I’m really hoping to find one in or around Berkeley that’s taking new patients and that is not owned by private equity ugh. Any tips are much appreciated.

Hey everyone, I'm an incoming summer intern working in San Leandro from June to mid-August and trying to figure out housing. Never been to the Bay Area before so I'm going in completely blind and could really use some local knowledge.

Since it's my first time here and I'm only around for a few months, I really want to make the most of it. I want to live somewhere where there's always something going on, people are out, and it doesn't feel like a dead suburb where everything shuts down at 8pm. Good food, walkable streets, a social atmosphere, that sort of thing. I also plan to spend weekends in SF so being connected to the city is a plus.

No car so I'll be commuting to San Leandro by BART and bus daily. Looking for a private room in a shared house or apartment, budget around $1,000-$1,500/month, though slightly higher is fine for the right place.

Oakland and Berkeley are my initial thoughts but I'm totally open to anything, not limiting myself to those two at all so any shouts are appreciated.

Would love help on

• where the best neighborhoods are for someone who wants to actually enjoy their summer
• how bad the BART commute from Oakland or Berkeley to San Leandro actually is
• good places to find summer sublets or roommates like Facebook groups or Slack channels,
• whether Berkeley is even practical given the distance to work.

Any advice appreciated, going in completely fresh here!

I’d like to rent a storage unit, 5 x 5 minimum, to fit a Massage Table and Bicycle - googled it already but curious if anyone here has any recs?

Hi all- my wife and I are moving from SF to Berkeley after 12 years in the city. SF has been my home through my most of 20s and I have lived many lives so it’s a bittersweet move but we are excited for the new chapter.

Were ready for the change, but also feeling a little sad leaving behind a community and rhythm that took a long time to build.

We’re both in our mid-30s, active, and pretty social, but also aware that meeting people at this stage of life can be…kind of tough. My wife’s work is over here (teacher) and I WFH (consulting) which can be a bit isolating at times too.

A bit about us:

Into hiking, cycling, and being outside

Yoga / meditation

Pickup basketball

Cooking / hosting dinners

Music, art, poetry, live events

A couple things we’re hoping to figure out:

1. How do people actually meet others here?

(Not just “go to events,” but what actually works in Berkeley?)

2. Any communities or recurring things we should plug into?

Classes, groups, runs, gyms, pickup sports, etc.

3. How do we take advantage of being near campus?

We’re close to campus too and would love to lean into it more—thinking:

Talks / lectures

Events

Shows at the Greek

Anything else we might not be aware of

Would especially appreciate hearing from people who’ve made a similar move or built community here in their 30s.

Thanks in advance, we’re excited to be here ❤️

hello all. in a bit of a predicament. ive been lucky enough to have inherited a home from my late great aunt who passed away some years ago. It was my understanding that the home was already paid off. I guess I was wrong. after the probate court process i learned that there is 80k left on the mortgage and its behind 20k in property tax. as someone who only works part time. there's no way I can catch up to that. wondering if there's an easy way around this if anyone has been in this position before? im now driving for lyft to make extra money to save money to add to these payments. ( I'm currently living in this house ). as much as I want to keep it i think my only choice is to sell the property, if that's possible. any advice would be appreciated 🙏🏾

South berkeley. Condition not the best. Drafts everywhere. My aunt was a smoker so the walls are orange from the smoke. Even the blinds have dust and smoke residue. Water heater doesn't stay hot in the bathrooms. Electrical is slow or doesnt work im some rooms. New roof but that's the best I could do for now( had a leak in a few spots throughout the house). 3bd 2bath.

Edit: thanks for all the tips everyone. These are things haven't thought of yet so it will help alot! Yall the real MVPs!!

Hey! I’m looking to sublease a 2+ bedroom place for about a month starting May 10. Ideally, I’d love to rent an entire apartment or house. Please DM me if you have something available or know of anything. Thank you!

Does the University just not care about people who live nearby?

Their construction sites are always louder than what Berkeley City allows for long term construction projects. They work all night sometimes.

People need to be able to sleep and work from home.

Also: the construction knocked out the traffic lights on bancroft and oxford around 10:30/11 and a scooter almost got pancaked by a truck.

They need a new person in Charge of Construction. Do they not have anyone in charge of safety or noise?

Recently moved here and I have State Farm for auto insurance, but I can't get renters insurance. Trying to find renters insurance for CA seems impossible, how are you finding useful insurance and are you happy with the insurer?

I need some space to store my things(not much to be honest, 2-3 boxes and luggage case) because I’m flying back home (I’m international) due to some circumstances, I’ll be back next semester. Does anyone have any experience leaving stuff in storage units around? Or any recommendations I can leave my things? I tried asking some friends, but most of them are graduating this semester

The new addition looks incredible but I'm a little surprised by how poorly it seems to serve customers. The line seems to move much slower and there's confusion about which line is which. I know they JUST moved but I feel like they would've thought this through a little more considering their popularity...

hey neighbors! I've been using duolingo to learn Japanese for about a year consistently now but want to level up alot more. was looking borrow the Genki Textbook 1 from the berkeley library but they don't seem to have it. is there anyone in the berkeley area that happen to have one lying around that I can borrow a bit? I really wanna lock in on this thanks!!