UC Village

UC Village is the married student housing area of UC Berkeley. The area basically looks like a bunch of fairly non-descript apartment buildings. It is run somewhat in the communal spirit that you would expect from UC Berkeley. There is a communal garden and regular activities to help support married student families—such as a weekly men’s discussion group and a weekly meditation session as well as Wednesday sing-a-longs.

There are a couple of parks in the neighborhood which make it very kid friendly. There are also play areas inside the village itself—so it really is set up with families in mind.

The schools in Albany, btw, are outstanding, having the highest rankings around.

As far as restaurants and nightlife go—you are far enough away from Berkeley that you do not get the worst of the homeless and crazies problem, but you are close enough to Solano Avenue that you have plenty of choices when it comes to eating out. It is a great place to go Sunday mornings to have breakfast or brunch on the sidewalk. There are quite a few bars along San Pablo as well.

You basically have all the amenities you could want if you are a UC student with a family: nearby groceries, stores and the usual conveniences of big city living—generally without too many of hassles of Berkeley proper.