Moving & new to SF--Need Neighborhood Advice! (San Francisco, Sacramento: apartment, lease)

[sheam06]

My boyfriend has a job prospect in SF and we’re strongly considering moving out there this summer. We know about Oakland and Berkley as options, but we’d really like to stay within the city. Neither of us are familiar with the different neighborhoods, so I would love it if I could get some suggestions on which may be the right fit for us. I’ll try to somehow describe who we are and what we’re about, and hopefully we’ll get some suggestions. Thanks!

I’m 23 and he’s 30. We currently live in St. Louis (If by chance anyone is familiar with St. Louis, we really like the Tower Grove, Benton Park and Soulard areas). We’re fairly liberal, though in SF we’ll probably fall more moderate in comparison. We have an active social life and go out a few times a week. In terms of bars, our favorites are generally chill bars and pubs. We especially love bars with patios. We love beer and are into craft beers, microbreweries, etc. We’re like live music, mainly jam bands. We’re pretty into food too—good food, but not ritzy or really expensive places. We are 420 friendly (bc I feel you should know), but don’t think stereotypical hippie. We’ve always had a fairly diverse group of friends. We love the outdoors and especially love a good city park. We don’t want to be near much shopping, chains, retail. Would love to be near some sort of market. I’d prefer to live somewhere that feels a little more residential, as opposed to living in a high rise.

In terms of the finances, we’re looking for a one bedroom (not studio) and assuming we’ll pay somewhere around average for the area.
I think that’s it. Thanks in advance for your thoughtful responses!

[Vallejo2Oakland]

I would check out the Mission district and the Excelsior districts, the Mission has a good social vibe and a great restaurant scene, the Excelsior is convenient to freeways, and hence just about everything, and is probably still a decent value for the City.

Other options would be the Inner Sunset (around 9th avenue) and inner Richmond, both have a fairly decent social / restaurant / bar scene, and are still convenient to downtown by publc transportation or car.'

San Francisco is small so, you are never really that far from anything if you are living within the City limits.

Hope this helps.

[mayorhaggar]

Yeah I would look at the area around Dolores Park in the Mission, the Lower Haight, Noe Valley, Glen Park, Bernal Heights, and the Inner Sunset. 1br's in those areas start around $1400. If that is too much for you, the nice parts of Oakland are about 30-40% cheaper than SF.

Also don't expect to eat out on a patio in SF more than a few times a year...usually it's chilly and windy out even in the summertime, especially after dark. In Oakland there are more places with patios though it's only really warm enough to eat outside in the middle of summer.

[bmw335xi]

I'd look into Panhandle, Inner Richmond, or Inner Sunset.

[sheam06]

Ohh good point about the patios and the weather. Of the neighborhoods mentioned, are there some that are warmer than others? Thanks for your advice, all!

[mayorhaggar]

SOMA, Potrero Hill, the Mission, Noe Valley and Bernal Heights are generally sunnier and warmer than other parts of SF. Especially areas just east of Mission Street in the Mission, but unfortunately that is one of the scuzziest, dirtiest, most crime-ridden parts of SF. The area around Dolores Park is a lot nicer and safer, it's a bit windier and cooler but still pretty warm compared to downtown or the Sunset District etc.

I've been living in Oakland since last July and it seems like in summer it's about 5 degrees warmer than anywhere in SF, and sunnier, which is really pleasant, but from late autumn to around now, it's a bit colder than SF in the early morning and about as cool in the afternoon, though I think we're starting to see Oakland get warmer and sunnier in the afternoon than SF again.

Anywhere to the east of the Oakland Hills gets really warm in the middle of summer, like Walnut Creek is often in the 90's and low 100's, but I think the rest of the year it's pretty similar to around Oakland.

[jade408]

Points east of the Oakland Hills are chillier in the Fall and Winter. Especially at night. They are about 5-7 degrees cooler.

[redwoodlvr]

Good suggestions, but part of living in San Francisco is experiencing it for yourself. Sometimes the trial and error brings with it great experience and funny stories you can tell your grandkids. It will take you a few months to feel your way through the SF experience and you may even decide to move to another neighborhood or across the Bay when your lease it up. But for a first trip, live directly in the City... you will thank me for that later. Everything you describe, you can experience. It's a small city... transportation is plentiful. You can get around everywhere, most neighborhoods have plenty to do and experience. I ditto outer Richmond & inner Richmond (much sunnier than the Sunset side)... inner Sunset is good too. Follow your gut instincts when you get here. You will know where to move. And even if it's not exactly perfect*, you will have fun anyway.

*Most SF apartment buildings are old with poor insulation. It doesn't matter if you're paying top dollar in Pacific Heights or residing in a lower middle class neighborhood, you can still hear everything and everybody as if you're living with them. Just a heads up on that and you will get used to it. It's probably one of the reasons people aren't overly friendly anymore. It's because you're already aware of each other's business.

[Jasmine658]

I think it totally depends on location of job where you chose to live. It can take a long time just to get across SF, since it can be start & stop. Choose to live near your job, or along a transportation system that easily gets you to where you need to go for your job. I've lived in many neighborhoods in SF, from marina district, Tenderloin, inner mission, nob hill and now Potrero Hill, also on peninsula and over in east bay. Every neighborhood has its pros & cons, but start with your work location and search from there.

Our favorite patio restaurants and bars are in the Castro, Noe and on Potrero since we live Potrero Hill. Nirvana (lunch & dinner - fusion asian) & Luna (brunch) in Castro, Savor in Noe Valley, and Connecticut Yankee on Potrero Hill are all within easy reach for us. Patio dining is also fun in North Beach at Bocce. Most patio restaurants seem to have average food, but great ambiance and setting. At least the cocktails and full bar make up for it some. We also really like the Crossroads Cafe (run by Delancey Street Foundation) that has large outdoor patio @ 699 Delancey St. Used to go Arlequin on Hayes, but don't make it over that way too often - evenings parking is tough there.

Here's a list I found of some popular patio restaurants in SF, a few I haven't been to yet but will try in future....

Savor Restaurant
3913 24th Street
(415) 282-0344 ‎

Primo Patio Cafe
214 Townsend Street
(415) 957-1129

Le Charm French Bistro
315 5th Street
(415) 546-6128 ‎

Isa Restaurant
3324 Steiner Street
(415) 567-9588 ‎

Zazie
941 Cole Street
(415) 564-5332 ‎

Bar Bambino
2931 16th Street
(415) 701-8466 ‎

Luna Restaurant
558 Castro Street
(415) 487-1511 ‎

Bocce Cafe-Italian Restaurant
478 Green Street
(415) 981-2044 ‎

Radius
1123 Folsom Street
(415) 525-3676 ‎

Arlequin Cafe
384 Hayes St # B
(415) 626-1211 ‎

Magic Flute Garden Ristorante
3673 Sacramento St
(415) 922-1225