Move from Berkeley Hills to Kensington for a less vertical house?
We live in a house on a steep hill and with young children and we're desiring a flatter house with some yard space. We love being close to Gourmet Ghetto and Downtown Berkeley, but its pricey to find a less vertical house that we can afford, let alone with some yard space. We are considering Kensington, but don't know much about the village/community. Does it feel more remote and hard to access freeways? Also Hilltop K-6 school seems to have great reviews, but I've read families then go to private middle or high school as they feel El Cerrito schools aren't up to par. What schools are those and what are the costs? We bought our current house so we could be in the Berkeley school district so we are concerned to leave. What are the other things we'd be leaving or gaining if we moved from Berkeley to Kensington? Thank you for your thoughts!
Parent Replies
Most of Kensington is just as hilly as Berkeley, if not more, and the streets seem more narrow. I grew up in the hilly part of Berkeley near Kensington and so disliked the remoteness and lack of places to walk/bike, that as an adult I moved to the flat part of El Cerrito. El Cerrito has been great, and the schools, elementary, middle, and high school, have been totally fine.