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Bellevue to Berkeley

Ben Williams relocates from Puget Sound to the Bay.

By Ben Williams

Berkeley, California is a great place to live. I moved here from Bellevue, Washington about a year ago, and it was hard to adapt at first. But once I had lived here for a while I got the hang of it. The Bay Area reminds me of the Northwest in many ways, and the similarities of the two areas made my transition much easier.

There are many geographical similarities between Berkeley and my old home in Bellevue. The Bay Area consists of San Francisco, the East Bay and the surrounding cities to the north and south. The Puget Sound Area consists of Seattle, the Eastside across Lake Washington, and the rest of the cities north and south of Seattle. So the Bay and the Sound are both made up of a big city, a body of water dividing the metro area into two parts, plus a few cities to the north and south.

Seattle is quite similar to San Francisco. They both have large bodies of water to the east and west. They are both situated with a steep descent towards the water on both sides. Throughout a lot of urban Seattle, the streets are steeply slanted towards Puget Sound just as there are steep hills in San Francisco toward the ocean. Sometimes, my memory gets confused and I will think back on a certain event and have trouble remembering whether it took place in the Puget Sound Area or the Bay Area.

The East Side, like the East Bay, is for the most part residential. There are many rich areas in the surrounding hills of both, as well as lower income areas closer to the city. There is one difference between them that gives Berkeley the upper hand: the roads. In Bellevue, the roads are curvy and wind endlessly through the residential neighborhoods with little or no rhyme or reason. The roads in Berkeley are straight, with square blocks. I grew up in Bellevue, and it’s still hard for me to find my way around. However, I haven’t gotten lost once the whole time I’ve been in Berkeley.

Another small difference is that although the Puget Sound Area does have great summers, they don’t last quite as long as they do in the Bay Area. Also, there is rain almost year round in the Northwest. In northern California, the seasons are much warmer, and winter doesn’t last long. This difference in weather made it a lot easier for me to adapt to the Bay Area. A bit more sunshine is something that’s not too hard to enjoy.

Overall, I like the Northwest and the Bay about the same. I would say I feel more attachment to Bellevue than to Berkeley because I feel like it is my home. But I also feel that I have had an easy time adapting to the situation down here because the two are so similar. I also found Youth Radio down here, and have become attached to that also. I came down here to finish high school, but I might end up staying a little longer than I originally intended, just to get a little more of the great climate.

Although I miss my friends and family while I’ve been living in Berkeley, it hasn’t been too hard to keep in touch. I even get the chance to go back to Bellevue and hang out during breaks. It wasn’t very hard to make friends when I came to Berkeley. Getting involved with things like Youth Radio have helped me make friends and meet a lot of interesting people.

But wherever I end up living when I’m older, both the Bay Area and the Northwest have had a strong impact on who I am and what I am doing with my life. They both will always be a part of me.

— Ben Williams is a junior at Berkeley High School.