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I've got an impending move to SF coming up, and I'm still trying to figure out the area east of GG park, north of market and west of the tenderloin. I know this is generally hayes valley/western addition/the haight. but in this area, what's generally safe, what's not? what's happening, what's not? where are the most active streets restaurant and bar wise (divisadero, what else)? and if you were living here, where would you live? I have some friends who live at hayes and pierce... they love it, but honestly the area seemed a little quiet to me. opinions??
I've got an impending move to SF coming up, and I'm still trying to figure out the area east of GG park, north of market and west of the tenderloin. I know this is generally hayes valley/western addition/the haight. but in this area, what's generally safe, what's not? what's happening, what's not? where are the most active streets restaurant and bar wise (divisadero, what else)? and if you were living here, where would you live? I have some friends who live at hayes and pierce... they love it, but honestly the area seemed a little quiet to me. opinions??
I grew up in this area, this is not the same area as it was even 10 years ago. It's being gentrified and cleaned up. I see yuppies walking past the projects all the time with their dogs and baby strollers. I would not even worry about this area anymore. It is relatively quiet compared to the Marina etc but in a way it's good because you won't have all the noise. There is still some crime in parts but nothing you can't avoid with some street smarts. Bars etc it depends on what you're into. This area is like a hipster, mod , emo zone.
Hayes Valley is pretty nice and is really safe. There's a lot of restaurants and a couple bars on Hayes. I lived there for 2 years but I was never really crazy about the area. It's noisy because of the constant traffic in the area which also makes being a pedestrian way more of a hassle than in areas with less traffic like the Mission. The restaurants in Hayes Valley are almost all kind of upscale places where people go before they go to the opera or theaters by City Hall, and there aren't many places that are good to get some takeout food or a cheap dinner. There are a few cheap places but they all kinda suck. Flipper's is a pretty good diner though, great burgers. Also all the shops in HV are pretty upscale independent places. If you were a yuppie girl you might like shopping there (though you'd find a lot more stuff in Lower Pac Hts or the Marina) but if you are just looking for basic stuff you won't find much to interest you. Also there's no grocery store in all of HV, there's one little place on Hayes with some decent stuff but it's basically just a corner store with some overpriced health food. There's a Safeway, a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods that are each about a 10-15 minute bus ride away, but there's nowhere in HV you can walk to go grocery shopping, which I found annoying.
Once you go a couple blocks north of Hayes Street like around Octavia you will run into a whole bunch of grubby housing projects with guys standing around acting like they're up to no good. There are shootings around those projects now and then.
I lived in SF for 6 years and I never really spent enough time in the Western Addition to figure out what parts are good and which are dangerous. Probably the area between those projects near Hayes Valley and the area just south of Japantown is the grubbiest area with the most crime.
I would also look at Lower Pacific Heights, it's just north of the Japantown Mall on Divisadero and is a really safe area with a lot of shops and restaurants, and it's a lot more down to earth than upper Pac Heights. Also Duboce Park is pretty cool and it bleeds into the Northwest corner of the Mission where it meets with the Castro.
I would echo the above about Divisadero. The area between, say, Haight and Geary, the so-called NoPa, is really being built up. From what I understand, the Mayor had aspirations of this neck of Divis becoming the "New Valencia." So far, it seems to be going in that direction - especially with the new Bi-Rite Market opening up.
In terms of safety in the area, I'd avoid the Haight/Webster and Laguna/Eddy corners/areas, just because of the public housing. It's much better than it used to be (anyone remember the "pink" projects?) but it can be a little jarring at night.
For bars/nightlife, there's Fly Bar, the Independent, some wine joint, and The Page all on Divis. Bunch of stuff in Lower Haight, not far from Divis. Hayes St. in the Valley as a few spots but nothing I'd be too excited about (short of Suppenkuche for German beer and grub). Fillmore Street above Geary blows imo.
Hope that helps. If you have some more pointed questions I can try and answer them.
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