Housing 2022

If you told me a year ago that moving out on your own was not as simple as it sounds, I wouldn’t have believed you.

A few days ago I was scrolling through Instagram and stumbled upon a screenshot of a Tumblr post that said, “Wasn’t that the definition of home? Not where you are from, but where you are wanted.”

As time went on, I learned to cope with my homesickness, and I’ve now begun to see Berkeley as my second home, too. With any luck, these methods that helped me adjust will also work for you!

Attending my dream school — even if seemingly for only a few hours a day — reminds me how much campus and Berkeley have to offer.

There are moments when the loud sounds reverberating off of the colorful homes onto the cracked pavements of the lively Berkeley streets can make the quiet in my roommate-free apartment that much quieter. 

Murals have played a major role in the city of Berkeley’s culture since the 1960s, and some of the region’s murals have been around for more than half a century.

In evaluating the origin and consequences of gentrification and the housing crisis in Berkeley, we can look to the history of the city’s exclusionary and racist housing policies. 

As I watched those around me find one another and sign leases, my panic grew; in contrast to my peers, who seemed to have everything figured out from location to money to roommates, I didn’t have a tentative — or really any — plan in mind. 

In the last few months, I have had to contend with my own dispute involving the leasing company that represents the owner of the house that I live in.