<p>berkeley is pretty unique. you do get a lot of bums, especially smoking weed in people’s park. DO NOT BE ALARMED! I think the campus is an acquired taste for many. When i first visited during Cal Day i was a bit shocked, like you. But now that I live there i’ve learn to love it and embrace it. The campus itself is beautiful, the town is a bit old, but i think it gives it character (in a good way). </p>
<p>I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. If you plan on going here in the fall and get accepted, do an overnight stay and you can really see what it feels like. It becomes different as well when the students come back because it’s very busy and more “collegey” (yes, i probably made up a word) i absolutely LOVEE berkeley. if you have anymore questions, feel free to private message me! :)</p>
<p>it’s quite dirty everywhere. In the winter they pour tar on the sidewalks and streets to help provide traction when it’s icy or snowy outside and water freezes. There are also a lot of dirty people in general. Most people here are too poor to afford gas and hence hot showers so you can smell a lot of people from a few feet away. Also, drug use is rampant. Just see who is standing on a corner waiting around and you have your dealer.</p>
<p>Overall I really like that the campus is centralized and on one giant piece of land. I guess this place was the right fit for me.</p>
<p>^ There are a few posters on this board who just love commenting that Berkeley sucks every opportunity they can. </p>
<p>Pretty much everyone I know loves Berkeley and likes the city. Sure it’s dirty but it’s an urban area! You’ll appreciate having over 100 different restaurants/stores within 5 minutes walking distance when you get there. And being able to walk across the entire campus in 10 minutes. You can’t really get bored in Berkeley (unless you choose to lock yourself in your room at Foothill/Stern and love to whine on this site.)</p>
<p>lol @ Firapira and bartleby. Yes, its dirty here, but yea its a city like flutterfly said. </p>
<p>Also, it hasn’t snowed in Berkeley in quite a long time, so water does not freeze and it does not get icy. It just gets pretty cold at times. Also, I’m sure it would have had more of a “campus-feeling” if students weren’t on break. It’s an empty campus and not the greatest weather right now, so it looks gloomy. Add the homeless and drug users and you’ve basically got an asylum.</p>
<p>If you thought Berkeley was shocking, try USC or UChicago or Johns Hopkins; they’re definitely not in the ‘good’ area of the city.</p>
<p>Yes, berkeley is not the safest place you can find, but I quickly adjusted to it since it’s actually not as dangerous as you might think. within the campus, maybe with the exception of sproul hall, it’s a place that one of the best research and education goes on. i’m pretty sure berkeley is a ghost town right now since it’s winter break, but if you come during the regular semester, you can feel as if the campus is breathing and alive.</p>
<p>I love Berkeley-- both the campus and the city (esp the Berkeley Marina where you get stunning views of the Bay). Berkeley’s more beautiful than any other UC campus/college town I’ve visited-- though I never been to UCLA or UCSB, both of which, from what I’ve heard, are the best looking UCs.</p>
<p>^ Been to all UC campuses except Merced. I can honestly tell you that Berkeley has the best campus, though UCLA’s isn’t far behind. But Berkeley has a distinct feel that’s something intellectual and grand. Didn’t feel that of my many visits to UCLA. I also don’t agree that LA girls are more attractive. :D</p>
<p>I think Berkeley isn’t really that dirty, it just gives that mental effect. I’m scared to wear all whites because I always think that it’ll get dirty.</p>
<p>Berkeley is a crap, low-income city full of bums.
But UC Berkeley is a sink or swim school, much like the real world. If you swim, it’s awesome, if you don’t get ready to whine away until you graduate.</p>
<p>Clearly you have only been hanging around Telegraph and downtown Berkeley. I live in Berkeley. There are parts (basically the north) in which the residents aren’t “low-income bums.” There’s more to Berkeley than what you can walk to.</p>
<p>@sllamas1: My bad, yes North side is really really nice but I can’t even think of living there unless I have a car because it’s just so far from all the late-night food.</p>
<p>Make no mistake–Berkeley’s campus, per se, is excellent. It’s the city I hate. I just don’t see anything alluring about a dirty town where the biggest nightlife (outside frats/coops) is Kip’s and Blake’s. Hippie vendors on Telegraph are interesting for all of about an hour. The food places on Southside are generally unimpressive (and I’m not difficult to impress with food) and overpriced. The wannabe gangstas from Berkeley High that populate Shattuck in the middle of the day are pretty funny for another hour, and then they get annoying. Northside is certainly cleaner and nicer, but not to my taste–if you’re a hipster-ish type with money, you will probably like it.</p>
<p>I don’t think Berkeley is dangerous, for the record–I’ve walked alone at night and never felt threatened. </p>
<p>And comparisons of the town to South-Central/Exposition Park are inane. From what I understand from my Trojan friends, USC kids are not integrated with the surrounding area in the same way Cal kids are (i.e. they live and spend their time within a much more limited radius), so they don’t have to deal with the same crap Cal students do.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that Berkeley kids are all that integrated either. Open your eyes, the locals hate us unless we’re dropping cash.</p>
<p>The part of Berkeley by campus is pretty safe though, despite what appearances might lead one to believe. The UCPD actually does an excellent job, very quietly, of keeping us safe without being intrusive.</p>
<p>Mentally, Berkeley is in it’s own bubble. The students don’t like to interact with hobos, locals, and Berkeley high kids. For example, on the famous 51 bus, all the students ignore the crazy locals and stare off into space. There’s no reaction to what the crazy locals say and it’s as if we carry on about our business like they were ghosts. No one talks about Berkeley locals or the city much and vice versa. Other than store clerks and food vendors, I’ve never talked to a local, it’s like they don’t exist. Think the 6th sense, everyone not a student, professor, or GSI is a ghost</p>
