Best Neighborhood to Rent for Young "Senior" Artistic Single Woman W/Dog (San Francisco: apartment, home)

[imcurious]

I am thinking of moving to San Francisco in the future (not the near future) and want to start the research.

I am a "young" senior - artistic, Bohemian, young-at-heart.

I want a safe but fun neighborhood . . .nothing depressing - Feng Shui is important to me . . . I had to take to my bed for a day after visiting The Haight once because of all the bad drug vibes.

I love China Town - Hayes Valley is ok - not enough "action" there to suit my taste, though. The Sunset is too suburban in feel (and too family oriented) for me - Not sure about North Beach and am not familiar with any other neighborhoods.

Oh, and I have a SEVERE hill phobia (as far as driving is concerned) so I can't live in a neighborhood that has steep hills because I will freak out when going up or down and freeze like a deer in headlights!

And I don't want to live near any freeways . . .

The budget will probably been a five on a scale of 1, the most expensive and 10, ghetto . . .

Is there any hope of finding a cool, safe, fun neighborhood close to a park so my little beast can have fun too?

[mayorhaggar]

Landlords in SF are extremely anti-pet, it's almost impossible just to get a place that would accept a cat. A dog will get you banned from pretty much any apartment. And if the Haight makes you "take to bed" I don't think you'd like living in SF, it is a very crowded, dirty, smelly city with a ton of sketchy people and it can be overwhelming. You haven't given us your actual budget but if you can't hack $2000 for a 1br you'll probably be priced out of SF, even without a dog. Honestly I'd look at Berkeley, it's more laid back than SF, cheaper, flatter, but still very walkable.

[humboldtrat]

+1

I agree with the above. Landlords can be picky and they are anti pet. You might have to pay extra if you want off-street (garage) parking.

But if you insist on San Francisco, check out Glen Park which has a light rail and BART station for easy access downtown. The commercial area is reasonably flat but the surrounding area is hilly. Downside is there is a freeway nearby but it's easy access for getting out of town.

Bring plenty of money! http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gle..._San_Francisco

[imcurious]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

+1

I agree with the above. Landlords can be picky and they are anti pet. You might have to pay extra if you want off-street (garage) parking.

But if you insist on San Francisco, check out Glen Park which has a light rail and BART station for easy access downtown. The commercial area is reasonably flat but the surrounding area is hilly. Downside is there is a freeway nearby but it's easy access for getting out of town.

Bring plenty of money! www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Park,_San_Francisco

Never heard of Glen Park, thank you! It sounds very cool.

[imcurious]

Originally Posted by mayorhaggar

Landlords in SF are extremely anti-pet, it's almost impossible just to get a place that would accept a cat. A dog will get you banned from pretty much any apartment. And if the Haight makes you "take to bed" I don't think you'd like living in SF, it is a very crowded, dirty, smelly city with a ton of sketchy people and it can be overwhelming. You haven't given us your actual budget but if you can't hack $2000 for a 1br you'll probably be priced out of SF, even without a dog. Honestly I'd look at Berkeley, it's more laid back than SF, cheaper, flatter, but still very walkable.

I am not a fan of Berkeley - I don't like the "light."

I am very picky.

I worked in the City for awhile (when I say "worked in the City," I was a marketing rep, so only came into the Financial District and then went home . . .

My dad grew up in North Beach. Speaking of North Beach, I thought, stupidly, I would have dinner there last weekend and drove around for hours looking for parking on the street (don't ask why I didn't look for a garage . . .I kept thinking I would find a parking space any second . . .AND I did get stuck on a downhill and had to make an illegal U-ie (how do you spell U-ie?) or die of fright . . .

I have two resources that are kind of neat . . .one is "City Walks San Francisco" individual cards with neighborhood walks - the other one is a book called "Walking San Francisco."

I had started researching particular neighborhoods because I wanted to get to know the City better . . .it was fun. I need to do more.

I like the energy of the City, yet I am mostly introverted and do like quiet quite a bit . . .I like to be able to go out to eat and go to bookstores, walk to a park, and feel like part of a community (don't know if that is possible) . . .I love the weather in SF - that will be no problem - not a fan of warm weather at all.

I like to explore and I love variety, so I figure it will keep me amused for awhile . . .

Tell me more, please!

[jaypee]

What is your budget?

[imcurious]

Originally Posted by jaypee

What is your budget?

This fantasy is in the future, so I'm not exactly sure, but I would guess in the $2000-$2500 range.

[humboldtrat]

Originally Posted by imcurious

Never heard of Glen Park, thank you! It sounds very cool.

Another neighborhood I like is West Portal, west of Twin Peaks. The area west of West Portal is all flat out to the ocean. Four light rail lines stop there and it's easy to go downtown or out to the beach, zoo or Stonestown mall. Not near any freeway.

West Portal, San Francisco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[imcurious]

Originally Posted by humboldtrat

Another neighborhood I like is West Portal, west of Twin Peaks. The area west of West Portal is all flat out to the ocean. Four light rail lines stop there and it's easy to go downtown or out to the beach, zoo or Stonestown mall. Not near any freeway.

West Portal, San Francisco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thank you. You are a fountain of info . . .the description reads almost the same as Glen Park. Gonna check them both out!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Portland.