I've been to both numerous times (lived in AA for 8 years). Ann Arbor is much nicer than Berkley CA. Berkley's proximity to San Fran is quite the bonus though (but not its proximity to Oakland).
shareI agree. Ann Arbor is a beautiful, fun and clean city. It annoys me how much Jason Segel hates it there. The only reason he doesn't like it because of how cold it gets during the winter and maybe because it's not located next to the ocean.
shareI guess it depends on what you want. I would much rather live in San Francisco OR Berkeley (or even Oakland) vs Ann Arbor. I lived in Michigan until I was 14 and then moved to the Bay area. It is much more diverse, beautiful, better food, and more things to do here. But if you don't like certain demographics then the Bay may not be the place for you.
shareWRONG.
I've been to both. Berkley is 1000% better than Ann Arbor, whos a whore.
Berkley is amazing. If I could go back in time I would tell a young me to apply to Cal.
Berkeley itself is not as aesthetically pleasing as people might think. Ann Arbor is a very beautiful college town. They wouldn't have to live in Berkeley though, it is an easy commute from San Francisco. If she got her dream job at Berkeley they wouldn't have had to move at all. Moving to Michigan would be a huge climate shock for someone living in Northern California. The winters are brutal, and lets be honest, the Bay Area has a lot more to offer in terms of restaurants. It could be worse, I mean she could have gotten the job in North Dakota ;)
shareThe Berkeley campus is lovely and the hills of Berkeley are charming but the city of Berkeley is pretty gritty. Nearby Oakland and SF have big city delights and horrors.
shareWhile my familiarity with Ann Arbor is pretty limited, it also seemed to me like they were being really unrealistically hard on Ann Arbor. I know it's a sophisticated city - they made it look like a small town in North Dakota or something.
Although - a brief online lookup reveals that TripAdvisor's #1 rated restaurant in Ann Arbor is ... Zingerman's Deli.