Introduction

This document provides resources help new hires to find accommodation close (or kind of) to LBNL.

Areas

Pricing: As you might expect, the closer you are to Campus the pricier. I believe the best area in terms of price/safety/distance is "El cerrito" and "North Berkeley". Rockridge is ok too. as a reference an studio in North Berkeley is in the $1600-$1700 range.
Safety: In Berkeley the worst area is around downtown towards the South and West, it's not super unsafe, but its sketchy. North Berkeley and up the hills is quite safe. About Oakland: Downtown Oakland has quite bad reputation after dark. Rockridge is supposed to be quite ok. Ashby area is a hit or miss. Emeryville is great, but tends to be expensive. El cerrito is quite safe. In case of doubt: https://www.crimemapping.com
About Emeryville. Newer area, well connected, not far, but a bit pricier. There is a lab shuttle every 30 min from Hollis street in Emeryville (Potter street shuttle, stop: JBEI, http://www2.lbl.gov/LBL-Work/Facilities/Support/Busses/off-site_potter.html). It’'s very well connected to the rest of the Bay area and San Francisco (BART, Amtrak and Buses)
LBNL shuttles routes connecting BART to the Lab: http://www2.lbl.gov/Workplace/Facilities/Support/Busses/all_routes.html (note: it's easy to miss the routes that aren't Blue/Orange, which are linked in the header menu)

Emeryville: A postdoc of the group used to live until 2016 in Pacific park plaza (http://www.pacificparkrealty.com/). The rentals listed here are pretty expensive but I got the listing from craigslist. You can contact the broker who rented the apartment I lived in (Barry: 5106018380). The rent was $2100 for a 1BR apt
Sources of ads: I found my current studio in Craigslist, but Zillow is also a very good source (serious ads are usually in both). You can also check https://www.facebook.com/groups/housinganywhereucberkeley/ and Calhousing (http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/overview).
Short term: https://www.facebook.com/groups/housinganywhereucberkeley/ and Calhousing (http://www.housing.berkeley.edu/overview).

There are companies renting short term apartments, they are expensive but have less requirements in term of commitment and can be useful in case you want to get something quick and browse for places until you find what you want. I rented a room from http://www.rexidence.com/ and they were quite ok.
There is a UC Berkeley service to provide short term housing for arriving postdocs and visiting scholars, specially in Summer. Not 100% sure if it applies to LBNL postdocs, but worth trying. This program provides furnished apartments on flexible short-term leases without the need for a security deposit. Located at the New Sequoia Apartments just blocks from campus, both single and double occupancy rooms are available. Leases end on August 13th with the expectation that individuals have found permanent off-campus housing by that time. Please see the following links for more details: https://housing.berkeley.edu/temporary-housing, http://housing.berkeley.edu/new-sequoia-apartments. For more information please call (510) 642-4108 or email [email protected]. To apply, please visit, http://portal.housing.berkeley.edu/.
iHouse: http://ihouse.berkeley.edu/ Zero hassle option. It is a dorm very close to the lab. LBNL employees and visiting scholars can apply for it. It might be convenient for short term visits (<=6 months). Single rooms are ~$2000 a month, but include full board (and the food is quite good).