Another one of those where to move and live threads... (San Francisco: real estate, apartments)

[Moondogger]

Sorry guys and gals but I had to do it.

Of course I've already read plenty of other posts about it, along with doing my research and talking to people but I still had to create this thread in order to get some more feedback.

So basically I'm looking to move to the city fairly soon within the next month or so and would really appreciate any advice on where to live.

Here's the skinny on me and what I'm looking for:

I would prefer a neighborhood that's relatively safe, affordable, walkable and close to public transport. I'm not looking to live in Downtown or anywhere near the noise or the action but close to the action, just a long brisk walk or brief transit ride away. I prefer peace and quiet where I live but don't want to be too far away from all the great things the city has to offer. So basically what I'm looking for is like a neighborhood suburb of the city proper or downtown area.

I would also prefer living near a park or green area or some body of water. I like to trick myself into thinking I'm not living in a concrete jungle when in fact I most likely am

I'm coming from a sunny place so I'd like to get as much sun as possible, I realize SF is mostly foggy but there are neighborhoods that get more sun than others.

I will have my own vehicle but will only want to use it for long trips out of the city. Not sure if there's a storage facility I could keep it in incase finding a place with a parking spot is too much of a hassle but I'd consider it.

What I consider to be affordable < $2000 in rent. Anything 2000 or over for a studio is just ridiculous and I refuse to pay that. Not interested in the roommate deal either.

For those who are familiar with SD, here's an idea of what I'm looking for: a neighborhood like Mission Hills, Bay Park - Mission Bay Sea World area, Old Town, University Heights, Balboa Park and the surrounding areas, Banker's Hill (not in flight path) and Little Italy.

Things that interest me: hiking and anything outdoors, art and music events, concerts, outdoor festivals, wine bars and events, lounges, coffee shops and unique hip establishments with their own identity.

I live in SD right now in a place like I described above and pay < $900 for a 1BD. I know I will not find this in SF, hell it's not something you find in SD either, but my point is, I'm sure if I look around hard enough I could find something comparable. I'm just looking to be pointed in the right direction.

Here is a list of neighborhoods that I've either researched or heard of that sound interesting:
Inner Richmond or the Richmond
Pacific Heights
Noe Valley
Bernal Heights
Miraloma Park
Duboce Triangle
The Haight (Upper and Lower until Fillmore)
Nob Hill
Russian Hill
Glen Park
Sunset near Ocean Beach
Marina District
China Basin
Cow Hollow
Also interested in Feedback concerning Daly City and South SF which is as far out from the city as I'd like to go.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance to all my fellow helpful CD peeps!

[luau]

Originally Posted by Moondogger

Sorry guys and gals but I had to do it.

Of course I've already read plenty of other posts about it, along with doing my research and talking to people but I still had to create this thread in order to get some more feedback.

So basically I'm looking to move to the city fairly soon within the next month or so and would really appreciate any advice on where to live.

Here's the skinny on me and what I'm looking for:

I would prefer a neighborhood that's relatively safe, affordable, walkable and close to public transport. I'm not looking to live in Downtown or anywhere near the noise or the action but close to the action, just a long brisk walk or brief transit ride away. I prefer peace and quiet where I live but don't want to be too far away from all the great things the city has to offer. So basically what I'm looking for is like a neighborhood suburb of the city proper or downtown area.

I would also prefer living near a park or green area or some body of water. I like to trick myself into thinking I'm not living in a concrete jungle when in fact I most likely am

I'm coming from a sunny place so I'd like to get as much sun as possible, I realize SF is mostly foggy but there are neighborhoods that get more sun than others.

I will have my own vehicle but will only want to use it for long trips out of the city. Not sure if there's a storage facility I could keep it in incase finding a place with a parking spot is too much of a hassle but I'd consider it.

What I consider to be affordable < $2000 in rent. Anything 2000 or over for a studio is just ridiculous and I refuse to pay that. Not interested in the roommate deal either.

For those who are familiar with SD, here's an idea of what I'm looking for: a neighborhood like Mission Hills, Bay Park - Mission Bay Sea World area, Old Town, University Heights, Balboa Park and the surrounding areas, Banker's Hill (not in flight path) and Little Italy.

Things that interest me: hiking and anything outdoors, art and music events, concerts, outdoor festivals, wine bars and events, lounges, coffee shops and unique hip establishments with their own identity.

I live in SD right now in a place like I described above and pay < $900 for a 1BD. I know I will not find this in SF, hell it's not something you find in SD either, but my point is, I'm sure if I look around hard enough I could find something comparable. I'm just looking to be pointed in the right direction.

Here is a list of neighborhoods that I've either researched or heard of that sound interesting:
Inner Richmond or the Richmond
Pacific Heights
Noe Valley
Bernal Heights
Miraloma Park
Duboce Triangle
The Haight (Upper and Lower until Fillmore)
Nob Hill
Russian Hill
Glen Park
Sunset near Ocean Beach
Marina District
China Basin
Cow Hollow
Also interested in Feedback concerning Daly City and South SF which is as far out from the city as I'd like to go.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance to all my fellow helpful CD peeps!

I haven't looked at all the neighborhoods you visited, but I am familiar with most of them. The ones in bold are out of your pricepoint. Daly City is definitely in your pricepoint, probably South SF too.

[mayorhaggar]

a) where are you commuting to?

b) Daly City and SSF are pretty suburban by Bay Area standards, there's just not a lot going on in either, they're both foggy, and they're kinda remote from the happening parts of SF (though BART is easy to use to get into SF). If you want to live somewhere urban and happening, honestly DC and SSF are not good choices.

c) Instead I'd look at Oakland and Berkeley since you want urban and sunny and your budget for a 1br is pretty modest by SF standards but pretty high by East Bay standards. If you lived in downtown Berkeley or in Rockridge in Oakland I guarantee you'd have a more urban (and sunnier) lifestyle than if you lived somewhere like the Outer Sunset or Daly City. And you'd save on rent. And you'd have a better commute than from the Sunset District if you work downtown.

Frankly I think these are your three options:

1) live in a studio or with roommates in the sunny and in-demand northeastern 1/3rd of SF
2) live in a 1br in the foggy western 1/3rd of SF (the Sunset and the Richmond)
3) live somewhere urban in the East Bay like downtown Berkeley or Rockridge in Oakland

If you're interested in Oakland (yes there are plenty of safe and fun neighborhoods in Oakland, folks!) then there's plenty of topics about it here. Mainly I'd look at Rockridge due to its BART station, as well as the Temescal and the Grand Lake area. In Berkeley I'd mainly look at areas near downtown due to its BART station.

By all means look at the market in SF but you'll probably mainly find places maybe in the Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset. But even if you can afford places, actually getting an apartment is very competitive in SF.

[Moondogger]

So, can anyone who's familiar with SF or currently lives there now provide me with some feedback about the neighborhoods I listed to see if they match up with what I'm looking for.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[Red Elephants]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

a) where are you commuting to?

b) Daly City and SSF are pretty suburban by Bay Area standards, there's just not a lot going on in either, they're both foggy, and they're kinda remote from the happening parts of SF (though BART is easy to use to get into SF). If you want to live somewhere urban and happening, honestly DC and SSF are not good choices.

c) Instead I'd look at Oakland and Berkeley since you want urban and sunny and your budget for a 1br is pretty modest by SF standards but pretty high by East Bay standards. If you lived in downtown Berkeley or in Rockridge in Oakland I guarantee you'd have a more urban (and sunnier) lifestyle than if you lived somewhere like the Outer Sunset or Daly City. And you'd save on rent. And you'd have a better commute than from the Sunset District if you work downtown.

Frankly I think these are your three options:

1) live in a studio or with roommates in the sunny and in-demand northeastern 1/3rd of SF
2) live in a 1br in the foggy western 1/3rd of SF (the Sunset and the Richmond)
3) live somewhere urban in the East Bay like downtown Berkeley or Rockridge in Oakland

If you're interested in Oakland (yes there are plenty of safe and fun neighborhoods in Oakland, folks!) then there's plenty of topics about it here. Mainly I'd look at Rockridge due to its BART station, as well as the Temescal and the Grand Lake area. In Berkeley I'd mainly look at areas near downtown due to its BART station.

By all means look at the market in SF but you'll probably mainly find places maybe in the Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset. But even if you can afford places, actually getting an apartment is very competitive in SF.

Dude, they are not asking about Oakland, why do you always mention Rockridge, you must be a real estate agent from there. As for SF most of those locations will be out of your price range.

[pch1013]

Originally Posted by Moondogger

So, can anyone who's familiar with SF or currently lives there now provide me with some feedback about the neighborhoods I listed to see if they match up with what I'm looking for.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

They're all too expensive for you -- except the Richmond and Ocean Beach, which are foggy.

If price weren't an object, I'd suggest the following, in descending order:

Noe Valley - probably the best fit, though car parking would still be a pain.
Duboce Triangle
Bernal Heights - nice, but apartments and houses are small and parking is difficult.
Lower Haight
Glen Park - easiest for parking
Inner Richmond - still foggy, but not quite so much as the Outer Richmond.
Russian Hill

The others are either too remote or too bland for my personal taste, though yours might of course differ.

You might also like: Hayes Valley, Cole Valley, West Portal, or the Dolores Park area. But these too are out of your price range.

[Nineties Flava]

I'd look into Portola if I were you. While it's not the safest neighborhood in San Francisco (it's pretty middle-of-the-road), it does fit all the rest of your criteria. You'd be right next to John Mclaren Park (2nd largest park in the City) you'd be walking distance from BART as well as a stones throw away from some of the more lively neighborhoods in SF (namely the Mission) and you can afford it. It's not the most happening or "charming" neighborhood in the City but for the rest of your criteria you couldn't do better while staying in SF.

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by Red Elephants

Dude, they are not asking about Oakland, why do you always mention Rockridge, you must be a real estate agent from there. As for SF most of those locations will be out of your price range.

Because most of those locations are out of OP's price range, duh! Jeez.

Plus he/she's asking about Daly City and SSF, which are pretty dumpy compared with something like Rockridge. You can live somewhere like Daly City or the Outer Sunset or Portola just to say you're in SF or by its border, if that's really THAT important to you, but I think it's a dumb idea when better and usually cheaper places that actually fit what you are looking for (sun and urbanity) are in Berkeley and Oakland. I had that mindset when I lived in SF and put up with living in crappy locations in the Mission and Hayes Valley, but when I moved to Oakland I wondered why I hadn't done it before.

[luau]

Originally Posted by Moondogger

So, can anyone who's familiar with SF or currently lives there now provide me with some feedback about the neighborhoods I listed to see if they match up with what I'm looking for.

Again, any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I take it you didn't read my post? You can get a studio in most of those neighborhoods you listed, except for North Beach, Russian Hill, and Marina.

[Moondogger]

Thanks to PCH1013 and Nineties Flava for the relevant info. Appreciate it.

A couple more things, what can you tell me about Nob Hill? I know lower Nob Hill is considered part of downtown but is the upper part also downtown? I ask because I'm noticing plenty of vacancies and some good deals there and wondering what the catch is, if there is one. Is Broadway considered the dividing line from DT or is it California St?

Aslo what can you tell me about Excelsior and the outer mission area? Any good?

Lastly, which neighborhood gets more fog the Inner Sunset or Inner Richmond?

Btw, FYI - I'm finding places in my price range in all the areas I listed in some cases even 2 bedrooms. Yes, even in the ones people are saying I wouldn't. Gasp! Imagine that!