Berkeley Listed Among the 'Coolest' College Towns in America

Of course, we already knew that. All the town needs is a great football team to accentuate its coolness

Amid this period of uncertainty, economic fears and salary cuts across the UC system, it’s a pleasant reminder that Cal is located in one of the “coolest” college towns in America.

At least that is what The Discoverer Blog claims in its article titled “The Coolest College Towns in America.”

Five such towns are listed in the article, with Austin Texas; Athens, Ga.; Boulder, Colo.; and Wellesley, Mass., joining Berkeley on the list.

The article says this about Berkeley:

California’s quintessential college town is the epitome cool. The weather’s better than its east coast rivals, San Francisco’s on the doorstep and Silicon Valley’s tech employers have set up shop just down the road. The Free Speech Movement began here; its alumni include Nobel Prize winners and leaders in their fields. Visitors will enjoy the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive and the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Don’t forget to check out the views from the observatory at the Lawrence Hall of Science with vistas across to San Francisco and Oakland before you leave.

The epitome of cool. It doesn't get much cooler than that.

What was not mentioned was the interesting strolls you can take down Telegraph Avenue or the diversity that is readily apparent. The left-leaning politics of the town may give some visitors pause, but strong social and political feelings are part of what makes the Bay Area, and Berkeley in particular, what it is.

The views from Lawrence Hall of Science can also be captured on Saturday afternoons at a Cal football game. Lindy's magazine ranked Cal's Memorial Stadium the best place to take a selfie on game day.

Here is a panoramic view of the bay, San Francisco and Oakland as seen from Memorial Stadium.

OK, the hill that leads to Memorial Stadium is a bit of a pain, but the weather is good most of the time, making that trek a little easier.

Now if Cal could produce a national powerhouse football or basketball program, the rest of the country might be clued in to the delights of Berkeley. 

I took the liberty of ranking the 12 Pac-12 towns in this video.