| Congrats on Stanford! If you decide to go there I might see you around since I live in Palo Alto, but go to Berkeley.
I'm not sure if you visited either school yet, but I'll give my comments about the quality of life in Berkeley and Palo Alto.
Palo Alto:
A moderate sized suburban city located in Silicon Valley. Although located right next to Stanford, Palo Alto is NOT a college town. Everything from housing to dining is expensive in this town. Many restaurants in downtown Palo Alto are reservation-required and formal dress only. An average dinner bill of $40-80 per person is anything but surprising. The housing meltdown has not even touched Palo Alto... the average median home price is $1.6 million and still climbing. Good reasons why 96% of Stanford students decide to stay on campus.
Transportation without a car in suburbia will be difficult. Stanford provides a local bus service, but only goes so far. My friends at Stanford said they rely upon upperclassmen to carpool to entertainment and other activities in adjacent cities such as Mountain View/Menlo Park.
Stanford knows how Palo Alto is lacking in needs for college students, so the University provides many of the essential services Stanford students will need.
In all the years I've lived in Palo Alto what I've noticed is the small amount of crime. Violent crimes (murders, rapes, assaults) are very rare in Palo Alto. Petty crimes are common though, so locking doors and not going down dark alleys is still recommended. Homeless people do not venture onto the Stanford campus, but still have a presence in downtown Palo Alto.
Berkeley:
It's urban, so the roads and sidewalks have more cracks and potholes than Palo Alto. Compared to Palo Alto, homelessness has a heavy presence on campus and on Southside. But as an urban area, public transportation is more frequent and goes more places.
Crime can be common in Berkeley... armed robberies, rapes, assaults, and generally more violent crimes occur. Common sense about safety can prevent this. Just don't withdraw ATM money at 3am or walk through People's Park at night and you'll mitigate your chances as a victim of crime.
A lot of stores and eateries cater to college students in Berkeley. With most dorms located off-campus and in Berkeley, students end up shopping and eating more at local businesses. So there's definitely a college town for Berkeley.
Whatever school you end up going to I hope you enjoy your college experience. Best of luck for your academic and future career! |