About four miles west of the UC Berkeley campus sits a 58-acre enclave of homes in Albany. There are park benches, playgrounds and street signs straight out of suburbia. The waterfront is within walking distance. Townhomes and apartments line the streets while remnants from pumpkin-carving parties still lie in the neighborhood’s patches of grass.
Just about everyone who lives in one of these 974 units is a UC Berkeley student living with their family. Walking around the University Village, you’ll spot these student families with their kids. The community is a great place to raise a child — it’s still market-rate housing, but there’s the added merit that comes with raising a child not only near families in similar situations but also close to the quality elementary schools in the Albany Unified School District.