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Old 10-11-2011, 08:49 AM
 
Location: A bit further north than before
1,651 posts, read 3,691,003 times
Reputation: 1465

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seattlebound1 View Post
Good question. I visited the Peninsula and it just felt too suburban to me. And not much cheaper. In fact, more expensive in some cases!
True, that it is, but there are nice 'small town' Main Streets all up and down the Peninsula that are quite walkable. Plus, free unlimited parking and no dings and dents on your car from city parking
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Old 10-11-2011, 09:04 AM
rah
 
Location: Oakland
3,314 posts, read 9,219,022 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
It's true the Peninsula is suburban/boring and possibly not any cheaper (although you may get more square footage for the rent you pay). But the trade off is a less stressful, less time consuming, and less costly commute. Don't underestimate those things! In general, SF is just not very kid oriented.
I don't really understand why people say this. Aside from being expensive and having a not so great school system overall (which many many big cities can claim), and having a slightly smaller percentage of kids than your average US city, how exactly is SF geared towards kids any less than any other city?

Plus, I think growing up in an urban environment like SF can be really good for kids, because it exposes them to all sorts of people and cultures, as well many realities of life (good and bad), that one may be more likely to be sheltered from if growing up in the suburbs.
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Old 10-11-2011, 09:48 AM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,054,023 times
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He/she wasn't comparing SF with any other cities, just the Peninsula. Expense and crappy schools are the main things that make living with kids in SF or any big city in the US crummy. Other than that SF is grubby and has a lot of traffic and weirdos, some parents don't want that for their kids. Different smokes.
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Old 10-11-2011, 11:56 AM
 
Location: Bay Area
3,981 posts, read 8,970,350 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rah View Post
I don't really understand why people say this. Aside from being expensive and having a not so great school system overall (which many many big cities can claim), and having a slightly smaller percentage of kids than your average US city, how exactly is SF geared towards kids any less than any other city?

Plus, I think growing up in an urban environment like SF can be really good for kids, because it exposes them to all sorts of people and cultures, as well many realities of life (good and bad), that one may be more likely to be sheltered from if growing up in the suburbs.
Unfortunately rah, there's a very noticeable anti-child sentiment amongst the "younger" population (think newcomers between the ages of 20-35). San Francisco is just not friendly towards families like it used to be. I don't even feel comfortable taking my kids into a casual restaurant for lunch anymore because even just stepping through the door with even quiet children will bring out the eye rollers and tks tsks before we've even sat down.

In addition, it certainly doesn't help that the children (what's left of them) aren't really able to get to know the other children on the same street since they all end up going to different schools across the City (over that whole lottery system).

When I moved back to the Bay Area after living abroad, my family had considered moving back the City since we missed it so much. Every single one of our friends still in the City told us not to--there weren't any more families, too stressful, expensive and they didn't even know their neighbors anymore (they'd been on the same street for 25yrs). Let's be honest, dogs have replaced kids in San Francisco. The only families that are moving into the City now days are the wealthy--not really that diverse or interesting, imo.
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Old 10-11-2011, 12:42 PM
 
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Wow. Not sure how this turned into a kid versus not-kid discussion. We are city people. New York, Seattle (in the city, five minutes from downtown), now going to San Francisco. We don't want to live in the suburbs and we fully know how to deal with the kid-unfriendly elements of urban living while also taking advantage of what a city has to offer. That said, I did give the Peninsula a try by visiting and exploring. Sorry, it's not for me. I didn't like it. My husband doesn't like it. It's not for my kids at all. I love how people act like it's never occurred to us to think about what's best for us and our children!
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Old 10-11-2011, 01:19 PM
 
Location: South Korea
5,242 posts, read 13,054,023 times
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If you care about being somewhere in SF with lots of parents with young kids, then Noe Valley, the Richmond District and the Sunset District are the main places for that. Other parts of the city are either kinda ghetto or full of yuppies and aren't going to be as kid-friendly. Any suburban area will have way more kids. I'd also recommend Rockridge in Oakland as a trendy area with lots of parents with young kids but it wouldn't work at all for a commute to RWC.

If your kids are well-behaved then by all means take them out, if they aren't then yes people will get fed up with them. That has nothing to do with San Francisco. When I lived in Chicago there was a debate about some cafes banning people with annoying kids.
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:17 PM
 
Location: A bit further north than before
1,651 posts, read 3,691,003 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Seattlebound1 View Post
Wow. Not sure how this turned into a kid versus not-kid discussion. We are city people. New York, Seattle (in the city, five minutes from downtown), now going to San Francisco. We don't want to live in the suburbs and we fully know how to deal with the kid-unfriendly elements of urban living while also taking advantage of what a city has to offer. That said, I did give the Peninsula a try by visiting and exploring. Sorry, it's not for me. I didn't like it. My husband doesn't like it. It's not for my kids at all. I love how people act like it's never occurred to us to think about what's best for us and our children!

Hey, it's the internet. We have conversational ADD


Seriously, though, you asked for advice, we can some suggestions that you may or may not have considered. If it's not for you, you don't have to justify your decisions to a bunch of strangers!
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:49 PM
 
Location: Bay Area
3,981 posts, read 8,970,350 times
Reputation: 4728
Quote:
Originally Posted by Seattlebound1 View Post
Wow. Not sure how this turned into a kid versus not-kid discussion. We are city people. New York, Seattle (in the city, five minutes from downtown), now going to San Francisco. We don't want to live in the suburbs and we fully know how to deal with the kid-unfriendly elements of urban living while also taking advantage of what a city has to offer. That said, I did give the Peninsula a try by visiting and exploring. Sorry, it's not for me. I didn't like it. My husband doesn't like it. It's not for my kids at all. I love how people act like it's never occurred to us to think about what's best for us and our children!
It didn't really turn into a kid vs no kid discussion. You need not be so defensive on the matter (as one parent to another).

I grew up in San Francisco and am quite familiar with city living as are two of my children. I was discussing with another poster how much the City has changed from "family friendly" and socioeconomically diverse to wealthy singles with dogs and very palpable anti-family and kid vibe. Take that as you will. I'm sure you can handle other points of view, non?
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Old 10-11-2011, 02:59 PM
 
Location: Northern California
3,721 posts, read 14,698,676 times
Reputation: 1962
West Portal, San Francisco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nice neighborhood that is very walkable with shops, coffee places, a bookstore, a public library and has 3 light rail lines to go downtown and AT&T Park or west towards the beach, zoo and Stonestown mall. West Portal Station - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I would forget about Twin Peaks - too much wind and fog and not walkable.

Last edited by humboldtrat; 10-11-2011 at 03:09 PM..
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Old 10-11-2011, 03:47 PM
 
32 posts, read 100,086 times
Reputation: 32
Thanks everyone. Definitely narrowed down to Noe Valley, Glen Park, and West Portal.

Should I forget about Potrero? More yuppie than family? And also heard Bernal Heights was family-friendly but I didn't love the location.

I think Noe Valley is probably ideal. It's just so expensive!
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