Bad and Good Parts of your City (San Jose, San Francisco: crime, houses)

[CyanideThistles]

What are the neighborhoods in your town would you say would be the worst place to live, or least desirable, and the most desirable/nicest place? For example, a part of your city you know is going downhill that is just totally avoidable if you want to raise your children or live a happy life in, and a good neighborhood that maintains its great quality of living and has beautiful scenery, etc.

Here in Santa Rosa, I'd say most of the whole western part of the city is going downhill. Having grown up there, there's some positives but all the public schools are bad, many kids there think of joining gangs rather than join a positive movement, it's congested, full of trashy places, and it's an uglier part of town. I like some certain areas of west Rosa but it's just not a place I feel happy being in. The worst neighborhoods are definitely South Park, Apple Valley, Roseland areas. Roseland has a few positive aspects but South Park and Apple Valley areas are just plain crappy.

The best place to live is definitely the northeast area. Rincon Valley (where I live), Skyhawk, and Fountaingrove area. The area is right next to some beautiful hills and very close to the wine country. Very good public schools in comparison, and even the gangstas here are really chill and don't act so hard. Even though I currently live in a lower income part of this valley, it's still really cool and feels like a totally different place than the rest of Santa Rosa. It has character.

I was actually in Richmond yesterday, and even though it's definitely sketchy in the downtown area I was in, most of the people I talked to were nice, and they have a nice skate park and lots of interesting things that Santa Rosa doesn't have. I also love how it's near the coast.

[justinbro2002]

Almost every town has good parts and the "other side of the tracks." The other side of the tracks is usually older neighborhoods with more blue collar residence. I live in Livermore in the old northside district in what is considered the "bad" part of town because it is working class and there are alot of mexican families that live here. Springtown is another district that is considered the "bad" part of town because is it working class and there are mobilehome parks and alot of duplexes in that part of town. The south side of town is considered the "Good" part of town with the vinyards,rolling hills and Ruby Hills a gated community with muli-million dollar mansions.

[California Vagabond]

So many parts of San Francisco are considered good that I'll let myself be a bah humbug type, and talk only about the bad.

People who know San Francisco better than me consistently point an accusing finger at Bayview/Hunter's Point. I have little first hand experience, but I might as well point my finger, too.

The Tenderloin has been a "bad" part of S.F. for about as long as I can remember. The Sunnydale section of Visitacion Valley doesn't have a stellar reputation, either.

I wouldn't want to live on some blocks that the M line traverses between San Jose/Farallones and 19th Avenue. My lone, aging copy of the S.F. realtor's map refers to these areas as Oceanview and Ingleside Heights, but I'll bet Oceanview and Ingleside Heights include many nice blocks.

Some would include Crocker Amazon, the Excelsior and Portola, which are my part of S.F. Well, I declare them to be in error! I like it here and feel safe, although I don't have to leave a car parked on the street here, and am not a vulnerable-looking teenager walking about obliviously with $600 worth of electronic head wear in plain view. Crocker Amazon, Excelsior and Portola sin in being relatively dull, not in being dangerous. At least in my experience.

[john3232]

I like the Sunset, West Portal and the Richmond districts.

Bayview/Hunter's Point and parts of the Misson forget it.

[CyanideThistles]

Originally Posted by California Vagabond

The Tenderloin has been a "bad" part of S.F. for about as long as I can remember. The Sunnydale section of Visitacion Valley doesn't have a stellar reputation, either.

I've been to Tenderloin once and by accident. It was definitely sketchy. Just lots of crazy people hanging about looking like they're just too heroin-ed out to make sense of anything, and like they're about to stab you or something. Definitely crazy, but it had a little bit of character. There's some nice architecture there and it's known for its wide supply of Vietnamese restaurants. The TL is not too far from downtown it seems.

And yeah HP seems scary, but I wonder if there's any reason to visit it. I guess I'm not horribly scared to visit ghettos in daytime. I'm sure there's a good restaurant or two in the vicinity of HP or Sunnydale projects, or just anything to see there. All I know is that Candlestick Park is next to Hunters Point.

[john3232]

Originally Posted by CyanideThistles

....yeah HP seems scary, but I wonder if there's any reason to visit it. I guess I'm not horribly scared to visit ghettos in daytime.

It can be dangerous even during the day. Maybe 15 years ago I was almost carjacked in HP while stopped at a red light.

Two kids tried jumping in the car. One in the front and the other in the back but I hit the gas when they opened the door and they stumbled out.

Scared the hell out of me!!!!!

[rajeevseoexpert]

i hate congress and i like my friend cultural...

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by CyanideThistles

I've been to Tenderloin once and by accident. It was definitely sketchy. Just lots of crazy people hanging about looking like they're just too heroin-ed out to make sense of anything, and like they're about to stab you or something. Definitely crazy, but it had a little bit of character. There's some nice architecture there and it's known for its wide supply of Vietnamese restaurants. The TL is not too far from downtown it seems.

And yeah HP seems scary, but I wonder if there's any reason to visit it. I guess I'm not horribly scared to visit ghettos in daytime. I'm sure there's a good restaurant or two in the vicinity of HP or Sunnydale projects, or just anything to see there. All I know is that Candlestick Park is next to Hunters Point.

Sunnydale is on the SE end of John McLaren Park which is definitely worth seeing... I personally prefer it to GGP as far as feeling like you're not in the city anymore despite being surrounded by it. Other than the park there's Leland Avenue up the street which while very sparse is Vis Valley's main commercial strip.

Hunters Point literally has nothing in it other than houses, warehouses and projects... all the stuff to see and do is in Bayview. 3rd Street has some good places to eat and you get some beautiful views of the area on and above Newhall Street. The waterfront around Candlestick Park is pretty nice other than the part that the Double Rock projects face which is very dirty and murky. IMO the only thing truly worth seeing in HP is the EcoCenter at Heron Head's Park which is nice and pretty unique... it's completely off the SF power grid and is powered exclusively by solar energy.

[CyanideThistles]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

Sunnydale is on the SE end of John McLaren Park which is definitely worth seeing... I personally prefer it to GGP as far as feeling like you're not in the city anymore despite being surrounded by it. Other than the park there's Leland Avenue up the street which while very sparse is Vis Valley's main commercial strip.

Hunters Point literally has nothing in it other than houses, warehouses and projects... all the stuff to see and do is in Bayview. 3rd Street has some good places to eat and you get some beautiful views of the area on and above Newhall Street. The waterfront around Candlestick Park is pretty nice other than the part that the Double Rock projects face which is very dirty and murky. IMO the only thing truly worth seeing in HP is the EcoCenter at Heron Head's Park which is nice and pretty unique... it's completely off the SF power grid and is powered exclusively by solar energy.

Hopefully I'll get to see that next time I'm there! How long would a bus ride be from downtown to Bayview and Sunnydale? I always see buses in downtown SF that say they're going to Sunnydale. I honestly have kind of interest in ghetto type places, even if they're depressing to be in, some of them are really interesting and I learn a lot from them, just like when I was venturing out in Richmond.

I also wonder if I can find any Polynesian or Filipino restaurants in the Bayview/Hunters Point area... I guess there's at least one or two from what I've heard, and considering there's a community of Polynesian and Filipinos in this part of the city.

[LunaticVillage]

I wouldn't want to live on some blocks that the M line traverses between San Jose/Farallones and 19th Avenue. My lone, aging copy of the S.F. realtor's map refers to these areas as Oceanview and Ingleside Heights, but I'll bet Oceanview and Ingleside Heights include many nice blocks.

The OMI does have some nice blocks and has some really beautiful housing stock. However, much of the neighborhood is still considered to be the hood even though crime has decreased significantly in the neighborhood in the past ten years as policing tactics have improved and recent Asian immigrants have become the majority in the historically majority Black SF enclave. But don't let people who live in other SF neighborhoods fool you that the OMI aka "Lakeview" is now officially a "nice" place because the area still has its share of armed robberies, regular gunfire and shootings tied to drug/gang activity among local youth. But you would have to live there to know that. Areas like Hunters Point, Sunnydale, the Mission, Fillmore and the Tenderloin always gain all the infamy on internet forums, but trust me, Lakeview can be just as scary even today, especially in the southern half of the neighborhood over the hill from Thrift Street along the Broad-Randolph corridor at night at times. You can check the daily crime reports for the OMI here. As you can see, Lakeview isn't exactly Pacific Heights just yet:

Ocean View police calls | EveryBlock San Francisco