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So just thought I'd get some feed back regarding neighborhoods in SF that resemble those that I like here in SD which will give me a better idea of where to settle in.
Here is a list of SD neighborhoods that I 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)
Little Italy
South Park
Here is a list of neighborhoods in SF 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
So, now it becomes a game of match 'em up. See it's fun. Yey!
This has actually been on my mind ever since I moved to San Diego, being that I am kind of from the Bay myself. (Actually, Santa Cruz, but I still hope I can answer your question from my experiences in SF.)
Mission Beach has the highest levels of residential density of anywhere in San Diego so the houses are seemingly built into one another. Strolling through the Marina district in SF comes to mind. In fact, many So Cal residents move to the Marina district in SF solely for this reason.
Mission Hills is a beautiful area and one of San Diego's most desirable residential locations. Naturally, this means some pretty expensive homes and overall one gets the feeling of 'old money'. I myself feel history just by passing through. It's situated on a hill that's rather secluded (San Diego is basically a plethora of isolated mesas connected by freeways running through canyons.) so even though it might be only a few miles from downtown proper, one gets the feeling of Presidio Heights.
Our Hillcrest neighborhood has been referred to, myself included, as the Castro District of San Diego.
Nob Hill/ Russian Hill, in my opinion, and the feel of those places, can only really be found in our Cortez hill, located downtown.
South Park/ North Park: Probably the Mission in SF (for its hipster vibe not so much the architecture)
Banker's Hill is actually found directly under the flight path of our airport. Pretty much all of central San Diego is since the airport is smack in the middle of the city. However, places like Little Italy, Banker's Hill, and Point Loma are hit the hardest. You might even think you can touch an airplane when visiting here. That's not to say these places are bad, per se, but I think the property values would triple if planes didn't fly overhead almost every 10 minutes or less.
Point Loma kind of has the best overall general feeling of SF. It's on a hill, it's very green relative to the rest of San Diego, and there's money but not overly so. It's also right on the coast and has a nice, slow feeling to it.
Sorry for the book, and thanks for the inspiration.
I think I misunderstood your original question/reason for post. I took it you were looking for places in San Diego to stay/settle in that were similar to neighborhoods in San Francisco, but it sounds like it's the other way around.
As I know more about San Diego than I do about San Francisco, I can only say that San Francisco doesn't really have a neighborhood comparable to Pt. Loma, San Diego, at least geographically. One of the most distinguishing characteristics of Pt. Loma is that it is situated on a peninsula that is secluded from the rest of the city. (A quick look at Google Maps will illustrate this.)
Pt. Loma, as I have said, has a small-town feel to it, built up of single-family homes that are in the upper-middle class to upper-class segment of homeowner wealth.
The first is the price. San Francisco is currently amidst a huge housing bubble and it is difficult to find anything in the city at all. Expect to pay double San Diego costs at least (rent or buy) and with much more competition to get a place. Expect to pay $2000 for a small studio. Expect to be competing with folks who have stock options, can pay a year's rent up front and are making 150k+. Parking is also a huge issue in all the neighborhoods you mentioned.
The microclimates are also more pronounced in SF. You could live in the outer Richmond and not see the sun for all of July and August and be shivering in windy 55 degree weather using your heat during July. Living by the beach is NOT desirable in the Bay Area. If you like San Diego weather, these neighborhoods, including the Richmond, Glen Park and the Sunset, are not for you.
Remember as well that San Francisco is also much smaller than SD, even if you just count the core areas of SD.
You don't have to worry about flight path issues in any of the neighborhoods you mentioned. You really can't find a totally suburban neighborhood in SF proper like Bay Park.
I notice you did not mention Hillcrest, is that because it is too congested or urban for you? I also noticed you did not mention the Gaslamp. If that is the case, you probably will not like Nob Hill, Russian Hill, or even the Marina. I would say Hillcrest and the Gaslamp as well as Cortez Hill and Little Italy are the most urban in San Diego but any of the above neighborhoods in SF are much, much more urban with all that entails so those may not be for you unless you yearn for more urbanity than San Diego could ever offer like Greenwich Village in NYC or Adams Morgan in DC.
I'm sure you would like Pacific Heights but the trick there is finding a place for a reasonable cost. Larry Ellison and the like would be your neighbor there. Noe Valley, similar to Mission Hills in demographics but again much more urban, might be a good fit but very difficult to find a place there as it is expensive as well. Bernal Heights is a bit isolated from the city, and a little cheaper with decent weather so that may be an option for you. A bit more car friendly as well and sort of a hidden gem, like San Diego's south park. There is even an awesome dog park.
Good luck. As long as you stay out of the Tenderloin (many times called Lower Nob Hill by the realtors) Bayview and Hunter's point you really can't go wrong in SF. I'd focus on the best place and price as well as the weather and the level of urbanity that is important to you.
You really hit the nail on the head. You're spot on with you're thinking. It's like you're almost reading my mind, haha.
You're right, my comfort with urbanity, while desirable, reaches a certain level. This is why Gaslamp, Hillcrest and southern PB neighborhoods don't appeal to me. I lived in PB for 6 months and it got old quick since I had a day job and most people there didn't.
You're right, I do live in Bay Park. And while you say I most likely wont find that in SF, it's a bit of good and bad news as there are things that I like about Bay Park which I mentioned but there's also things I hate, demographic is older, too many rednecks and hill billies as well as it being a ghost town for the most part. But again, it's central, I can literally go anywhere in the city in 15 min or less, PB is 5 min away and I walk to the Bay everyday. Every where is easily accessible. And more importantly it's quiet. I can sleep at night which is very important to me.
So i don't mind a bit more urbanity, in fact I welcome it, as long as I can still sleep at night.
My ideal neighborhood in SD is really Mission Hills. I think it has a good mix of everything. It's not perfect but it's as good as it gets for me.
So your suggestions of Noe Valley and Bernal Heights are definitely two places that I will look into for sure.
I've also heard of Cole Valley, Hayes Valley or Dolores Park as fitting in with my criteria. I'm interested in knowing what you think of these?
Also, I hear Glen Park and Duboce Triangle are good options and the weather in both is not bad because they're both central and don't get as much fog.
Also, Inner Richmond and Inner Sunset are suppose to be a bit better in terms of weather as well since they are closer to the center then the outer neighborhoods. I'm really not sure how much better.
I've always heard the rule of thumb for best weather is East of Divisadero, so....
Anyway, I welcome your opinions on the other neighborhoods mentioned and thanks again, much appreciated.
Have you thought about the East Bay or Marin at all? If you like Mission Hills, you might really like the Oakland Hills and areas like Piedmont or Rockridge. Oakland gets a bad rap but there are many just beautiful areas. These areas, because of BART or the casual carpool (cool concept), can actually be an easier commute into SF than many areas of SF proper. Taking the ferry in from Marin is a pretty cool, albeit pricey, option as well. Where will you working in SF? What is your budget? The suburbs of SF are very different than SD, you really don't have to worry about "rednecks" until you get really, really far out unlike San Diego.
Cole Valley, Hayes Valley, and Dolores Park are all great options for you if you can find a place. Cole Valley is cold in the summer but very quiet with a great Halloween festival. Parking is difficult. Parking is almost impossible in Hayes Valley but very cool, walkable, area with a little urban grit. It is closer to downtown and the Fillmore and has a bit of an urban edge to it. Think Harlem in NYC and gentrifying rapidly, there is not really an equivalent in San Diego. Maybe the outer edges of North Park or City Heights but not really?
Dolores Park is a paradise, very expensive, very gay and beautiful architecture and a great park as well as great weather between the Castro, Noe Valley and everywhere you would want to be. Very expensive and parking is very difficult.
I really don't think you would like the weather in any area of the Sunset or Richmond (even inner) or Glen Park or even Duboce Triangle. It is just depressing and if you are coming from beautiful San Diego...even worse. The Divisadero rule is true for the CITY but take this with a grain of salt. The weather in SF anywhere is kind of a drag compared to San Diego. You can escape this, if you move to San Rafael in Marin for example, it is really the same as San Diego weather, maybe a bit colder and rainer in the winter but no May grey or June gloom which makes up for that. Beautiful from May-October with highs in the low 80s, lows in the upper 50's and constant sun with no humidity. Just could not ask for better weather. If you stay in SF proper, you will notice a big difference in weather no matter where you are.
Good luck and feel free to ask any more questions.
I realize SF is going to be a trade off weather wise. I expect this and will prob be able to handle it but you're right some days will most likely depress me. On the plus side though there will be more to do and the people that live there for the most part are use to it and they will be out and about carrying on with their normal lives just like folks in the Northwest in the rain or folks in the Northeast in the cold and snow.
As opposed to SD where when the weather is crappy, most people opt to stay home. So then it becomes a double whammy, crappy weather combined with a ghost town effect.
It's all relative anyway, I'd take May and June in SD over South Florida or Phoenix any day.
I have heard of those areas in Oakland but I'm not sure I want to live in that 'bubble effect' where it feels unsafe to venture out away from your safe home or your safe area. This is another thing that I will miss about SD, is that the city as a whole is generally safe. Not once have I ever felt unsafe in this city. I've also heard of Berkley but then I'll be with the college kids again. So much for quiet.
I have thought of Marin county, particularly San Rafael, because of it's proximity to SF, but isn't it even more expensive than SF? I've always heard Marin was more expensive but to be honest I haven't looked at prices there.
Are the only ways to get into SF from San Rafael the ferry or crossing the bridge? Any trains or buses? The ferry does sound awesome! I would so love that! I love taking the ferry from Coronado to DT. I wonder if it would feel too isolated though. I guess it would feel similar to living in Coronado, on a smaller scale of course.
What can you tell me about Portrero Hill? I realize there's a project there but is it really that bad?
Are Albany and Alameda in East Bay way too suburban?
And what's the deal with Brisbane?
Thanks again for all for your help. Much appreciated.
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