Useful Links
As a buyer or seller of real estate in Berkeley, Oakland, or any of the surrounding cities, when you are about to close on a property, you will need to call various utility companies so they can update their records on file to reflect the transfer of ownership. Close of escrow is the day the County records the deed in the name of the new owner. Below are telephone numbers for all the various utilities in the different cities.
for the city of Alameda only is Alameda Municipal Power 510.748.3900
Albany: 510.613.8710
Berkeley: 510.981.7270 then press 0
El Cerrito: 510.237.4321
Emeryville: 510.613.8710
Kensington: 510.237.4614
Oakland: 510.613.8710
Piedmont: 510.262.1633
AT&T: 800.310.2355
Comcast Digital Phone: 800.945.2288
DSL: SBC (Pac. Bell) 800.310.2355
TV: Cable & Satellite
Cable: Comcast 800.945.2288
Satellite: Dish Network 800.333.3474
Satellite: Direct TV 800.730.4742
https://cityofberkeley.info/maproom
Includes creek areas, hazard zones, transportation maps (as well as permit parking zones), landmarks and more… Berkeley Zoning Map (PDF)
For those buyers who have particular constraints about not wanting to be in various hazard zones, you can do some research yourself to find out whether some of the houses that interest you are in any of these zones. Below are links to the various sites where you can research information on earthquakes, landslides, and other natural hazards. You can also explore the city of Berkeley link to find all sorts of relevant environmental information, including zoning maps, creeks maps, environmental constraints maps, transportation maps, wireless telecommunications facilities maps, etc.
(Landslides of the Berkeley Hills)
Here you will find links to the Berkeley Parents Network, to Craigslist, and to theatres and other community organizations. There are also many more links under the specific cities. I will be adding more links as they become available. For those of you who are thinking of moving to Oakland or Albany, to Berkeley, Kensington or any of the neighboring cities or have just moved here, this may help you explore some of the community resources that interest you.
Here you will find links to the various local east bay newspapers, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle, and the New York Times.
Local
https://www.sfchronicle.com
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/location/berkeley
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/location/oakland
http://www.berkeleydailyplanet.com
https://www.eastbayexpress.com
New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com
This is the link to the Department of Motor Vehicles, which you will need to get an automobile license or to renew your existing one.
Here are the links to the 3 airports, car rental companies, trains, buses, and BART.
https://www.flysfo.com
https://www.oaklandairport.com/
http://www.sjc.org
https://www.enterprise.com/car_rental/home.do
https://www.dollar.com
https://www.budget.com
https://www.amtrak.com
https://www.bart.gov
We have endeavored to provide a comprehensive list of all the school districts, colleges, and private schools under this heading.
https://www.berkeley.edu
https://extension.berkeley.edu
https://www.sfsu.edu
http://www.merritt.edu
https://www.berkeleycitycollege.edu
https://www.dvc.edu
You will find links to and information on the East Bay Regional Park District and maps of all the regional parks, trails and other relevant information, including activities for children.
https://www.ebparks.org
East Bay museums and links to them are listed here.
https://www.chabotspace.org
https://www.lawrencehallofscience.org
https://museumca.org
https://www.bampfa.berkeley.edu
https://www.magnes.org