|
Housing — While it’s nice to live alone, in the Bay Area it is definitely cheaper to live with others. As a rule of thumb, housing in San Francisco is usually more expensive than in the East Bay (Berkeley/Oakland area). The best place to search for affordable housing is Craigslist.org. You can not only search for available housing but you can also submit posts for what kind of housing and people you want to live with.
Transportation — Bike to school! Berkeley is a very bike friendly city and it’s a very cost effective way to travel. There are a number of used bike shops in Berkeley if you don’t already have one. Walking and public transportation are also affordable. You can purchase high value, discount BART tickets and month long discount passes for AC Transit and MUNI. Find out more at www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/aboutberkeley/transportation.html.
Food — We all need to eat, but how can you eat well on a limited budget? First, buying food in bulk is cheaper. At Berkeley Bowl, Whole Foods Market and other grocery stores you can buy grains, beans, nuts, dried fruit, etc. in bulk. You can also get CSA farm shares delivered to your house. These shares are best if you and your housemates purchase one together. Usually you get enough produce to feed 3–4 people for a week. This is a great way to be able to buy local, organic produce at a very reasonable rate. www.ecologycenter.org/bfm/
Healthcare — In addition to student discounts in our own, already-very-affordable Community Clinic, we are fortunate to have a number of free clinics and programs for affordable health care in the Bay Area:
Berkeley Free Clinic
2339 Durant Avenue, Berkeley
www.berkeleyfreeclinic.org
West Oakland Health Center
700 Adeline Street, Oakland
www.wohc.org/LeftFrame.htm
San Francisco Free Clinic
4900 California Street, San Francisco
www.sffc.org
Bargain places to shop — There are plenty of places to find what you need to live in the Bay Area that don’t cost you an arm and a leg; you just have to look around.
East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse
4695 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland, CA 94609 (all sorts of used materials from fabric to house wares)
Urban Ore
900 Murray Street, Berkeley (used furniture and house ware, etc.)
Berkeley Flea Market
Ashby BART Station, Berkeley
Every Sat. & Sun. 7am-7pm (all kinds of used and discounted items from furniture to clothing, also lots of local artisans, food, and music)
The Turnabout Shop
1052 San Pablo Avenue, El Cerrito
Goodwill (thrift store)
2058 University Avenue, Berkeley
Out of the Closet (thrift store)
1600 University Avenue, Berkeley
Community Thrift Store
623 Valencia Street, San Francisco
* Its always good to check local newspapers for listings of yard sales and Craigslist.org is always a good resource for finding cheep or free things, from books to furniture.
Libraries — Libraries are always a great source of finding out what’s going on in the area. As well as providing free services to people in the community, and having events listings, they will probably have some of the text books you will need for classes.
Berkeley Public Library
2090 Kittredge Street, Berkeley
www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org
Oakland Public Library Main Branch
125 14 th Street, Oakland
www.oaklandlibrary.org
San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street, San Francisco
sfpl.lib.ca.us
|
.gif)
