Best San Francisco neighborhood for straight, single, "NON-TECHIE" male? (Oakland: fit in, real estate)

[SFbaydreaming]

This Summer i'm considering relocating to San Francisco to start my career in Commercial Real Estate field. I am a recent college graduate and will most likely be working in the Financial District. Lately I have been hearing on the news about all crazy influx of techies. Where do all the young people who work in the Financial District live? My budget will most likely be around $1500-2000 a month for a studio. With San Francisco being just as expensive as Manhattan, is it even worth it for a NON-TECHIE recent graduate who is craving a "big city" experience? Also, is San Francisco turning into a new "Man Jose" due to all the techies moving like wildfire?

[bay2bay]

You might be able to find a studio in the Tendernob for that budget.

[04kL4nD]

Oakland

[PaliCali650]

I'd suggest some of the outlying neighborhoods on your budget. Since prices here lately have been rising virtually every month, I can't be sure about your options. I'd guess that you might get into something near Lake Merced in the far southwest corner of the city. The Inner Sunset is also a possibility and is pretty cool with a great neighborhood feel along Irving. I happen to be partial to Pacifica just south of the city. It' s a small beach town feel 5 minutes from BART. I love the beach! Otherwise, don't overlook Oakland too. It has some cool neighborhoods like Temescal, Grandlake, and Rockridge. Good luck!

[Ceece]

"most likely be working" is key. When it's LIKELY you can find a place that doesn't have a miserable commute and make it work. Wherever it is.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by PaliCali650

I'd suggest some of the outlying neighborhoods on your budget. Since prices here lately have been rising virtually every month, I can't be sure about your options. I'd guess that you might get into something near Lake Merced in the far southwest corner of the city. The Inner Sunset is also a possibility and is pretty cool with a great neighborhood feel along Irving. I happen to be partial to Pacifica just south of the city. It' s a small beach town feel 5 minutes from BART. I love the beach! Otherwise, don't overlook Oakland too. It has some cool neighborhoods like Temescal, Grandlake, and Rockridge. Good luck!

These are all options, as is the Richmond district. Take a look on Craigslist for San Francisco. I just checked, and there are lots of affordable options, including 1-br. apts. Here are the neighborhoods I entered:

Ingleside / SFSU / CCSF

inner richmond

inner sunset / UCSF

noe valley

north beach / telegraph hill

richmond / seacliff

The last one will tend to be foggy a lot, just FYI, but it's right near the beach. A very long commute from downtown, however. The Sunset and Richmond districts are among the most affordable, but it's a long way to downtown on the bus. It's actually faster to get to the FiDi from Oakland or Berkeley, across the Bay, and you can get a studio or 1-br. for a lot less than in SF. North Beach and Telegraph Hill are much closer to downtown, though, and have some options in your price range.

[bmw335xi]

If techies bother you this much, don't move here. We have enough ignorant people here as it is. Try Oakland.

[SFbaydreaming]

Thank you all for the replays. Techies don't really bother me, I just have been lately seeing news article after article regarding the rental situation in SF and about all the stories regarding private shuttles and many related social issues. SF is all over the news this month. On CL search I was able to find many studios for $2000 and under. I was able to find few studios close to downtown in Lower nob and Marina. I know about San Francisco's micro climates and I really want to stay on the eastern part of the town due to the weather. I am from the rainy Portland, Oregon and I definitely want to live in a sunnier climate. I haven't seen the sun here in the last two weeks and it been effecting my mood. While Portland is a cool city and I was raised here, but the dreary climate here effects my mood. Plus, Portland is not career oriented city. Job market here is horrible (some minimum wage jobs here really have 3 interviews, and will have have applicants with a college degrees). Many young people do really move here to retire lol (Portlandia). People will actually look down on you here if you wear a suit, or work for the very few big companies we have (Nike, Intel). The very laid back "alternative" culture mixed with dreary climate in not a good combination for me. If I do end up getting priced out of eastern SF, I will look into Oakland/ Berkeley. Also, what about places like Walnut creek, Alameda, Emeryville and San Mateo for a single male in mid-20s??

[krudmonk]

Originally Posted by SFbaydreaming

Also, is San Francisco turning into a new "Man Jose" due to all the techies moving like wildfire?

Already working out lingo to fit in? You'll be perfect for Frisco.

[04kL4nD]

If you want sunshine, you'll find a lot more of it in the East Bay- especially on your budget. Most of the places mentioned in SF tend to get fair amounts of fog.

As far as nightlife, outside of SF your best bet is Oakland. Berkeley is mostly undergrads and isn't much cheaper than SF for you'll get. Alameda is nice, but definitely more family oriented, and aside from a few cool bars, it doesn't have much of a single's scene. Emeryville is poorly laid out (think traffic) and mostly chain restaurants and big box stores, so you'd be driving over to Oakland all the time anyway. San Mateo is nice, but expensive. It has the best nightlife on the peninsula, but that's not saying much. You'll be at the mercy of Cal train or always driving about 30 mins into the city to socialize for the most part. Walnut Creek puts you in a similar situation as San Mateo, only you'll have to deal with BART (stops running around midnight, or you'll have to deal with bridge toll and the tunnel whenever there's a backup. It gets hot in the summer, so that may be a good thing.

Seriously, check out Oakland. Grand Lake, Temescal, Piedmont Ave, Adams Point are all great options, with plenty of sunshine and close proximity to SF.