- Office space, the last time I checked was about $2 per square foot. Check: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/search/off/eby?query=&minAsk...
- University town - the campus libraries are among the best places are awesome. The Berkely gym and the downtown YMCA here are also really excellent.
- The weather is really nice - not as cold and windy as SF, and not as hot as San Jose. It warms up and cools down very gradually here - and usually stays between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius. - The parks and the marina are great. There is pretty good hiking, and the sailing club here will get you sailing (or wind-surfing)! For cheap! (www.cal-sailing.org).
Cons: - It is dirty in places - it doesn't smell though. - There are lots of homeless people here - quite harmless. - Everything shuts down early. Berkeley is a town more than a city. There are two 'night-clubs' - only one is worth any time - the other is a dirty (in a bad way) hole in the ground. Only a couple of bars and restaurants are open late - thankfully they're quite good. Lucky for you, San Francisco is less than half an hour away by public transit. There's a bus that drives back every half an hour all night long.
Non-issues: - "Activism". big deal - some people like to protest - they don't come in your way or bother you. You are invited to participate and the locals can be engaging and opinionated if you talk to them. This is one of the most educated places I've ever lived in - that is a good thing.
Conclusion: - Berkeley is great! You can raise your kids here. You can live in a relatively quite place but live very close to two main cities - Oakland and San Fran - so you can go crazy and then return to relax and work in a quieter place.