The author's posts are entirely his or her own and may not always reflect the views of Movoto.
Which in all honesty, is actually kind of fair. After all, it's home to the University of California, Berkeley, arguably the best public school in the nation, if not the world. So there's a decent sized chance that any random person you see is a card carrying member of Mensa, or at least is smart enough to be.
Berkeley was ground zero for the hippie movement of the '60s and '70s and you'll see a lot of very sincere grey-haired hippies still wandering the streets with signage encouraging green living. The city is also home to many progressive programs like curbside recycling, preserving People's Park, and a failed attempt to stop construction of a stadium on an old oak grove.
Since Cal has become more elite and housing costs have gone up, the city has attracted a more upper-crusty and (gasp!) conservative crowd. Large public protests have also waned since the '70s. Still, Berkeley remains one of the most Democratic cities in the country.
Berkeley has a higher rate of pedestrian accidents than many other cities, but that's mostly attributed to high pedestrian traffic. It's a beautiful city to walk through and great for biking, but everyone--drivers included--could stand to be a bit more careful around intersections. Harumph!
Sure, 99 percent of the time you won't find a more peaceable city, but God forbid you try and park your car at the Berkeley Bowl, all bets are off. Despite what all their bumpers claim, the folks in this parking lot have no desire to "Coexist," and "Zen" they are not. But from a strictly people watching perspective, you haven't lived until you seen the fierce Prius on Prius aggression in person.
Continuing their long tradition of resisting military recruiters, the city in 2007 gave Code Pink a permanent spot and waved the noise ordinance for them so they could continue to protest outside the Marines recruiting office. They ended their protest after a year in 2008.
And why not? Between the organic goodies at the Berkeley Bowl and the Gourmet Ghetto--where Alice Water's Chez Panisse is located and Peet's Coffee And Tea opened its first café--there is every excuse to be a bit of a food snob. Not to mention it's vegetarian and vegan heaven, between the delicious vegetarian diner food at Saturn Café and the unbelievable vegan cinnamon rolls at Cinnaholic there's no reason for any Berkeley resident to hit up Jack In The Box on Telegraph, except for maybe 2 a.m. munchies. Speaking of the munchies...
Pot is so common the cops don't even blink at people smoking on the streets. There are about a dozen marijuana dispensaries in and around Berkeley and webehigh.org gives the city a 4 on a scale of 1-5 (1 being illegal and 5 being legal/practically legal).
Berkeley may be known for its rich radical history, but as college football fans know it's also famous for being home to "The Play," and as a result, Berkeleyites are totally nuts for Cal Football. Arguably the most famous play in the history of college football, The Play occurred in 1982 during a Cal vs. Stanford game in which Cal won the game in the final moments by returning a kickoff through a series of laterals all the way to the endzone--taking out the Stanford trombone player in the process. To this day the rivalry burns bright--just try and find a parking spot on the day of the "Big Game" (any game between Cal and Stanford) we dare you.
Between the hippies and college students, Berkeley has its own unique street style that's a mix of Eastern textiles, Buffalo Exchange purchases, and handmade jewelry bought on Telegraph Ave. That's not to say folks in Berkeley don't have style, they definitely do. It's just that the style, currently, is to look like you don't.
