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We can't seem to decide where to buy a house - between Lower Rockridge and North Berkeley. We are a professional couple with a baby on the way, so schools are not forefront but we do want to invest in a neighborhood. Our budget is around 800K. Both of them seem walkable, near the BART which is very important, close to groceries, good schools, parks etc. How are they different? Rockridge does seem to have a more yuppie feel something which we are not. Being 1st gen immigrants we are generally savers and cautious about splurging even we can afford something. How do they both fare diversity wise? I see mostly caucasian families with kids in both areas. Will we fit in being a family of color? undecided
We are moving to Berkeley this summer and are looking at a house on Hopkins Street close to Monterey Market. We have three young children (5, 3 and a baby) and my one hesitation is that it is a very busy street. Does anyone have advice on living ON Hopkins? I imagine it's very busy during the day but perhaps at night the traffic is quieter? I'm also a bit nervous for my kids (i.e., learning to ride bikes, etc), and also for guests (finding parking). Otherwise, I love the neighborhood (and the house). Any thoughts/advice would be appreciated!
Re: Seeking safe area with diversity, culture, quality food
Try the neighborhood around north berkeley BART or between
there and downtown berkeley BART. Farmers markets on on
stuarydays downtown, on thursdays near shattuck and Rose and
on Tuesdays on MLKing at Derby. The area is flat with bike
routes on streets and along the Ohlone greenway. The public
elementary, middle and high schools are good (although
elementary schools are not by neighborhood).
Many other neighborhoods are good, too. this is the one I
know best, although I live in a less accessible area,
myself. Berkeley Parent
Re: Moving to Berkeley -- which neighborhood?
You are going to get a lot of responses to this question, and probably most of the
suggestions will be great. We moved to Berkeley when my son was a newborn, and it is a
wonderful place to live with kids. We live in North Berkeley, and it's a terrific
area. There are a lot of playgrounds, lots of families, and for the most part people
are very kid-friendly here. I would suggest that you avoid the hills, since (you're
right) you won't be able to walk anywhere. The streets along Hopkins Street and Solano
Ave are wonderful and have all the resources you could want - shopping, parks, things
to do, all walkable. See if you can find a place there. Also, west Berkeley is
underrated but constantly improving - there is a beautiful new Berkeley Bowl down
there, and there are also great playgrounds. It's much less expensive, too. Albany is
also worth a look. It's very walkable and very kid-centric. Good luck!
Mom in Berkeley
We moved to North Berkeley when I was pregnant with my first child. I didn't want to be too far into the hills, wanted to be able to walk to a park and to grocery shopping, so I set my eastern limit at Euclid Avenue and my northern limit as Eunice. It was a great decision for us - wonderful having Codornices Park and the Rose Garden to explore with young children and meet other families. However, my northern limit was really out of ignorance - I only knew the campus area from my days in college here, and wasn't aware of other great neighborhoods within walking distance of Solano Avenue, or close to the Monterey Market area. We were equally fortunate in finding a small, neighborly street, and know all of our neighbors! There are many great neighborhoods in north, central, west, south Berkeley - So I'd say, get out a compass and draw walking distance from good parks, grocery shopping (including farmer's markets) and transportation, and for bonus points, find yourself one of the smaller, shorter streets and you'll be as happy as we! Berkeley Mama
Re: East Bay neighborhoods like DC Metro
I used to live in DC (Adam's Morgan area), and we now live in
Berkeley with our 22 month old and love it. We live in North
Berkeley, in the Westbrae neighborhood, and love the fact that we
are a 10 minute drive from the city (with no traffic, 30 with
traffic), less than 10 min. walk from BART, have several local bus
lines that stop within a block of our house, and plenty of great
shopping within walking distance (Monterey/Hopkins shopping
district, as well as Solano Ave), and can walk to several really
nice playgrounds and parks. We rarely need to use our car. I think
this is an ideal neighborhood for someone used to diversity and
convenience of urban living, but looking for a bit more quiet,
child-friendly living environment with plenty of parking. You
should definitely consider Berkeley for your relocation.
Hillary
Re: Neighborhoods for car-free life with a toddler?
It's not as easy to get around as SF but I'd say anywhere in Berkeley besides the hills
is do-able without a car. I live in N. berkeley off Gilman and was thrilled to discover
the number 9 bus runs along Gilman right into downtown berkeley. I'm also 10 mins
from BART. I can walk to do all my grocery shopping (Monterey Market) and to our
local library. About the only time I ''need'' the car is to get up to Tilden. Even then
there is a bus, but I haven't figured it out yet. When I lived in south berkeley near
the Berkeley Bowl it was not quite so easy (not so many parks to walk to, felt less
safe walking around alone) but still very do-able. If you manage to find somewhere
in Central Berkeley, the Ohlone Park/Totland area seems ideal to me; completely
walkable, tons of families and very safe. If you ride a bike and have a seat/trailer for
your little one I think you will find berkeley without a car very manageable.
walking in berkeley
Re: Kid friendly neighborhoods in the East Bay I live in the ''Totland district'' of North Berkeley, it runs between Sacramento and MLK; University and up to Hopkins, I think. I'm 2 blocks from North Berkeley BART, 2 blocks from Totland, about a mile from the ''gourmet ghetto'' on Shattuck. There are kids and dogs and families everywhere you look, I absolutely love this neighborhood and highly recommend it for what you're wanting!! Jill
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