General Reviews of the Berkeley Flats

Re: Moving to Berkeley -- which neighborhood?
There are lots of great neighborhoods in Berkeley. If I could pick a house in the flatlands I'd go near Monterey market (easy to walk to totland, Hopkins track and pool and tennis courts). Not far from the gourmet ghetto, solano, downtown. I lived off university ave for ten years and loved the accessibility. Some neighborhoods have fewer drifters and appear to be cleaner than others. I lived south of university avenue and it was safe, but just seemed dirtier due to more pedestrian and car traffic. However, I'm now a hill mom and it's not bad. Lots of parks up here (codornices is huge) and we take the bus and walk a lot. Don't write off the hills, but stick to lower neighborhoods unless you want strong legs! Strong leg mo

Park Hills area near Grizzly Peak and Tilden Park

My husband and I are expecting our first baby and trying to decide whether to buy a house in the Berkeley Hills, specifically the Park Hills area near Grizzly Peak and Tilden Park. We want to know whether there are many other families with young children up in that area, and how isolated we might feel living there. For example, how limiting will it be to have to drive down the hill to get to most toddler parks and to shop? Will our child have potential playmates nearby or feel alone? On the positive side, we can have a larger yard and more interior space in the hills than we find in houses nearer to commercial areas. Thank you for any feedback or advice! Rachel

There's a great deal of natural beauty we've partaken of: hikes you can backpack a baby on, and the Little Farm, Steam Train and Merry-go-round for when your baby is a little older. On the other hand, there's no cafe or grocery store within walking distance though the row of shops on Monterey has a butcher, a grocery store, a cafe, a liquor store, a gourmet deli, the best pizza parlor ever (Gioia's), a bakery and more.

Dorothy Boalt park on Spruce Street is walking distance from the entrance to Tilden Park, and I have met other families there, though no one we've kept in touch with steadily.

There is another park at the top of Cedar (not really walking distance but close) that's usually fairly sparsely populated. Totland at Virginia and McGee, 3 blocks north of Sacramento, is a 10 1 drive. I find in general the distance is more psychological/energetic than actual.

The culture up here is a whole other ball game. There are some friendly folks to be sure, and there are also folks who are surprisingly uptight, circumspect and not so friendly. I say surprisingly because I had this stereotype that living in Berkeley folks would generally be more laid-back and open.

It's a mostly-white, pretty darn wealthy area, and MNSHO is that once folks sink this kind of money into a house, they want to protect their boundaries, privacy, etc., and focus on the nest is much higher priority than making connections with neighbors. Though when I lost my cat and posted flyers, I was heartwarmed at the outpouring of caring, so I know it's out there!

Also, I have noticed that parents of older kids who are around the same age tend to connect by default because their kids play together on their own initiative.

I think it wouldn't take much (posting a few signs, announcing it here, for example) to get together families in the area at Dorothy Boalt some weekend morning, I'll bet others are hungry for it just like we are.

Berkeley Hills vs. Oakland Hills

Feb 2005

Re: Living in Sequoyah Hills/Heights
I think that if you are considering moving to Sequoyah Hills/Heights, but fear you won't have anything enriching nearby (restaurants, cultural opportunities, parks, etc.), and you're worried about the schools, why don't you consider moving to the Berkeley Hills? I'm near Grizzly Peak and Marin Ave. and I love it! I'm minutes away from Tilden Park, fabulous Fourth Street, the wonderful shops and restaurants on Solano Avenue, and the public schools aren't bad. There are several private schools in Berkeley that may suit your needs if you don't care for the public ones. The closest elementary school to me is Cragmont, near the top of Marin Ave. The North Berkeley BART station is just an 8-minute drive down the hill from me. If you can afford to move to Sequoyah Hills, you can afford to move to the Berkeley Hills. 3-bedroom homes in this area range from $850,000 to $1.5 million. We have spectacular views of the bay. Something to consider. (Oh, and Sequoyah is spelled that way possibly because of a Native American tribe, not the tree.)
Happy Berkeley Hills resident