<p>How hard is it to find housing (apt, room to rent, etc) over the summer for the upcoming Fall semester? I'll be back home over the summer, so I can't conceivably find a place before the semester begins, and I go back to Cal.</p>
<p>It's easy. The problem isn't finding housing, its finding housing affordable housing.</p>
<p>so we should search in the summer for housing? when should we start?</p>
<p>just live in a van. its cheper</p>
<p>The earlier you start the better your chances of finding something good. Many people go home for summer instead of finding a place in june or july so they can save money, but then when they try to find an apartment in August there's nothing left for them (or nothing worth the money). Also, be selective. As much as people say it, there's really no shortage in housing. Certainly there's a shortage in houseing that college students can actually pay for, but that doesn't mean you have to take the first thing that some puts in front of you. When I was apartment hunting I was temped to just take anything because I thought if I didn't someone else would, but if you're having doubts about a place it probably means everyone else would have doubts about it too. Another thing is that alot of people completely rule out living on the south side and end up cutting their chances in half. Don't do that.</p>
<p>whats with the south side?</p>
<p>south side of campus - bancroft, the units, food, clothing, and of course...apartments!</p>
<p>And why don't you want to live on the south side?</p>
<p>Some people will tell you that south side's not safe, but those are the people that have lived in burbs all their life and think that because someone is homeless they're automatically a depraved killer.</p>
<p>Is it hard to find housing on the north side ? I would much prefer to live on this side because it is closer to my classes. I wouldn't have to bike up that hill every morning. </p>
<p>Is now a good time to start looking ? Where are good places to search. </p>
<p>Thanks
Bryan</p>
<p>so is the north side safe like a suburb?</p>
<p>I suppose you could see it that way. The South side isn't dangerous, but it's certainly more so than the north. The most suburbian type area is the north side right on top of campus. If you go too much to the west, it's ghetto looking there too. North Shattuck area is sometimes referred to as the gourmet ghetto because of all the fine dining in that area. If you go further north into the north Berkeley hills, the housing and land gets very expensive, but students don't live that far up.</p>
<p>I signed up for the 2007-2008 Dorm housing contract. I plan on living at home over the summer so I wouldn't look for housing until during that time. I was wondering, can I accept my Dorm housing contract (which is sent out in like March, right? Waaay to early for me to know about housing) then if I find an apartment/room can I cancel my contract, or would I be stuck paying for it?</p>