Condos/townhomes around USF? (Richmond, Marina: neighborhoods, buying, movie theater)

[BENZBOY15]

I'm considering going to USF for college and my parents want to buy a condo as an investment for both them and me. What are some good areas around there?
Haight-Ashbury seems funky and fun but the people are a little extreme. Price range is around 900K tops.

[gizmo980]

You probably want to avoid most of Haight, even though it's a fun & funky part of town... unfortunately it's also fairly crime-ridden, and one of the less safe parts of town. Neighborhoods you might consider are the Inner Richmond, Noe Valley, Potrero Hill, North Beach (another funky area!), Nob Hill/Lower Nob Hill, and maybe Twin Peaks... the latter two might be too expensive, but none of them will be cheap. With a budget of $900K, though, you should be able to get a nice place! Not sure how big of a condo you'd want, but a new-ish 2 bedroom in one of these areas will be around $700-850K. If you want to be near the ocean, and don't mind being farther from downtown (but still close to USF), other possibilities are Outer Sunset or Marina districts. There are also some beautiful new developments near SBC Park, but I'm not sure what exactly you'd call that area... it's along the Embarcadero, near the business district. Anyway, we have lots of great neighborhoods in SF!!

[BENZBOY15]

Thanks for the info. Haight-Ashbury seemed funky and fun but like you said it seemed a bit sketchy. What's Cow Hollow like?

[gizmo980]

I wasn't sure exactly where Cow Hollow is, but just looked it up... and it's a nice neighborhood! Apparently it's the area that includes Union Square & Lombard St., two of our big attractions. Union Square is a beautiful shopping street, with a GIANT Macy's (8 stories!), Tiffany, Levi's, Barnes & Noble, etc. Also has the Metreon nearby, which is a big movie theater w/ IMAX, awesome electronic stores, and an upscale food court. Lombard St. is obviously a tourist hot-spot, and most of the homes right there are probably $2 Million and up. But if you look closer to the Union Square part, I'm sure the prices are slightly more reasonable... there are some sketchy streets, so definitely check on the exact location before buying. It's not really dangerous, but you'll see lots of "Asian Massage Parlors" and that sort of thing. Anyway, as far as I know Cow Hollow would be quite sufficient. Plus it's a really terrific location, geographically speaking... quick drive or Muni/BART ride to basically everything in the city.

For a second I thought you asked about "Cow Palace", which is a definite no-no... in case you're not aware, our bad neighborhoods include Bayview/Hunter's Point, Excelsior, Inner Mission, Tenderloin, most of Haight, and parts of SoMa. Basically just avoid the Southeast corner, and Mission/Market with a low-number street (i.e. Mission and 4th), including Civic Center. SF is a relatively safe place, compared to most big cities, but these are considered our worst neighborhoods - especially Bayview & Hunter's Point!!

[gizmo980]

Here's a link with a description of Cow Hollow... the site also has basic/touristy info on other neighborhoods:
http://www.sanfranshuttletours.com/cow_hollow.htm

And here's a better guide, with more local-type of information: (hope these are allowed! )
http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/guide/sf/neighborhoods/

Hopefully you realize this already, but I should warn that websites and book-guides will sugarcoat things... so keep talking to locals, like you're doing here, in order to get the full scoop! They even make the Tenderloin sound nice on that first website, which is really pushing it. The second website (SFGate) is much more honest, and is very reliable since it's connected with the SF Chronicle & Examiner.