Allergies in SF? (San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento: houses, living in, move to)

[gandalf1981]

Hi! My family may move to the SF area. We moved to Dallas, TX from the East Coast in Florida a year ago and have suffered almost on a weekly basis from allergies. My two daughters and I are constantly sick here. My husband has an opportunity to relocate to SF and we are wondering what allergies are like there. I am severely allergic to Cedar and Alder pollen.

What are the allergies like in SF (the city)? What about Pacifica? We were thinking if we lived on the coast it would alleviate the problem? Thoughts?

Your input is much appreciated. Thanks!!!

[Natural510]

I'm allergic to pollen also, but have never had a problem while in the Bay Area, unlike the Midwest. I'm sure the closer you are to the coast, the better.

[gone down south]

My allergies are much better here than they were anywhere on the East Coast.
I think the milder climate means that there isn't such an intense, concentrated pollen season here.
There does seem to be a fair amount of mold, due to the humidity of being on the coast and the age of the housing stock, but that hasn't bothered me much.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

When the pollen is cranking here (e.g. during the rainy season and for the 3 months after it - that adds up to 8 - 9 months out of the year) it could be bad depending on particular sensitivities.

[mayorhaggar]

Depends on what you're allergic to. I've never really had any seasonal allergies but when I moved to Santa Cruz after living in Chicago, the spring pollen there would make my eyes feel like there was sand in them. Claritin helped but it was annoying. It totally went away when I later moved to San Francisco or Oakland though.

[beb0p]

I had bad allergies when I lived in Sacramento, aka the allergy capital of North Cal. I have allergy during the summer in parts of the East Bay around Walnut Creek. I have an uncle who, whenever he couldn't tolerate the allergy in Sac, would drive from Sacramento to the San Francisco bay to allow his body to "clear" before returning home.

I've never had any allergy in San Francisco. I mean Zero. Nil. Like Natural510 said, my experience is that the closer to the coast the better. So Pacifica is probably is a good place as well, though I've not lived there.

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[uptown_urbanist]

I'm not sure exactly what my triggers are as far as allergies, but for what it's worth, I had NO problems with while living in San Francisco. Quite a nice change from my experiences in the Midwest and on the East Coast! We lived on the west side of the city.

[jeff55]

Not necessarily true. We live next to Pacifica, almost on the coast and my wife still suffers from seasonal allergies. It's always green here and who knows exactly what's causing the allergy? In addition, the air around Pacifica and Daly City is damp, houses are cold, so you use the heater. Problem is that forced air heating may bring (and brings) in a lot of additional irritants.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by beb0p

the closer to the coast the better

Not so if one goes south to the Central Coast region. Pollens can be hellish in the spring and after rain down there. Santa Cruz, as has been mentioned, can exhibit some of this as well.

[Hemlock140]

Growing up in the Bay Area (born in SF) some in our family had many allergy issues, the Oleanders blooming along the freeway, at times the smog, the late spring grasses going to seed, cedar and cypress, and the worst was the yellow pollen from the acacias. Few places are allergy-free,
but in CA I'd suggest San Diego, or the mountains, and farther north probably Portland OR and even Seattle for less allergy issues.