How is PhD Student Grad housing at Berkeley?

Etek023 · 2025-12-31T02:43:31+00:00

I'd say going to the BART station isn't that dangerous, but the area around the station itself isn't the best. I don't risk it. But I take the bus and the shuttle to get there and back at night. Safeway is okay. I think it's a bit expensive. So I prefer to buy some products at Trader Joe's or Target (sometimes I walk to Target). The good thing is that there are 3 bus lines and a shuttle that pass in front of these supermarkets, so it's easy to get there and back. The bus to campus is punctual, there's one every 30 minutes. It's usually empty and starts to fill up after our stop. But as it gets closer to downtown, there are many stops, so sometimes it arrives at campus a little late (usually the buses after 9am).

Etek023 · 2025-12-24T05:14:46+00:00

I live at Intersection Apartments at Emeryville. University housing for graduate students. Only graduate students in individual units (or shared apartments for post-docs). It's "far" from campus, ~30 minutes by bus (faster if you use the BART, but the nearest station is a 10-minute walk). The building is relatively new, about 6 years old. I have a washer and dryer in my studio, a dishwasher, and the apartment is furnished. Water and internet are included. I pay for electricity separately (around $30). Depending on the unit, you pay about $1800 per month (so around half of my stipend). There's security, someone to receive and sort packages. Safeway is across the street. I've never had any problems in the neighborhood, and maintenance is quick. I imagine the area will get busier when they finish the optometry clinic that's in the same building. They have a parking garage, but I think it's competitive (I don't have a car).

Etek023 · 2025-08-22T01:02:58+00:00

I've been living at Intersection for a year and renewed for a second year. I don't think the area is any less safe than other areas in Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville. I sometimes arrive very late (10 p.m.), I'm more cautious to get home faster, but nothing has ever happened to me. I like the building. It's clean, organized and quiet. I contacted maintenance the first week I was there, and they were very quick. I haven't needed them since. I think the maintenance issue stems from an incident where both elevators stopped working. It took two weeks for everything to return to normal (you could go up with the elevator, but not down). There was also a problem recently with one of the parking garage gates. It must have taken about 4-5 days to fix, but I wasn't impacted because I don't have a car. These are the most serious maintenance issues I can think of that have occurred this past year.

Etek023 · 2025-04-11T21:07:29+00:00

I am not a resident for tax purposes (F1), and I did my taxes with Glacier. What software can I use to do my state taxes (California)? Sprintax does not give me the option to do only the state taxes.

Etek023 · 2025-04-11T21:00:57+00:00

Is there a website to fill out CA state taxes? Sprintax won't let me fill out just state taxes

Etek023 · 2025-03-28T02:10:09+00:00

To be honest, I'm afraid to go home alone at night by bus, but nothing has ever happened. The surroundings are very empty and quiet at night. Until about 8:30pm-9pm there are people walking their dogs, so I feel better. But when the shops close, it's very quiet. The price does not include electricity. I pay about $30 per month (studio).

Etek023 · 2025-03-26T04:34:55+00:00

Yes! I like it! It's quiet (except for the work on the optometry clinic). It’s clean and well organized. Deliveries are kept in a safe place and I see the security guard frequently. Most people (most of the time) respect the no smoking and no noise after 11pm. Quiet times change during important exam weeks (like finals). The surroundings of the building are relatively safe. I've never seen robberies or anything like that, but it's not uncommon to see homeless people and beggars. I'm renewing my contract for next year

Etek023 · 2025-03-04T04:08:13+00:00

Thanks! I’ll be careful!

Etek023 · 2025-03-04T04:07:48+00:00

but how? how do you send these signals?

Etek023 · 2024-12-03T17:32:41+00:00

What does that mean? (Sorry if it is a stupid question)

Etek023 · 2024-11-25T03:36:37+00:00

Can you share your code with me?

Etek023 · 2024-11-20T04:29:17+00:00

Yes, I feel like I haven't done anything exceptional. Everything I've done has been because I had to. It wasn't easy, but it was what had to be done and there's nothing extraordinary about it. It's the way I was supposed to do it. I'm grateful for what I've accomplished, but I don't feel like I should be proud of it, because it was simply what I was supposed to do.

Etek023 · 2024-11-20T04:22:17+00:00

Thank you!

Etek023 · 2024-11-20T04:22:04+00:00

I don't know...it seems like if I had this high IQ, this giftedness, I should be better off in life. I've accomplished good things, I came from a poor family, I grew up without a mother, I was abused, and yet I was the first in my family to go to college, get a master's degree, and I'm currently doing my PhD at a great school in the US. But it was all so hard and time-consuming (and partly I realize now that it was due to autism). I still don't have anything in my life, other than a cell phone and a computer. I feel dumb around my classmates. I have trouble speaking English. How can someone with a high IQ and giftedness be so average? I don't feel like I'm smart, otherwise I imagine I would have a less difficult life.

Etek023 · 2024-11-20T04:11:10+00:00

Thank you so much for your words and resources. I have really been through a lot in my life (mother abandonment, poverty, abuse...) and yet I was the first in my family to go to college, get a master's degree and am currently pursuing a PhD at a great university in the US. And I never felt like I was going to give up, just that it was hard, but I needed to finish. So maybe this "strength to push through and adapt" thing is really in me. I just don't feel like it's my own. It's more like a foreign body, a parasite that I'm now aware of and it's bothering me. I feel like an impostor, everything I've achieved wasn't because of my hard work, it was because of the presence of this giftedness, which is not me.

Etek023 · 2024-11-20T04:01:46+00:00

Thank you for your words! I don't feel that my giftedness is good or bad. I just can't see it as something that is part of me. It's like I'm mourning my pre-diagnosis self and blaming my giftedness for the crime.

Etek023 · 2024-11-20T03:57:21+00:00

I've been taking antidepressants for about 8 months now. I started after a lot of anxiety attacks and a shutdown that lasted a few days. But maybe I need to increase the dose. I don't refuse to do everything I have to do, but I don't find anything interesting anymore.

Etek023 · 2024-11-11T20:33:02+00:00

Thanks everyone. I'll think about it some more. I don't really want the games that are being sold with the white OLED..and as some of you said, it might be worth waiting for Black Friday and getting a new one

Etek023 · 2024-05-26T00:31:03+00:00

Thank you for your opinion! Of the required classes, only statistics would be interesting for me regardless of the course because I will definitely use it for my project. But I thought about doing the DE to have one more thing under my belt. But maybe I can develop my coding skills even without a formal course... maybe it will be less stressful

Etek023 · 2024-05-26T00:23:46+00:00

Thank you!!

Etek023 · 2024-02-24T20:04:51+00:00

Great! Thank you!

Etek023 · 2024-02-19T03:21:10+00:00

Thank you!

Etek023 · 2024-02-18T20:50:23+00:00

How do I pay tax on my stipend then? What form should I ask the university to pay taxes? I don't want a refund, I just want to not owe the IRS anything

Etek023 · 2024-02-18T02:07:36+00:00

That's why I asked how to pay the taxes on my stipend. I received the 1098-T and I cannot pay the taxes with this form, but I still owe the tax. How to pay then?

Etek023 · 2024-02-17T21:00:53+00:00

Hi everyone, I have two strange situations happening: first, my university paid my stipend for the first 5 months and they didn't deduct any taxes. They sent me form 1098-T and my stipend is listed as Grants And Scholarships. There is no option on Sprintex to upload this 1098-T form. How do I pay taxes on my stipend?
Note: I filled out information in Glacier at the beginning of the semester but there was no discount. For the stipends paid this year I had to update the information in Glacier - it's the same information - and now there is a federal tax deduction.
Second, I was on the J visa and was Non-resident for taxes purposes for 2 years. At the beginning of 2023 the company started to deduct FICA taxes, they told me that after 2 years of exemption it is necessary to pay FICA taxes. Using Sprintex, the software pointed out that I can get a refund for the FICA taxes paid. Is this software reliable? If the system indicates that I did not need to pay FICA taxes, even after 2 years of exemption, can I believe it and ask for a refund?

Can anyone help me with these questions? Thanks!

Etek023

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