Sorry, another neighborhood post (San Francisco, Richmond: best neighborhoods, apartments, rent)

[debbie421]

Hi all,

I think I'm going cross eyed reading all these posts! Very helpful and informative, but I might as well do one of my own. After reading so many, it looks like more details are better than not enough, so get ready for my e-novel.

My husband and I might be moving to San Francisco next year. We're in our mid thirties, have no children (and don't plan on having any), and will make close to $200,000 together (added for budgeting purposes). My job will be with one of the Big 4. While the office is in Mountain View, I'll be traveling to clients all over the Bay Area and flying to clients all over the Pacific Northwest. We're not sure where my husband will work. That being said, here's our personal neighborhood preferences.

EXERCISE - I'm a fitness junkie. Not only is my husband a runner, I'm an avid traithelete, marathoner, and spin instructor. We'd like a neighborhood near popular running and biking areas that we don't have to drive to. I'd also like a great gym nearby where I can take and teach group fitness classes.

FOOD - I'm an extreme food snob that doesn't cook. We'd like to have several casual places we can get a good meal nearby; we don't mind driving far for the "fancy" meals. On a day to day basis we eat Vietnamese, sushi, salads, soup, sandwiches, breakfast, Middle Eastern. We also like a high end grocery story with great produce and a large hot food/salad bar/deli area.

TRANSPORTATION - Since my job will involve a lot of traveling, we'd like to be less than a 10 minute drive from a major highway. FYI, I did read all the horrible commute posts, but I think I'll only have to go to Mountain View infrequently and it's important to us to live in San Francisco proper.

AMENITIES - Our musts are a place with an in unit washer/dryer, a dishwasher, and 2 off street parking spaces. We'd prefer NOT to be in a highrise. In our dream world we'd get a 2 bedroom + den but would settle for a 2 bedroom. All for $3,500? We like what some might call a charming neighborhood with a clean, modern living space. If it helps, we currently live in Minneapolis, in St. Anthony Main.

WEATHER - We've been to San Francisco multiple times and are familiar with your foggy 60's weather. But if it's possible, we wouldn't mind a somewhat sunny neighborhood. Not a must.

I think that's it. From my reading, I think you're going to tell me Marina/Cow Hollow or the neighborhoods surrounding Dolores Park. But it never hurts to ask! Thanks in advance for your help.

[sonarrat]

Actually, I was thinking Potrero Hill, because it has the sunniness, the newer homes with the amenities you want, a Whole Foods, and it's close to all the South of Market amenities without the South of Market traffic. And it's between two freeways so it couldn't be more convenient.

[debbie421]

Thanks for the response! From what I've read that seems like more of a "grittier" neighborhood, cut off from the rest of the city by industrial areas with very few shops and restaurants. Am I getting the wrong impression?

[jade408]

It is really cute over there.. Almost all SF neighborhoods have a gritty neighbor somewhere.

It is actually close to SOMA and the Mission. (Just a big hill in between) and there are blocks and blocks of neighborhoods. MY ex-coworker lives in a great renovated house and there is a mini strip with restaurants and shops 2 blocks away. ANd them more commercial up and down 24th street. And then even more by the Whole Foods.

The industrial part is the other side of the freeway basically. And cut off from the rest of the city? Cut off by a huge hill, but it is a few blocks from Noe Valley/Mission. A 10 min bus ride max. The walk to 24th St BART is a bit sketchy, but I've definitely done it a few times. The biggest drawback of Potrero is really non-bus transit, but if you drive you are close to everything. I am assuming you will be driving as travelling allover the Bay Area without a car is difficult. Some blocks feel a bit more suburban because one of the few suburban style strip malls in SF is there, but it is neighborhoodly. There is also a great brunch place, Mission Beach Cafe, trapped in warehouse land.

[humboldtrat]

Check out Mission Bay/South Beach. Many newer apartments/lofts in the area and one of the sunnier parts of town. Near AT&T Park (Go Giants!) with light rail stations nearby. I-280 (to Mountain View) on-ramp is close by as well as the Caltrain station (commuter train to Mtn View). Good luck finding 2 off-street parking spaces; that will cost you extra.

South Beach / Mission Bay

[sonarrat]

Dogpatch is the gritty part.. and you might not want to be close to the projects (over by the 22nd St. Caltrain station).

[mini_cute]

SOMA/Mission Bay/South Beach has everything you are looking for sans the part about living in a high-rise- unless you are okay with high and mid-rises- that is pretty much the type of housing that constitutes those areas. Other than that, they have it all- sunniest/warmest weather in SF, next to the 280 fwy which goes down the peninsula past the airport to Mtn View, 80 freeway which takes you across the Bay Bridge to the east bay, adjacent access to the Embarcadero where you can jog, bike, etc. Plus there is a Crunch gym next to the Embarcadero around South Beach, most apartment buildings are clean and modern and have garage parking available included or for a little more extra each month, lots of dining around SOMA including some good Vietnamese places (check out Tin). There is a Whole Foods here, Trader Joes, Safeway, and access to the Ferry Building where they have specialty items and daily farmers market with an expanded farmers market on Saturdays. Also, lots of childless singles and couples in the area so you would be with your own crowd.

Potrero Hill is very close-by and that is where charming detached homes are. I don't think Potrero Hill can really be considered gritty. There is Dogpatch to the east of it which is kind of gritty and industrial which has access to Mission Bay and Soma to the north and does have some charming detached homes mixed in with modern mid-rise apartment buildings. Another place you might want to consider is Noe Valley which has lots of charming detached homes, clean area, and they have a cute little downtown on 24th street along with a Whole Foods. Only thing is that it is not as close to the fwy. Potrero Hill and Noe Valley do tend to skew more towards families with children.

If you want warm weather, stay away from the western side of SF- avoid Richmond, Sunset, and even Marina. Marina is very cold!

[sonarrat]

The difference in price and availability between getting parking in SoMa and Potrero Hill is enormous.

Dogpatch is interesting because it's actually one of the oldest parts of town. It survived the 1906 earthquake, so it still has a bit of that Old West charm.

[mayorhaggar]

These are some of the best neighborhoods in SF.

Nob Hill/Russian Hill
North Beach
Hayes Valley
Lower Pacific Heights
the Marina
Cole Valley
Duboce Triangle
Noe Valley
the Mission (stay west of Mission St. to avoid crime though)

These will mainly have older buildings and it might be hard to find ones with a washer/dryer in the unit but at $3500 it might be doable. Dishwasher would be hard to find in a unit under $2000 but over that you should see them I would imagine.

The eastern end of SOMA with all the new buildings and the Safeway and so on is kind of a soulless condo type of area but the weather is definitely sunnier and the buildings are newer and you'd probably be more likely to find a dishwasher/washer/dryer setup.

[mdwstrnkid]

I would suggest looking at Lower Pac Heights; it meets many of the requirements that you list above. My wife and I live have lived in the area for the past two years and love it. There are a lot of restaurants (probably at least 60 within a 5 block radius of our place) and has a lot of Muni options; you can catch the 1, 2, 3, 22, 24, and 38 in the area. You can get to the Octavia flyway taking you onto US-101 within 10 minutes if you leave reasonably early in the morning (7am).

You should be able to find a more modern 2BA/2BR in the area for $3500; that's about how much we pay for such a place. Many places do come with an off-street parking spot, but you'll probably have to pay $250-300/month for that second spot.

I actually grew up in the Twin Cities (western suburbs) and am familiar with the area from which you are coming. One thing to keep in mind is that, in general, other expenses (such as taxes) are higher than that in MN. Even though $200K is a decent salary, you might be surprised at how quickly living in this area and going out all of the time will eat into your income. We make substantially more than that and while we are able to save a lot of money, it sometimes surprises me how easy it is to eat up the amount we set aside after rent and utilities (and this is without any sort of debt).