Downtown

Downtown Berkeley is really ugly and there are many homeless people. They yell, beg for money, shout profanity, and sometimes run around nude. I could smell the scent when walking past them, like they hadn't showered for months. Around Shattuck Avenue there are many homeless people, and sometimes they form groups. There are also many construction sites that lasts for years, and block the road, so it is really hard to go through. The roads are dense, so I have to wait for traffic light after walking like 50 feet.

Downtown Berkeley at night is not the most pleasant place to walk around, as the roads are pretty much empty except for those homeless people walking around.

Nighttime

At about 9-10 pm most stores are closed. From 10-12 am, many homeless people are walking around in Shattuck Street, and there are still some cars around. I think those homeless people are looking for places to sleep. There are still some small groups of students here and there. After 12, like in 1 am or 2 am in the mornings, all stores are gradually closed. except for some fast food restaurants that sell hamburgers in south of campus at Durant Street. Then after 2 am, there are almost nobody on the streets, and most homeless people find a place to settle. In 2-4 am in the morning, if you walk by some parks or grasses or benches you may spot some people lying and sleeping there, which is kind of scary to be honest. There are little cars driving by. The small roads are almost pitch dark. The big roads are dimly lighted. Some stores and bakeries still have light on but there was definitely no one inside. If you want food at this time of the day, the only stores open is a seven eleven on College Avenue south of Berkeley, which is like 1.5 miles from the school. When I walked there in 3 or 4 am it is locked to stop homeless people from entering, and you have to knock, and a person will come to the door. The roads was so quiet and calm. After 4 am sometimes I could see one or two people walking their pets, and then the birds would start chirping marking the start of another day. When you walk by Trader Joe's there was light and you could see some workers shuffling the shelves, although it won't open for another 2 or 3 hours. Then after 5 am it gradually become light, and the eastside hills was covered with morning fog. In the school there was some construction going on and there was trucks driving by really fast. From 6-8 am the street was still very quiet, and most stores still closed, with some people jogging in the early morning sun and the fog disappearing.

North Berkeley

Compared with Downtown, the north side is much better. There are no homeless people, and the houses are better constructed.

But it is very hilly, and tiresome to walk around carrying a laptop. When I carry backpack to school, it gets so hot and I would be sweaty. The east side is much higher than the west side in elevation.

West Berkeley

The west side are mainly many small roads leading to the Bay, and it is better than downtown and not hilly. I would usually go running there at evenings. It is smooth and quick to run down University Avenue, since it is a slight downhill, and I would usually go at a really fast pace, like under 4 min kilometer. But some roads are small and I bumped my feet once on Dwight Road. The trail starting from Strawberry Creek Park north is good enough, and Cedar Rose Park is a good place to see stars at night. It is also convenient to take bus 51B to go there. Going westward, and there are two big roads, Sacramento and San Pablo Avenue. After that there is 10th Street, and the numbers start decreasing till 4th Street.

There are many beautiful clothing shops on 4th Street, and some fancy restaurants. I went in there, and the waitress were nice, but the clothes are too expensive and not suitable for me.

Then there is Aquatic Park after crossing the bridge over the railroad on University Avenue, and an outlook. There is a hiking trail along the coastline and I hiked both ways. Northward along the coast line is Albany, and southward is Emeryville. Emeryville is cleaner and better than Berkeley, and not hilly.

South Berkeley

There isn't much to see on the south side. There is just some houses, bookstores, grocery stores.

I remember going down to Downtown Ashby Bart Station, which is quite close. But it takes more effort to go down to Oakland or Emeryville, and there isn't much to see or do anyways, except maybe a park on the way. It is hard to find grocery stores and restrooms on the way.

East Berkeley

East side are mountains, and there are a few trails going up, including Big C Hike.

UC Berkeley

There are about 30 thousand students in one grade in UC Berkeley, which is like 15 times USTC. Students are from all around the world.

The classes are usually crowded at the beginning of the semester, but almost empty at the end of the semester, like only one fifth of the students are there. This is very strange, since in USTC the class size are almost no different. Probably most students prefer remote learning.

It is tiresome to get around the campus, as there are no west or east side of the campus, and walking around in classes takes some effort.

There are no convenient stores or cafeteria or student dorms in campus, and there are only expensive cafes and cafeteria off campus. I remember everyone heading to eat back in USTC after classes, but here people go in all different directions. There are only 4 cafeterias, and they are not usually full, so I figured that people find there own ways of eating.

Usually in the morning the campus is mostly empty, but in the afternoon it gets really crowded, and just people everywhere. Also, at weekends most libraries are closed, and there are no recitation or discussion, which is quite different from USTC, where weekends look the same with weekdays. There are many clubs on campus, but I wan't in the mood of application in the first semester since I faced finals at the start of the first semester, so I didn't get into any clubs. It is good to be alone anyways.

Hass Library is always open, even on weekends. But it always gets unbearably hot there, even when I took all clothes off. Also once I was locked out after going out to answer a phone call, and my backpack was in the library but the door couldn't open somehow. Anyways the door opened after 1 hour strangely.

Berkeley High School

I lived right across Berkeley High school in the first 4 months here, and I would usually see groups of people going out to have lunch at noon. Anybody can enter the high school, and it seems that the students are having fun. I once went inside and stayed for half a day. Students go around between classes, and they usually walk in groups, chatting as they walk. School usually ends at 2 or 3, and students didn't seem cram or having to study 15 hours a day or something. Classes are discussion, and students sit in strange positions or walk around, but teachers don't really mind. There are many sport events, including soccer, basketball, volleyball, and I usually spectate on weekends or just randomly encountering some. Ursula Le Guin went to the high school, who wrote A Wizard of Earthsea, a book recommended by my English teacher in middle school.

Weekends

Unlike Shanghai or Hefei, weekend here is also different, since some stores are closed and the school is half shut down.

Since the Bart is slow, going to San Francisco and back takes quite a few hours. San Francisco is much crowded than Berkeley, and there are tall buildings and large shopping malls, and in downtown things are close to each other, just like in People's Square. I went there once to watch a musical. Many people take the Bart in the morning.

Renting

It is extremely expensive to rent a house here, and a single bedroom would cost more than 1500 dollars. I figured that it is about 7 times more expensive than Hefei, where I found a studio only 1700 rmb a month, but here the cheapest studio are like 1700 dollars a month.

I first rent a bedroom, and the bedroom was small but everything was furnished. Then the lease ended and they said they will only continue if I continued to rent for 1 year, so I went on zillow and rent a studio. The studio was unprepared when I moved in, with no bed, no dishes, no table, no chair. So I had to buy a bed frame and buy mattress myself.

Furthermore, the rent prices are strange, where double or triple rooms cost as expensive as 1000 dollars, with the same size shared by 2. So I figured that if 2 people live in a single room it would only be like 800 dollars, or around 550 dollars for 3 people to live in a room. I don't understand why they are so strangely curved. Anyways, everything is very expensive.