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I'm delighted to find that I'm suddenly moving to SF in 2-wks rather than Denver. To initially get me to the city, I am renting a flat sight unseen on a month-to-month basis. The rent is higher than I'd like, but this method if far less expensive than staying in a hotel until I find a rental & my job opportunity is too good to pass up, so I must move quickly. Once there, I'll look about to determine where my job will take me (I'll initially, thankfully, be working out of my home) & in which area I'd feel most comfortable.
I was given the info on these flats through work, however, no one there lives in the areas so I was hoping someone could give me a head's up on location. One flat is within walking distance of the Bart Civic Cntr Station. I read that one forum member (MayorH... sorry, I don't recall the rest) said to steer clear of 6th & Market Sts, but was wondering if this included the area up through the Civic Cntr Bart, as well? On the map I have, the CC Bart & 6th St. look rather close.
The other flat is in the Van Ness corridor near/in Japantown (it looks as if from the map). Since that rental is $200/mo more, I'm assuming the area is better, although it could simply be a nicer flat.
I will be calling the landlords directly next week, but since they wish to rent I thought their opinions may be a bit skewed. By the way, parking isn't a concern as of yet. I won't be purchasing a car 'til I arrive & only if I need one for work.
My main concerns would be crime/safety first, then walking proximity to as many ammenities as possible... market (Whole Foods type store would be ideal, but I'll take whatever I can find), upscale bar, cafe/bakery (Starbucks is fine), range of restaurants from take-out to mid-range to upscale & movie theaters and/or the theatre... basically, I don't want to be in an area which closes down once workers go home or that is too dangerous to walk alone in the evening from public transport or errands. If either is, no worries, I'll still take one of the rentals as this is the fastest way to get me into the city & as the landlords are doing my workplace a favor from what I understand, in allowing me to rent month-to-month since I'm unfamiliar with SF.
I would definitely go with the Japantown area. There are lots of restaurants in that area tonnes of other things in short walking distance. I think that area is average in terms of safety.
I would avoid the civic center area altogether because its one of the nastiest and most dangerous parts of the city.
I read that one forum member (MayorH... sorry, I don't recall the rest) said to steer clear of 6th & Market Sts, but was wondering if this included the area up through the Civic Cntr Bart, as well? On the map I have, the CC Bart & 6th St. look rather close.
CC Bart is between 7th and 8th
My main concerns would be crime/safety first, then walking proximity to as many ammenities as possible... market (Whole Foods type store would be ideal, but I'll take whatever I can find), upscale bar, cafe/bakery (Starbucks is fine), range of restaurants from take-out to mid-range to upscale & movie theaters and/or the theatre... basically, I don't want to be in an area which closes down once workers go home or that is too dangerous to walk alone in the evening from public transport or errands.
Whole Foods,restaurants & movies is a good description of the Van Ness corridor. Whole Foods is at Franklin and California which is about 6 blocks from Geary/Van Ness. There are tons of various restaurants on Polk St. one block east of Van Ness. There is a big AMC theater on Van Ness and also a Ruth & Chris Steak house at Van Ness and California. Fields bookstore is on Polk St. near Pine. This is a great metaphysical bookstore with a substantial collection of hard to find books. If you walk further up on Polk, north of Broadway, you get to the very nice Russian Hill area. I go to this area to shop at the best newstand in the city. Van Ness has tons of traffic since it is one of the main driving routes between the Bay bridge to the Golden Gate bridge so it won't be a really quiet area.
Market street is blighted between 6th and Van Ness. The only restaurant I would go to in this area is the vegetarian Ananda restaurant. This area is very convenient to the Muni light rail and Bart trains so it is easy to get around without a car. Also this area is two blocks from 4th and Market which is Powell station,the heart of downtown SF.
Here a link to a blog that describes this area as "one of the worst disaster areas in SF. Mid-Market from 5th to 8th".
If you gave us the cross streets we would know better where you are talking about.
The area around Civic Center isn't nearly as bad as the Tenderloin (which is basically north of Market and City Hall) but it's still kind of grubby and is sort of the southern portion of the Tenderloin. I live at Fell and Van Ness and I walk in the Civic Center area on Market all the time, it's not that bad but it definitely doesn't feel 100% safe. The area between around 8th and 5th streets on Market is really grubby and especially around 6th street there is a lot of drug and crime activity. If you are walking through quickly during the day it will be ok but you would not want to live anywhere near there and have to be going in and out at night.
The place near Japantown by Van Ness should be better since it's basically Pacific Heights which is a safe and fairly ritzy area, though if it's east of Van Ness it could be a bit sketchy.
Andy... thank you very much for such a quick reply & your input. I'm sure I'll better see for myself which areas to avoid once there. I won't be working much for the 1st 2-wks after I arrive, which fortunately will give me plenty of time to become familiar with public transit, finding a good coffee spot, sushi place & the better parts of town to explore.
Google Earth & apt complex bird's eye views don't really show what I would like to see... they somehow seem to have encountered a bit of airbrushing. haha Sounds like the whole area where these 2 flats are located is best to avoid for just now, unless I've no choice.
In fact, these 2 rentals are so high, after comparing to rental sites, I could afford to live in Pacific Heights or Nob Hill for the same costs. I decided I won't be taking either of these rentals & will do just that... search on my own in better neighborhoods. I still have a couple of weeks before I relocate... I can even wait 'til 1 August, if necessary.
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Originally Posted by capoeira
Whole Foods,restaurants & movies is a good description of the Van Ness corridor. Whole Foods is at Franklin and California which is about 6 blocks from Geary/Van Ness. There are tons of various restaurants on Polk St. one block east of Van Ness. There is a big AMC theater on Van Ness and also a Ruth & Chris Steak house at Van Ness and California. Fields bookstore is on Polk St. near Pine. This is a great metaphysical bookstore with a substantial collection of hard to find books. If you walk further up on Polk, north of Broadway, you get to the very nice Russian Hill area. I go to this area to shop at the best newstand in the city. Van Ness has tons of traffic since it is one of the main driving routes between the Bay bridge to the Golden Gate bridge so it won't be a really quiet area.
Capo... This is really helpful info, thank you & I do appreciate a local's opinion. It sounds like there are some good spots around (restaurants, markets, etc), but not where these flats are located... seems I need to move further west and/or north of the city. I spent more than a few hours this weekend sifting through anything which would give me an idea of layout... Youtube videos, any forum or personal website posting pics of SF, even SF specific blogs, hoping for pics or info on neighborhoods.
Some pics don't reflect the real story & I found a few of the realtor or rental company videos to be quite sadly comical with manipulation & downright deceit, especially when viewing videos for larger US cities in which I've lived & am very familiar... Boston & Atlanta. Cameras were placed on only the poshest streets. Why is it they always snap the 1 quaint cobblestone lane in Beacon Hill, Boston near John Kerry's house which is postcard perfect, for example? People who've never been think it reflects the entire city.
Case in point, I once read on this site a comment from a man who'd never been to Boston or London... he responded to a woman looking for a US city with European flavor that he felt Boston was just like London (where I spent my youth) based on pics & online research. It took me 15-min to stop laughing. Aside from frequent overcast skies... yeah, that's it.
Commentary about the most dangerous areas of a few cities were touted as being desirable due to cultural richness & affordable rents. No mention made that if you live in one of these areas, as I did, at dusk you run for your bloody life from the subway station... careful not to bump into the dealers, meth addicts & yobs & be mindful of dodging bullets on the corner in front of the liquor store on weekend evenings.
At the rent they're charging to live near an area which doesn't sound as if it's the safest, I can afford some of the flats in posher areas.
In fact, I found several 1-2 bed flats for slightly over $1K & many amenities. They're reported to be in Sausalito, which is gorgeous & 2 of the flats actually look quite nice. But, when I zoom in on location, it appears it's actually Marin City, which I've read here isn't the most desirable of places. The descriptions read well... all say they're walking distance to public transit & Sausalito & "minutes to SF"... I suppose if it takes 1-hr, that is 60-min from SF, so it's not a downright fabrication, but it can be challenging to know which info to take with a grain of salt.
The place near Japantown by Van Ness should be better since it's basically Pacific Heights which is a safe and fairly ritzy area, though if it's east of Van Ness it could be a bit sketchy.
Thank you Mayor... I think I'm going to avoid these 2 flats for now. When I looked at the map which work provided, it didn't cue me into cross streets, but I did find both homes on mapquest, which I compared to complexes on move.com to pinpoint locale & both are east of Van Ness (Market & 6th Sts... & O'Farrell & 7th Sts.) & seem like only a good option if I've nothing else to choose.
Perhaps finding a rental on move.com in Pacific Hts or Nob Hill will be my best bet. They're very pricey, but once I arrive I can begin looking in other areas for a more moderately priced flat... unless someone feels the Sausalito-ish flats above (Marin City) would be worth a look. Either way, a month-to-month option is my best bet, just to get me there.
What is your budget anyway? In SF a 1 bedroom apartment (er, flat) goes for around $1400 and up depending on the area. You'd be lucky to find a studio apartment for less than $1100-1200 but it can be done, $900 ones in decent neighborhoods can be found in SF. I don't know about Marin but it tends to be expensive. For Marin it depends on where you work, you said that you'd be working from home at first which would be easy. But if you are working in downtown SF then it could be problematic depending on the commute. If you had a car I guess you could drive to a ferry and take it to SF, if you drove from Marin to downtown SF then parking is very expensive in downtown SF. If you work anywhere but downtown SF then Marin could work though but Marin is kind of out of the way and you have to cross bridges to get to the East Bay or SF which adds a bit to the commute time.
I would not look anywhere in SF that is east of Van Ness because it will be the Tenderloin. North of a certain area you will get into Nob Hill which is a good area but I don't really know which street is the boundary, maybe someone here knows.
If I were you I would try to get a studio for about $1000-1200, and try to get your work to help you get the place. See if your work can find you any other places that are not in the Tenderloin. If they suggest other places and you need advice about the areas post it here and we can decide if it's a good location or not.
I did find both homes on mapquest, which I compared to complexes on move.com to pinpoint locale & both are east of Van Ness (Market & 6th Sts... & O'Farrell & 7th Sts.) & seem like only a good option if I've nothing else to choose.
Perhaps finding a rental on move.com in Pacific Hts or Nob Hill will be my best bet. They're very pricey, but once I arrive I can begin looking in other areas for a more moderately priced flat... unless someone feels the Sausalito-ish flats above (Marin City) would be worth a look. Either way, a month-to-month option is my best bet, just to get me there.
There is no 7th & O'Farrell,but if its O'Farrell & Leavenworth this is borderline Tenderloin. In this area north of Geary is better. Without a car I would avoid the Marin County location.
For more views of SF look at the mapjack.com site.
None initially, because it would be short term. If I don't like the area, I find a comparable rental for less or it's not close to where I'd like to be (once I figure out where I need to be & I won't 'til I'm there for awhile), I'll stay as long as I need to find another rental.
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In SF a 1 bedroom apartment (er, flat) goes for around $1400 and up depending on the area. You'd be lucky to find a studio apartment for less than $1100-1200 but it can be done, $900 ones in decent neighborhoods can be found in SF. I don't know about Marin but it tends to be expensive.
The Marin rentals were $800+ cheaper than the 2 SF rentals I mentioned. If I could get SF rentals for what you state above, that would be great. I will look for similar prices once I've arrived. Initially, I'm looking for short term under $2K.
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I would not look anywhere in SF that is east of Van Ness because it will be the Tenderloin. North of a certain area you will get into Nob Hill which is a good area...
Right, thank you. I've picked up a lot of info by pouring through old forum posts. If I didn't say west, I meant to... it sounds like anything east of the Civic Center isn't a good deal.
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If I were you I would try to get a studio for about $1000-1200, and try to get your work to help you get the place. See if your work can find you any other places that are not in the Tenderloin. If they suggest other places and you need advice about the areas post it here and we can decide if it's a good location or not.
It's not possible for work to help further. They don't offer these services. This was a one off flukey thing. But, I will find online places on my own (move.com, apartments.com, etc) & enquire further, thank you. From long distance, I'll avoid the Craigslist rentals for now & just go with large established apartment complexes. Virtually anything is manageable short term.
Thanks again.
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