Berkeley

Situated along the East Bay shoreline, West Berkeley is a vibrant neighborhood spanning several city blocks with quaint homes, modern condos and a growing lifestyle scene. “There a lot of hip shops and restaurants in West Berkeley along Fourth Street, says Jodi Nishimura, a local realtor and founder of Kai Real Estate, a local firm brokered by eXp Realty. “There are also many beautiful parks along the coastline and lots of cute war-time bungalows in the neighborhood.” Once an industrial zone, changes through the late 20th century transformed West Berkeley into a residential urban neighborhood that continues to grow in appeal today. “Because it’s a more recently developed part of the city, you now have these cool commercial areas that bring in a younger crowd,” says Nishimura. “You still have your regular longtime residents and old-timers in the neighborhood, but recent turnover has brought more young professionals and families to West Berkeley.” West Berkeley’s urban setting allows residents to walk and bike to a variety of trendy stores and restaurants. The highly rated Café Leila, known for its whimsical garden-style patio, offers healthy breakfast and lunch items, from spinach and mushroom omelets to grilled salmon salad. Down the street is Fieldwork Brewing Company, offering over 30 craft beers on tap plus food items like Detroit-style pizza within a rustic meets industrial space. Whole Foods Market on Gilman Street is the neighborhood spot for grocery staples, although residents often head two miles south to the popular Berkeley Bowl West. First opened in the 1970s, this local independent supermarket moved to its newest location on Heinz Avenue in 2009. Area residents have raved about the grocery store for generations, praising its massive and diverse selection of produce, cheeses, breads, meats and wines. Residents can enjoy community gatherings throughout the year along lively Fourth Street. Celebrate Earth Day is a big annual event here each spring, with live music from local performers and activities such as seed planting, pot decoration and face painting. In the fall, the annual Trick-or-Treat and Halloween Festival lets residents trick-or-treat along the shops of Fourth Street. The event concludes with family-fun activities, including art activities, a photo wall, a bubble show and live Halloween-themed music. West Berkeley’s extra-wide streetscapes feature narrowly paved sidewalks and sprinkles of medium-sized trees from ironwoods to buckeyes. Homes typically reside on small lots and are often adorned with quaint front exterior gardens. The neighborhood’s housing styles are primarily early 20th-century Craftsman homes and mid-century California bungalows. “During wartime, there were a lot of 1940s bungalows created for steel workers because of the steel mill that was here, so you’ve got a lot of these little houses in the neighborhood,” Nishimura says. Home prices vary widely, ranging from $465,000 to $750,000 for modern condos next to more commercial sectors and $800,0000 to $1.7 million for single-family homes. Close to the shore, residents can head to Aquatic Park, which features a narrow 67.7-acre lagoon for locals to boat out on. Its water is sourced from a mix of fresh stormwater and tidal water from the San Francisco Bay. A 30-acre park space surrounds the lagoon, offering more recreational opportunities such as walking and biking trails, picnicking, disk golf and the “Dream Land for Kids” playground. Near the center of West Berkeley is the popular San Pablo Park, a 13-acre space with playgrounds, ball fields, tennis courts and a community center. “San Pablo Park has become a real draw for a lot of people,” Nishimura says. “There are a lot of different activities that happen there.” A similar outdoor park, Strawberry Creek Park, sits on the neighborhood’s northern end. Children can play along its light-wooded natural playground, and residents can practice their skills at one of the site’s tennis, basketball and volleyball courts. West Berkeley students have a unique set-up for public elementary education. “An interesting thing to know about Berkeley is that the schools are integrated,” Nishimura says. This means that the local school district continues efforts to balance the racial and socio-economic composition at each of its elementary schools, more than 50 years after Berkeley became the first major school district to voluntarily adopt school integration plans through busing. The methods have changed since then, as families today are placed within zones and get to rank what schools they want to send their students to prior to placement. Elementary school options include Malcolm X Elementary, Washington Elementary, Oxford Elementary and Cragmont Elementary, which all get an A-score from Niche. Middle schoolers can attend the A-rated Willard Middle School, while high schoolers can attend the A-plus-rated Berkeley High School. The high school has strong athletics and visual and performing arts programs. The neighborhood sits between Interstate 580 on the west and Highway 123 to the east, making it easy for residents to travel and commute throughout Berkeley or into other prominent Bay Area cities. Local commuters opting for public transportation can walk to the Berkeley Caltrain station, conveniently located at the south tip of the neighborhood on University Avenue. For airline travel, West Berkeley is 16 miles north of the Oakland International Airport.

Framed by Berkeley’s urban core and hundreds of acres of open space, Berkeley Hills is a scenic residential community where hillside homes coexist with neighborhood parks and schools. Although not entirely walkable due to its steep streets and lack of sidewalks, this tree-wrapped community is known for its serene nature and diverse architecture. “The people in the hills are kind of old school, and they don’t like huge environmental impacts. They like the quiet,” says Allen Cain, executive director of the local Solano Avenue Association and a longtime resident of neighboring El Cerrito. But proximity to commercial corridors in both Berkeley and neighboring Albany ensures that, despite their seclusion, residents of the Hills are just minutes away from essential shops, local restaurants and exciting annual events. Berkeley Hills is dotted with neighborhood parks and green spaces, but few can compare to the spacious and colorful Berkeley Rose Garden, which boasts 1,500 bushes of over 250 rose varieties beside a relaxing picnic area and tennis courts. The garden is part of the larger Codornices Park, which was one of the city's first parks and features an extended concrete slide. Smaller spots like Glendale La Loma Park and John Hinkel Park are popular for their playgrounds, while other destinations like Indian Rock Park invite climbers of all levels to test their skills and reach the summit of a massive boulder formation. Just northeast of the neighborhood, the 2,000-acre Tilden Regional Park boasts miles of hiking and biking trails, a golf course and a sandy beach shore on Lake Anza. The park also features the Regional Parks Botanic Garden, which was founded in 1940 and showcases an incredible variety of native California plant life. And for even more beach access and close-up views of the bay, residents can make their way west to the waterfront in neighboring Albany. Students in Berkeley Hills reside in the Central elementary zone for the Berkeley Unified School District. Many kids will attend either Cragmont Elementary or Oxford Elementary, which both score grades of A on Niche. After a few years at Longfellow Middle, which scores a B-plus, students can enroll at Berkeley High, which proudly boasts an A-plus on Niche. Here, students can participate in specialized academy programs, including the competitive Academy of Medicine and Public Service, the Arts and Humanities Academy and the Communication Arts and Sciences Academy. And to continue their education close to home, seniors can apply to attend UC Berkeley. Berkeley Hills is best known for its narrow, winding and hilly streets showcasing everything from classic Tudor-style architecture to Spanish Revival builds to modern raised ranch-style homes. “A lot of real estate agents classify it as an ‘old money’ area,” Cain says, noting the large size of the homes. “The roads are very narrow, and it can be difficult to navigate.” Some properties offer a more rustic appeal, while others feature sleek, midcentury lines. No matter their size or style, though, these homes are coveted for their location and views of the bay, and prices reflect that. Three-bedroom homes usually sell for just over $1 million, while larger estates can command prices up to $3 million. Between downtown Berkeley and the bustling Solano Avenue, residents have no shortage of international cuisines at their fingertips. “The area is naturally so culturally diverse that it just grew out of that,” Cain says, explaining that there are very few cultures not represented along the centrally located Solano. “As a commercial district, we’re not your average. We also have a lot of things that will allow you to get stuff done, like grocery stress, banks and post offices,” Cain says. Additional grocery stores and retail destinations reside on either Shattuck or University avenues, including Trader Joe’s and Safeway. Berkeley Bowl Marketplace, about 2 miles south, is another popular stop for fresh produce. Each September, the Solano Avenue Stroll brings a crowd to the popular thoroughfare in both Berkeley and neighboring Albany. “Solano is blessed with being in both cities, and it’s a huge community event. We feature 75 bands, dance groups and performing artists,” among hundreds of additional vendors, Cain says. Other festivals, like Cal Day, celebrate incoming students to UC Berkeley, while longstanding events, such as the Bay Area Book Festival, are a hit with all ages. Although many residents rely on cars to navigate this hilly area, there are a few options for public transportation nearby. Alameda Contra-Costa Transit District buses run along main thoroughfares like Grizzly Peak Boulevard and Euclid Avenue, and the North Berkeley BART station is only 2 miles away for easy travel across the Bay Area.

Just as you’re about to ascend East Bay hills overlooking Oakland and Berkeley, Claremont’s leafy streets and elegant homes surround a small neighborhood shopping center and a historic signature hotel. <br><br>Primarily a residential neighborhood, Claremont straddles both cities at its location directly south of the University of California Berkeley. The development of the neighborhood started around the time when the Tudor Revival-style Claremont Club & Spa first opened in 1915 near the mouth of a canyon. Recent sales of the community’s historic Tudor, California bungalow, and prairie-style homes around the hotel have ranged from about $1 million to $5 million, evincing the neighborhood’s desirability. <br><br>“If not the most coveted, it’s one of the top few in Berkeley,” says Jodi Nishimura, a local Realtor and founder of Kai Real Estate, a local firm brokered by eXp Realty. “It’s prestigious.” <br><br>Beyond the historic homes, university professors and other professionals are drawn to the neighborhood for its historic charm, proximity to nature and renowned amenities. <br><br>Across from the stately hotel and the courts of the illustrious Berkeley Tennis Club, people carrying zipped-up rackets or pushing child strollers stop into Peet’s Coffee or Fournée Bakery to help start their morning. Further down Claremont Avenue, the Star Grocery’s neon signs highlight another small neighborhood shopping area, complete with a local coffee shop, a bookstore and comic shop specializing in science fiction, fantasy and mystery, and a florist who has been in the neighborhood since 1983. <br><br>John Muir Elementary nearby resembles the hotel a few blocks from it, sharing the same Tudor-style architecture. Adorned with brown half-timbering, the school is nestled in a natural setting with redwood trees and a creek where arts and science teachers periodically take students to enrich their lessons. Muir is the Berkeley school division’s smallest elementary school, but the district’s schools have fewer students per classroom compared to the state average, which helps foster more direct instruction and guidance from teachers and staff. <br><br>Sections of the neighborhood feature narrow stretches and pockets of greenspace for people to lounge or take their dog for a walk without straying far from home, while Willard Park in the adjacent Elmwood neighborhood provides playgrounds and baseball fields for kids to play. Up the hills, you can explore miles of trails that snake through Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve. Hike long enough and you’ll be rewarded with scenic vistas and views. Time your trek right around sunset to see a warm red-orange horizon against the San Francisco skyline and Golden Gate Bridge<br><br>On the other side of the canyon, you’ll find the main campus of the University of California Berkeley. <br><br>The sprawling university grounds includes the storied California Memorial Stadium where the Cal Golden Bears football team rouses thousands of fans on Saturdays throughout the fall. West of the university and the neighborhood, you’ll find downtown Berkeley, the bustling Telegraph Avenue corridor other shopping districts filled with restaurants, shops and supermarkets. Oakland then lies to the south with even more destinations a short drive away.

Elmwood is a neighborhood with options. On College Ave, people can enjoy a quiet night out, and on Telegraph Ave, there are bustling restaurants and a college-strip-style atmosphere. “Telegraph has even more restaurants than College Ave,” says Dean Powell, a Realtor with Keller Williams Realty. “It’s even more popping.” Walkable and near two bustline dining areas, Elmwood has plenty to offer residents. It’s also close to the Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, a major employer and health provider in the area. Properties in Elmwood tend to go for between $1.5 and $3 million. Homes don’t turn over too quickly in this area, in part because it’s close to U.C. Berkley. “You see a lot of rentals and houses where people rent out rooms to students,” says Powell. Typical homebuyers in the area tend to have lived there for a while, says Powell. “There’s a lot of people who have been there forever.” Styles in the neighborhood range from Colonial Revival to craftsman homes, with brown shingle redwood homes sprinkled throughout the neighborhood. Brown Shingle redwoods were designed by architect Bernard Maybeck and have exteriors that hearken to California’s well-known redwood trees. Restaurants and shops around Elmwood are a tale of two roads, Telegraph and College Aves. “College Ave is great for shopping and restaurants,” says Powell. “You see a lot of couples going out for the night over there.” There’s a variety of cuisine styles available up and down the avenue, from casual gastro pubs like IN THE WOOD to Mexican food at 5 Tacos and Beers Berkley. Telegraph Avenue offers different flavors, like hearty burgers and shakes at old-school burger joint The Smokehouse, or drinks at The White Horse Inn. For groceries, residents can head to Whole Foods which is just outside the neighborhood. After a night out on College or Telegraph Aves, lovers of the theatre can head to the Berkley Playhouse. “The Berkley Playhouse is the local theater people go to and the tickets are a pretty good price,” says Powell. Whether Shakespeare is the show or a modern play, the playhouse brings culture and entertainment to the neighborhood. The area is served by Berkley Unified Public Schools, which has an A rating on Niche. Emerson Elementary and Willard Middle Schools both have an A rating and are within walking distance of many homes in the neighborhood. Berkley High School has an A-plus rating and is the No. 5 public high school in Alameda County according to Niche. Berkley High has a variety of activities for students, like bikepacking, miniature wargaming and boys who cook clubs. Elmwood is mostly filled with homes and businesses, but there is one greenspace tucked between the gridded streets – Willard Park. This grassy oasis is a simple grassy field with several scattered trees, two tennis courts and a playground. People can hop on BART busses along Ashby Avenue and use those routes to get around the city. Interstate 80 is less than five miles away, which provides access up and down the coast, and into downtown San Francisco. For international travel, the San Francisco International Airport is about 25 miles away.

It doesn’t get more eclectic than the established neighborhood of North Berkeley. While its attractive collection of homes speaks to its history, the bohemian heart of the city beats along a commercial corridor that is home to a landmark restaurant, the oldest art cooperative west of the Mississippi and an array of independent businesses. Residents of the Alameda County neighborhood enjoy a convenient location less than 15 miles from San Francisco, next door to the greenery of Berkeley Hills and minutes from the open spaces of Contra Costa County. “It’s a great place with culture, proximity and nature all baked in,” says Tracy Sichterman of Berkeley Hills Realty. “It’s a great marriage of all those personality types.” The anchor of Shattuck Avenue, which bisects the neighborhood, is Chez Panisse, a world-renowned restaurant that started the farm-to-table movement more than 50 years ago. Other notable neighborhood eateries along the avenue include Saul’s Restaurant & Delicatessen and Cheese Board Collective, a combination cheese shop, bakery and pizzeria. “That’s owned by the employees and it’s always been really cool,” Sichterman says. “You’ll often see a line out the door waiting for pizza while jazz musicians play on the street.” For daily dining needs, Andronico’s Community Market offers one-stop grocery shopping. Books Inc. is a popular destination that hosts regular literary events, fitting for a neighborhood adjacent to the University of California-Berkeley. Another cooperative, the ACCI Gallery, showcases established and emerging artists. It has been part of the community since the late 1950s. Just off Shattuck Avenue is the original Peet’s Coffee, opened in 1966 on Vine Street. The neighborhood’s housing, highlighted by homes built in the early 1900s, is wide-ranging and impressive. “North Berkeley is where you are typically going to find bigger homes,” Sichterman says. Craftsman bungalows typical of most California neighborhoods can be found, but they are just a small sampling of the architectural diversity. “You’ll find everything from Spanish Mediterranean to Tudors to Victorians and midcentury homes in between. There’s a lot of individuality. Berkeley doesn’t tear down homes to build new ones, so there’s a lot of integrity in its housing stock.” The closest thing to new construction are the modern reimaginings of historic homes that add contemporary flair to the mix. Single-family homes generally range from $900,000 to the high $2,000,000s. “It used to be a lot professors and academics, but the demographics have changed as homes have gotten more expensive,” Sichterman says. “I’ve been selling real estate in Berkeley for 30 years, and the shift isn’t to any specific groups. It’s more of an overall shift. And now we’re seeing a lot of the exodus from San Francisco.” Multi-family alternatives include condominiums starting in the $700,000 range. A pair of schools in the Berkeley Unified School District, which is A-rated by Niche, are located in the neighborhood. Berkeley Arts Magnet at Whittier and Martin Luther King Jr. Middle are both A-rated schools. Nearby Berkeley High is an A-plus-rated school. A private K-8 Catholic institution, School of the Madeleine, also located in the neighborhood. For travel in and around Berkeley and the East Bay, residents can catch the bus throughout the neighborhood and Caltrain at the Downtown BART Station just south of the neighborhood on Shattuck Avenue. Many residents of North Berkeley work outside the city, and they enjoy convenient access to nearby metropolitan areas. Oakland is about 5 miles away, and from there, San Francisco is a quick trip across the bay via Interstate 80. San Francisco International Airport is a 25-mile drive via I-80 and U.S. Route 101. Live Oak Park is a popular amenities-filled neighborhood green space that also is home to the Berkeley Art Center, a special attraction for park visitors. Outdoors lovers will enjoy other recreational options nearby. Berkeley Rose Garden in neighboring Berkeley Hills, a historic attraction built during the Great Depression, is one of several green spaces that dot the community. Also located there is a hidden gem for urban explorers. “There are a lot of walking trails that people don’t know about, secluded pathways that lead into the hills.” Sichterman says. The Berkeley paths, as they are known, comprise 136 public-access walkways concentrated primarily within the city limits. Some are contained in residential areas, while others lead to natural open spaces. And as open spaces go, they are in abundance at Tilden Regional Park adjacent to Berkeley Hills. A network of primitive trails winds its way through more than 2,000 acres of natural landscape, which includes Lake Anza and its public beach. There’s even a golf course. The regional park is about 3 miles from the neighborhood. Given its significance in the farm-to-table movement, it’s no surprise that farmers’ markets are a year-round community event. North Berkeley’s weekly market is held from 3-7 p.m. at the corner of Shattuck and Vine. It is one of three such popular gatherings in the city. Downtown Berkeley’s market is held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and South Berkeley’s market takes place from 2-6:30 p.m. every Tuesday.

Less than two miles from downtown Berkeley is a neighborhood known as Northbrae. According to local and Compass Realtor Andrea Gordon, Northbrae is lively and full of activity. “It has always been a really popular neighborhood. It’s walkable and there are wonderful stores along Solano Avenue, Hopkins and Monterey,” she says. With its many local businesses, top-rated schools and more, Northbrae takes the best qualities of the Berkeley area and puts them together to form one charming neighborhood. Running along the northern edge of Northbrae is Solano Avenue, a bustling thoroughfare lined with shops and restaurants. Patrons can enjoy European-style goodies at the Lavender Bakery & Café. For groceries, Monterey Market offers sustainable produce, including seasonal fruits and veggies. Andronico’s Community Markets carries thousands of local and specialty products, many of them made right in the Bay Area. Berkeley Horticultural Nursery provides plenty of plant life to spruce up living spaces and gardens. Northbrae residents need not venture far to find places to enjoy the outdoors. Live Oak Park includes courts for volleyball, basketball and tennis as well as an amphitheater. Jewel’s Terrace Park is a family-friendly park with specially sized playgrounds friendly for both small and big tots. There are plenty of things to do in and around Northbrae. All year, locals can visit the North Branch of the Berkeley Public Library to check out materials and attend events like clubs, workshops and movie screenings. During the warmer months, the Berkeley Rose Garden boasts dazzling floral displays. With its 1,500 rose bushes and 250 different varieties, the garden is considered by many to be the finest rose garden in this part of California. “The housing market is incredible for sellers. Everybody wants to live there because it’s one of the most popular neighborhoods in Berkeley and it’s near schools, shops and fun things to do. It’s basically the heart of Berkeley,” Gordon says. Such is why homes here typically sell after about 11 days on the market. Housing styles one can expect to find in Northbrae include bungalows and Craftsmans, many of which were built in the early twentieth century. These homes sit on moderate to large lots shaded by tall, mature trees and separated by winding streets. Although there are occasionally outliers beyond this range, home prices typically run between $1.4 million to $2.2 million. Students in the Northbrae area can attend schools in the Berkeley Unified School District. Thousand Oaks Elementary School earned an A-grade rating from Niche while Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School received an A-grade. Berkeley High School earned an A-plus rating and offers several rigorous academic programs, including Arts and Humanities Academy, linking students' interest in the arts to wider aspects of their educational experiences. The University of California – Berkeley is less than three miles away. With around 400 degree programs available, the college is ranked as the number-one public university worldwide by U.S. World News & Report. Northbrae’s streets once served a different purpose. “A lot of pathways to the neighborhood were originally built as shortcuts to stops for the streetcar lines, which don’t exist anymore,” Gordon says. Today, Northbrae still has lots of ways to get around. It is served by Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) through public bus transportation and its several streets are navigable on foot. Additionally, with Albany to the west and downtown Berkeley to the south, Northbrae has access to larger surrounding cities. Interstates 80 and 580 are significant highways that connect from Northbrae’s local streets to beyond the area.