If Working Downtown.. (living, young professionals, restaurants)

[shotstar]

in the the city, what would be good(nicer, lower crime, young professional areas) places to live?

I'm considering moving from Dallas(stifling the living heck out of me) to SF (yes the reverse of many folk) for a pretty good job. But what areas to live are in reasonable commute distances (under 40min) to downtown SF? Or is SF such that most people do want to live in downtown if they can?

I can afford as much as $2500 or so.

[humboldtrat]

It depends what you want. You can live in SF and enjoy the nightlife, restaurants, shopping, etc. or you can live just outside of town, much of which is suburbia. You'll usually find cheaper rents in the suburbs than in SF.

If you want to live in SF, check out South Beach / Mission Bay just south of the downtown area. This area is about 10 - 15 minutes from downtown via light rail streetcar. $2500 should cover a 1 bedroom apt.

[DeCoverley]

Roughly: north of California Street, east of Arguello. That area will have lower crime, more young professionals, adn your commute (i.e. your bus ride) won't be too far.