<p>If you had to weigh living in LA against Berkeley which would win?... in terms of</p>
<p>-housing (price, value - which is more expensive?)
-transportation (public, biking, traffic etc - how easy is it to get around without a car?)
-weather
-surrounding area (safety, etc - is there a lot of crime? )</p>
<p>I still have not SIR'd to either. I can't choose. :( I got very similar FA packages from both and both have plenty of positive points. Now it's just down to how how I will be living in each city.</p>
<p>-LA is generally more expensive than Berk.
-Probably easier to get around in Berkeley. There’s a lot of traffic in LA, and it’s not very pedestrian/ bicycle friendly. Berkeley has lots of easy- accessible transportation (buses, bart, train, etc. plus VERY bicycle friendly).
-weather: LA is much sunnier, Berkeley has lots of clouds, a little above average rainfall. LA can still become uncomfortably hot/smoggy. air quality is better in Berkeley. I actual prefer berkeley weather, but you can miss the heat sometimes.
-both places have their fair share of crime, it’s hard to pinpoint which is more. I would think maybe berkeley has more nonviolent crime on the outskirts than LA, but LA has more crime otherwise. I’m not too educated on this issue. </p>
<p>about FA: i was offered more aid by UCLA. still SIRed to berkeley 2 days ago because i really think i belong there over LA.</p>
<p>Berkeley is next to Oakland</p>
<p>…and LA is next to Compton.</p>
<p>:P</p>
<p>lol UCLA is nowhere near Compton.</p>
<p>about UCLA, firsthand. </p>
<p>-housing: generally costs between $550 and %700 to share a room. or between $800 and $1200 for your own… that’s if you want to live in the plot of apartments (literally) across the street from campus. if you’re willing to move a mile or two further away, prices drop a little and architectural quality gets a somewhat nicer… </p>
<p>-transportation: tons of traffic during rush hour. totally manageable on weekends (public trans / car). a road bike would do you some good for going off campus… but there’s a strange thing about westwood… during the week, you’ll rarely venture outside of it… very self-contained little town. </p>
<ul>
<li>weather: UCLA = sun; UCB = cold, where cold tends to turn to cold-rain </li>
</ul>
<p>-surrounding area: Berkeley boarders oakland… UCLA boarders Bel Air, Beverly Hills and Brentwood…
there’s no comparison… </p>
<p>still, at a certain point, crime is unavoidable. be smart, and you’ll be fine regardless of where end up. </p>
<p>bottom line: don’t let any of this bear to heavy on your decision. look into the department and the locations in general. find the difference, see which ones play into your preferences and act accordingly. what’s above is just the small stuff… </p>
<p>best of luck</p>
<p>****** compton is in LA, sure… but UCLA sure as hell isn’t in (or around) compton</p>