Pacific Heights cheaper than North Beach/Telegraph Hill? (Marina, Fillmore: middle-class, real estate)

[luau]

I was looking at apartments/studios on craigslist and it looks like pacific heights is cheaper than North Beach/Telegraph hill?! I thought Pacific Heights was supposed to be the priciest and ritziest place in SF? How is the availability in Pacific Heights versus North Beach/Telegraph Hill? I am a single male in my mid to late twenties, without pets, is that going to help or hurt my chances, or does it even matter as long as I fit the salary requirements and have decent credit?

[mayorhaggar]

Originally Posted by luau

I was looking at apartments/studios on craigslist and it looks like pacific heights is cheaper than North Beach/Telegraph hill?! I thought Pacific Heights was supposed to be the priciest and ritziest place in SF? How is the availability in Pacific Heights versus North Beach/Telegraph Hill?

My guess is that you're seeing listings that aren't in the ritzy parts of Pacific Heights, but are in places like around Van Ness or in Lower Pacific Heights or in the outer Western Addition. Landlords in SF like to lie about the neighborhood an apartment is, like you'll see a lot of places listed as "downtown" or "Union Square" that are in the armpit of the Tenderloin.

North Beach definitely can be expensive, it's close to downtown so a lot of high-priced lawyers and so on live there. And Telegraph Hill is covered with multi-million dollar houses, so rent there is really going to be high.

I am a single male in my mid to late twenties, without pets, is that going to help or hurt my chances, or does it even matter as long as I fit the salary requirements and have decent credit?

All they care about is whether you have a job and good credit and can afford the rent. Any pets will disqualify you from most apartments in SF so you're good there. It's still very competitive to get a place though, you just have to keep going to viewings and applying for places.

[legal_eagle]

I think there's a greater supply of apartments in Pac Heights, which would translate to a lower rent.

[JL]

I noticed on my vacation there last week that it was very quiet around Union St/Montgomery...near Coit Tower....don't know how much the homes cost, but it was really nice. Residents must feel relieved about it not being so noisy with tourists. It must also be a nightmare for people who live on the crookedest street(Lombard). There were hundreds of tourists around that area for hours.

[Hard8]

Pac Heights is one of the geographically larger neighborhoods of the city. You might see places advertised as "Pac Heights" that range anywhere as southeast as say, Franklin & Bush all the way as northwest as say, Lyon & Green. You could have endless arguments about what actually qualifies as "Pac Heights" and what is instead The Fillmore, Cow Hollow, Laurel Heights, Polk Gulch, etc...but regardless, fact is that because Pac Heights is known as a desirable neighborhood, real estate agents and landlords will always try to classify a place as "Pac Heights" even if its a huge stretch.

There's actually a wide range of housing options in Pac Heights - the street I live on in "Lower" Pac Heights looks solidly middle-class (by SF standards)...but if you go a few blocks up the hill (north), you get into ridiculous multi-million dollar mansions. Generally (and this is a very rough rule of thumb), it gets less expensive the further west you go, as you get gradually further from downtown (and thus longer commute for most office-workers), and slightly cooler/foggier as you get closer to the beach.

I used to live in North Beach, and I do miss it - I think North Beach is a livelier neighborhood, more walkable, easier access to downtown, whole lot of character...but I really am starting to enjoy Pac Heights, a lot. You get much less of the bum/crazy person factor, its much cleaner, quieter, and safer than North Beach, you don't get the tour buses and segway tours rolling through non-stop in the summertime like you do in NB, the streets and houses are beautiful and perfect for strolling on a nice day, you see a whole lot more families....And you can still get to the Presidio and the waterfront relatively easily, its still relatively "central" to other parts of SF, plenty of nice food and drink options on Fillmore & Divisadero streets.

If you are just moving here though, into the bar scene, looking to make friends, I'd suggest North Beach. But Pac Heights wouldn't be bad either - just a bit sleepier. I had my fun in North Beach and now anytime I want that again I just take a quick bus ride over and cab it home at the end of the night.

[luau]

Originally Posted by Hard8

Pac Heights is one of the geographically larger neighborhoods of the city. You might see places advertised as "Pac Heights" that range anywhere as southeast as say, Franklin & Bush all the way as northwest as say, Lyon & Green. You could have endless arguments about what actually qualifies as "Pac Heights" and what is instead The Fillmore, Cow Hollow, Laurel Heights, Polk Gulch, etc...but regardless, fact is that because Pac Heights is known as a desirable neighborhood, real estate agents and landlords will always try to classify a place as "Pac Heights" even if its a huge stretch.

There's actually a wide range of housing options in Pac Heights - the street I live on in "Lower" Pac Heights looks solidly middle-class (by SF standards)...but if you go a few blocks up the hill (north), you get into ridiculous multi-million dollar mansions. Generally (and this is a very rough rule of thumb), it gets less expensive the further west you go, as you get gradually further from downtown (and thus longer commute for most office-workers), and slightly cooler/foggier as you get closer to the beach.

I used to live in North Beach, and I do miss it - I think North Beach is a livelier neighborhood, more walkable, easier access to downtown, whole lot of character...but I really am starting to enjoy Pac Heights, a lot. You get much less of the bum/crazy person factor, its much cleaner, quieter, and safer than North Beach, you don't get the tour buses and segway tours rolling through non-stop in the summertime like you do in NB, the streets and houses are beautiful and perfect for strolling on a nice day, you see a whole lot more families....And you can still get to the Presidio and the waterfront relatively easily, its still relatively "central" to other parts of SF, plenty of nice food and drink options on Fillmore & Divisadero streets.

If you are just moving here though, into the bar scene, looking to make friends, I'd suggest North Beach. But Pac Heights wouldn't be bad either - just a bit sleepier. I had my fun in North Beach and now anytime I want that again I just take a quick bus ride over and cab it home at the end of the night.

Thanks for you insight. I'm surprised to hear that North Beach has more young people considering it's more expensive.

I know someone who lives in Pac Heights and I've walked through that area a bit. I never saw any mansions though, not until I got to the Marina area where the wealthy live.

[Hard8]

Originally Posted by luau

Thanks for you insight. I'm surprised to hear that North Beach has more young people considering it's more expensive.

I know someone who lives in Pac Heights and I've walked through that area a bit. I never saw any mansions though, not until I got to the Marina area where the wealthy live.

For any 20-something that lives in North Beach, I'd say there's about a 95% chance they live with roommates. I personally know about 20-30 people that live in the neighborhood, and only one of them lives alone - and she's been in her rent-controlled apartment for several years now.

To see the Pac Heights mansions, take a stroll down Broadway between Divisadero and Lyon. They are hard to miss.