San Fran vs Oakland/Berkeley (San Francisco: neighborhoods, school, organic)

[Portlandbound]

I apologize if this is a repeat thread, but I can't seem to find anything similar when I search.

We are trying to decide between living in San Francisco (Castro/Inner Sunset/Cole Valley/Mission Dolores/Haight/Hayes Valley) and the East Bay (specifically Berkeley/N. Oakland/Rockridge). My partner works in Oakland near the Children's Hospital and I'll be in grad school classes in SF.

We keep hearing mixed reviews from friends, so I thought I would toss it out to this board. We like:

-vegan food establishments
-organic farmer's markets and stores
-dog friendly areas
-*****-friendly people & people of color
-access to public transportation
-friendly neighbors who can have dinner parties and be spontaneous
-coffee shops that we can find seats in
-to hike and bike on our days off
-rock climbing gyms
-dance studios with salsa, hip hop and belly dancing lessons

We don't mind:
-foggy SF days (although we do like sun too!)


Any advice or opinions?

[artemis78]

Honestly, I'd guess you'd find those things in most of the neighborhoods you list. (I can vouch for everything existing on the North Oakland/R'ridge side, and I imagine they're all there somewhere on the SF side, too.) Where in SF will you be in class, and will it be every day? That could be a big deal if it's not BART accessible or in SOMA (Transbay bus), since it could be a pain to get there. Children's does have a shuttle from Macarthur BART that's open to anyone, I think, so that would be a decent commute from the city if you stick to BART-accessible parts (Mission Dolores, etc.).

Oakland/Berkeley will likely be cheaper and you're more likely to find yards and dog-friendly housing. However, it can be a pain to commute to the farther-out SF neighborhoods. That part of the East Bay is also mellower than many of the neighborhoods you list in SF, if that's a concern. Personally I think the East Bay has better recreational hiking and biking, too (Oakland and Berkeley hills, etc.) but that's debatable.

You might check out SFGate's neighborhood profiles--they give a taste of each of these neighborhoods on both sides of the Bay.

Bay Area Traveler: SF Neighborhoods

and

SF Gate: Bay Area Traveler: East Bay Neighborhoods