<p>Although this can be biased, I really do appreciate personal opinions especially if you experienced or heard a lot of best or worst housing at Cal
Anyone please?</p>
<p>“Best” and “worst” depend on your criteria. Location? Size? Cost? Type?</p>
<p>It really does depend. A few general comments:</p>
<p>Avoid Clark Kerr, unless you’re a student-athlete. It’s far from campus, and it seems to be mostly student-athletes.</p>
<p>The newer buildings in the Units are pretty solid choices. Martinez Commons are brand new and seem nice too, though I’ve never been inside.</p>
<p>Foothill is a long, uphill walk from much of campus, but is close to Hearst Mining. If your major will have you in a lot of classes near there, it might be okay.</p>
<p>Is it true that all the bathrooms in the dorm are co-ed?</p>
<p>No, if you apply for a floor that is single sex, the bathroom on that floor will also be single-sex. Otherwise, yes. (minus Bowles and Stern)</p>
<p>Good: living without roommates
Best: moving in a studio apartment JUST FOR YOURSELF
Bad: sharing a room with another person or two</p>
<p>I live in Clark Kerr and I like the rooms here. They seem bigger than some the of the units, well I’ve only been in a double in unit 3. It is far from campus though, so it get annoying if you miss the bus.</p>
<p>I’m also not a student athlete, nor are a lot of other students here. But yeah, you do see them around outside in the grass/courtyards or in the dinning hall. </p>
<p>Southside dorms (Unit 1, 2, 3) are more “lively” I guess. If it’s late at night and you are hungry, it’s pretty easy to find food around. People also say it’s noisier, compared to the Northside dorms (Foothill, Stern, Bowles). Generally, engineers/science majors like to live on the northside because it’s closer to many of their classes, but when I lived in Foothill, my suite was full of humanity majors. (And many engineers/science majors live in the Units as well). Clark Kerr is generally associated with athletes, but I knew a couple of comp sci majors who lived, and liked living, in Clark Kerr. Note, however, that Clark Kerr is the furthest dorm from campus.
To be honest, which residential building you end up in doesn’t matter too much in the long run. It’s the people you live with, especially your roommate(s) and your RA, that could make dorm life heaven or hell, and that, unfortunately, cannot be predetermined. </p>
<p>coed bathrooms: My son is on a co-ed floor in Unit1. He was worried at first about the co-ed bathrooms but says really it is a non-issue. </p>
<p>speaking of coed bathrooms, when I lived in Foothill (2009-10), the bathrooms weren’t coed. However, I know the Units have coed bathrooms (unless you are on a same-sex floor). Don’t know about Clark Kerr.
Coed bathroom is not an issue really. I visited and stayed over at my friend’s dorm room in the Units a lot, and at first, I had some qualms about coed bathrooms. But most people get over it really quickly. No one ever accidentally saw anyone naked; the shower stalls are built to provide almost no visibility (there’s a little changing section within each stall so you can stay clothed the entire time outside of the stall). It’s actually kind of neat to brush your teeth with your friends, male or female, and have some morning talks before you go to class. </p>
<p>I seem to be a bit confused by the number of options available for housing… as an incoming freshman, what would be the best place to stay? In regards to factors such as safety, nearness to campus, your own recommendations/awesome experiences, etc. </p>
<p>@elitepwnage
Safety: All the dorms are equally safe… foothill/stern/bowles are on northside, which I guess is a bit quieter. Unit 2 is near people’s park (bad), but so long as you don’t walk through there at night it’s not an issue. Services like bearwalk are available if you are worried about safety. Campus itself feels pretty safe… there are areas at night which I don’t like walking through alone, but most areas aren’t bad.</p>
<p>Location: Unit 3 is closest to Sproul, Unit 1 is pretty close as well. Foothill/Stern/Bowles are near the engineering corner of campus, but if you’re a freshman you’ll have classes all over anyways. Unit 2 is a little farther than Unit 1, it takes an extra 3-5 minutes to walk to class. I think the units are closest to non-dorm food. Clark Kerr is pretty far from everything, but it’s supposed to have bigger rooms.</p>
<p>Personal recommendations: My favorites are Wada/Martinez, but those aren’t for freshmen. 
Otherwise, just because of my own preferences I like suites/minisuites more than the highrises. They’re more expensive, but the rooms are bigger and you get an almost private bathroom. Again, depends on what you’re looking for… if cost is a big factor, suites probably aren’t the right way to go.</p>
<p>@failure622 - OK, thanks!</p>