Living in the Gourmet Ghetto with Kids?
We have a 19-month old toddler and another baby on the way. We are relatively new to the Berkeley area and are in the process of searching for a house. One of the areas we are considering is the Gourmet Ghetto area, east of Shattuck. Would you consider this a good area to raise a family? Some of the homes we've seen have a bunch of multi-unit housing complexes around them, which we assume are full of students during the school year since it's so close to campus. Does any one have any experience living near students? Is there always going to be trash (red cups, etc) littering the street, and noise? We're also concerned about safety and living potentially just a few blocks off Shattuck. Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks!
Jul 1, 2016
Parent Replies
Having spent the summer of 2014 looking for an apartment for grad student daughter, I think Gourmet Ghetto might be a bit rich for noisy undergrads. A lot of these places are occupied by long-time tenants. I would not be put off by the thought of students and parties, although parking can be an issue if you do not have off-street. I wonder if you could ask the police department about a history of noise complaints for a given location. This is something that should be in the disclosure statement (if you are looking to buy), but it's easy to obfuscate things in those.
We have two young children (4.5 years and 7 months), and we lived in the Gourmet Ghetto neighborhood since before our children were born. We have had a really good experience. We walk every where with the kids (to the park, to preschool, grocery shopping, to pick up dinner). In general, the north side of campus is much more "low key" than the south side. While there are a lot of students, many are graduate students and noise, trash, or other issues of that sort are rarely a concern. We have not had any concerns about safety. Sometimes parking on the street is a little more challenging when Cal is in session. Overall, however, we have found the Gourmet Ghetto to be a great place to live and raise our kids.
Gourmet Ghetto (I hate that name) is obviously one of the nicest flatlands neighborhoods in Berkeley. If "red cups" are your biggest public safety concern, then you're loving life, IMHO. There will always be a homeless population all along Shattuck; there are street festivals, students doing their thing, etc. etc., but nothing alarming by Berkeley standards. If that all sounds too much, you should look at quieter suburban areas (Pinole, Hercules).