1. It's absolutely beautiful.
While one side of campus can be completely modern and new, the other is a dense redwood forest filled with tree trunks, benches and wildlife. Surrounding campus are greenery, parks, Tilden National Forest and plenty of hikes with amazing views of the Bay. From many points around Berkeley you can even get a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge!

2. It's in a great location.

Whether it's BART, bus, shuttle, Uber or Muni, Berkeley has a way to get you anywhere you need. The options are limitless and open you up to so many new adventures at affordable prices.

4. It offers the BEST food.

Being in a college town means options beyond boring dining halls. Although Berkeley does have four dining halls and numerous eateries throughout campus, the surrounding area is where the real treats are found. From Artichoke's delicious, chewy pizza to Sliver's pizza-of the day; The Melt's mac-n-cheese grilled cheese to Homeroom's gourmet macaroni and cheese; Smart Alec's healthy sandwiches to IB's hoagies—Berkeley has it ALL. Seriously though, you have to try Artichoke's.

5. It has an abundance of on- and off-campus resources.
From career counseling to business seminars to health workshops to Pilates, all these resources are available to you to make the most of. They encourage you to take responsibility into your own hands and pushes you to gain some real world insight and experience.

6. It has a huge Greek Row.

Although we Berkeley students love to study, we also love to kick back, relax and have some fun. Our Greek row is much more than just partying, it's filled with such amazing people, it's able to work closely on initiatives for alcohol education, bystander intervention, sustainability, philanthropy and much more! With 13 sororities and over 36 fraternities, Greek row is huge and extends beyond Piedmont. This leads me to my next point ...

7. It has the best game days.
If you've never seen streets flooded with students in blue and gold, blow up jumpies and water slides, hot dogs wrapped in bacon and a stadium booming in the student section, come to Cal. Game days are what we look forward to all year, and although we only have a few home games, we sure know how to make the most of it. You won't know how fun they are until you experience one for yourself.

8. It has stellar weather (despite any rumors).

I came to Cal thinking that I would be seeing only rainy days in my future. However, Berkeley has surprised me. I've spent sunny days at the pool overlooking the Golden Gate, warm days laying out on Memorial Glade and have managed to stay somewhat tan year-round. The few rainy days that come do happen to pour, but only every once in a while! It's definitely necessary to keep all the surroundings nice and green :)

9. It has some of the most amazing people you will ever come across.
To top off all these perks, Berkeley contains some of the most intelligent, wise and amazing people you'll ever meet. Maybe it's a student, maybe it's a shop owner or maybe it's even one of the homeless on the street. Everyone seems to have some amazing insight to share about the world!

So maybe you're a senior struggling which college to choose, or maybe you're an alumni reminiscing, but as you can see, Berkeley is clearly the best college town to live in!