+1 for the mission. moved to a studio here 2 months ago (from Atlanta) and love the area. Amazing restaurants everywhere. tons of great coffee shops to work out of. Mission Beach Cafe, Four Barrel Coffee, Ritual Coffee Roasters. Bi-Rite market has amazing sandwiches (and the creamery has great ice cream). Delfina Pizzeria is fantastic. Frjtz has great fries (get the thai chili ketchup!). Limon has some nice bbq chicken appetizers and they know how to make a capirinha. Luna Park has holy-shit-amazing warm goat cheese fondue (and some great smores). Random mediterranean place on 16th & mission does great shwarma for a few bucks. A short walk up to hayes valley has Patxi's pizza, La Boulange and Samovar Tea Lounge, where you'll often find Kevin Rose.
However -
I'm in a good part of the mission (near dolores) and every other day there is new graffiti on my building, trash everywhere on the streets and broken glass here and there.
Slight alternative to the Mission and SOMA are the Potrero Hill/Dogpatch neighborhoods in SF. Technically Dogpatch is a subset of Potrero that runs along third street from about 16th to 23rd, on the East side of 280.
Still relatively unknown (Zynga and Digg have figured it out though) more residential and less crime - if you stay on the North side of Potrero Hill (the South side is mostly residential anyway), Dogpatch can be a bit more sketchy. Weather tends to be gorgeous and its actually got fairly easy street parking in most areas.(almost unheard of in SF), and it has a caltrain stop right in the middle of the area.
For those looking for something a little less urban and more affordable then the Mission and SOMA this area is quite a gem.
I'm planning on moving to SF(probably Mission) to work on my startup in about a month or so. It would be great to connect with others doing something similar, send me an email ilya -at- unviral.com .
Palo Alto, if you can pick the right property, also has the benefit of metro fiber. If you can find a house or office on the right street (Waverly, a few others; ask at City Hall, the fiber utility guy is awesome), you can pay about $2-3k to get linked in, and then have your own fiber for $600/mo from home/office to PAIX. From there, it's pretty easy to get a wave crossconnect to one of the big datacenters in SF or the Peninsula.
For me, I'm willing to pay the extra $1k/mo to rent a house in Palo Alto vs. Mountain View or Menlo Park specifically so I can do this. Having fiber directly to your colo, when you're working on big data, moving virtual machines, etc., is amazing. If you live with cofounders and use it as an office, or live with 3-4 other people and split the cost, it really isn't that bad.
Otherwise, I look for Web Pass connected buildings up in SF, or buildings that have IP Networks fiber over PG&E. Those are mainly in SoMA, although some in the east bay around Emeryville/Berkeley/Oakland.
I know 365 Forest (condo building) would have been about $3k to add, since the fiber was in the basement.
There is a utilities guy at city hall who has maps, but I don't have the current ones (I last checked in 2008).
When I move back to SFBA next year, I am either getting a house with fiber in PA, or a condo with IP Networks fiber up in 8th/Folsom area of SoMA. 10GE for the win
It would be an interesting niche to work with landlords to wire up their properties, set up some colo space, and rent out house + cage/racks + fiber on a quarterly basis to startup teams. I'd much prefer a (really nice) house, shared with team, to a bunch of crappy apartments, a daily commute, and an office-building office. Although at that point, fixed wireless becomes an option too..
hm. I wonder if this is public data, and how many people would sue me if I went through the effort to dig it up and publish it? many price quotes in the co-location industry are protected by NDA... I wonder if fiber locations are too?
wow... this comment is hit 4 on my google search for "palo alto metro fiber map" and the rest seem to be fairly useless. I'll spend some time poking around and maybe contact the city after I sleep.
The funny thing here is that I'm Garry's cofounder, and I don't live in any of the neighborhoods he recommends. Maybe he's trying to tell me to move :)
When Garry and I moved to SF to start Posterous, we moved to SOMA since apartments are abundant and it's startup central. But I found little value in being near other companies. What I did find was a lack of food and culture.
Posterous first got offices in North Beach. I really LOVE North Beach. There's amazing food and it's a beautiful part of town. Plus Jam Legend is there.
+1 for the Mission. We love our new offices. Much cheaper than anywhere else in the city, most people can walk to bike to work, tons of great food, near Bart. We couldn't ask for much more.
However, one point of disagreement with Garry's map: you can't simply write off everything north of Market. Sometimes it seems like people south of market (SOMA and Mission) don't cross north as much as they should. There's a lot of city up there!
San Francisco is one of the greatest cities in the world. If you decide to base your company here, don't optimize to be close to Twitter. Optimize to be in a vibrant neighborhood with great food and great culture.
Believe me, even north of market, you will have no problem immersing yourself in startup culture and surrounding yourself with more tech entrepreneurs than you can handle.
I have to agree with you on this. I've been in SF for a decade, and SOMA for the past year and a half. SOMA is pretty abysmal, and it's not really San Francisco. It's sort of what you would expect if Palo Alto regurgitated all over San Francisco. My roommate & I are currently on the hunt for an apartment in Nob Hill or North Beach.
Having lived in London, I personally find San Francisco to have a lot of the downsides of being a "big city", without actually being a big city and so not having enough of the upsides (just to take one example, MUNI/BART is a joke compared to London's tube system).
I love Palo Alto and Mountain View though, and would live in either town again in a heartbeat.
Exactly. I get blank stares when I make this point around here but S.F. is big enough to be expensive, dirty, and sometimes dangerous but there's very little literary, musical, or otherwise artistic culture here and people just don't seem to be very intellectually curious outside of tech. If you're not into running around naked and high in the desert you'll have a hard time finding a social circle. Mass transit here is terrible and so is traffic and parking.
I thought like you once. SF was driving me insane.
But then I moved back to NYC from San Francisco and realized that art, music and literature is dying out everywhere in the USA. In New York, there's a lot more stuff like ping-pong clubs and designer boutiques and bike paths... but there certainly aren't as many interesting art, literary or music things happening as there were in the 1990s.
San Francisco was never really an artistic or intellectual center, it's always just been kind of a weird place.
I might be the only person on this forum who moved to SF to go skateboarding, rather than start a tech startup.
If you move to SF hoping it will be a cultural mecca you will be disappointed. But if you go with the flow, you might find something you like.I don't like burning man, either. But there's other stuff to do. I have never been happier than when I was skating or riding my bike around the city, or just goofing off. Why do you think there are so many bums there? Why do you think the beats moved there? It's a great city in which to "bum around." It's kind of bad for almost anything else. I view my time spent there as an extended vacation.
You're probably right that this isn't localized to S.F. I have to imagine a capitol of the publishing world like NYC has more literary heft but even there I've heard that life tends toward the superficial.
S.F. is a great city to just hang out in. Amazing food, great weather, and a generally laid back attitude make it very pleasant in many ways. I think the .com boom did a lot of damage to the city's culture by driving out everybody that couldn't afford to keep up with the rent increases. I spent a summer here in '92 and it seemed a lot more alive.
The weird thing about S.F. is that the weather can vary tremendously from neighborhood to neighborhood. The Mission can be sunny any day of the year. The ironically named Sunset is almost always fogged in. We also seem to get our seasons backwards here. Summer tends to be cold and foggy but Sep-Dec can be beautiful.
It's not exactly San Diego weather here but coming from anywhere that snows it's pretty friendly.
> little literary, musical, or otherwise artistic culture
I think one of the problems is that you've forsaken the people who like to "run around naked and high in the desert"; all the creative types I know love Burning Man. Sure, you're not going to find the tea & crumpets type of art scene in SF, but there's definitely plenty of passionately creative people. There's also a tendency amongst tech people to just socialize with tech people, but I don't really get a kick out of it. You should definitely branch out to non-tech social circles and get out of the Rails/Django/Clojure echo chamber.
From your description of the playa it sounds like you've never been out there... you should really try it. No, it's not all "naked and high" people, btw.
> there's very little literary, musical, or otherwise artistic culture here and people just don't seem to be very intellectually curious outside of tech
I don't have enough hours in the day to go to all the film festivals, concerts, author readings, dance performances, gallery openings, and other similar events that are occurring all the time in SF.
If you're looking for people who are interested in things outside of tech, you should start going to some of these events, and meeting people. Join the SF Film Society, for a start! Maybe I'll see you around...
> I had enough time to go to all of those things...
Sorry, maybe I'm taking you too literally here, but I find that hard to believe. You had time to attend every artistic event in SF, and you just weren't satisfied?
The last year I lived in San Francisco, I quit being an overworked startup employee and took an easy contracting job. I could leave the office around 4pm most days and made an effort to go to as many art and music things as possible.
So you are taking me too literally, but I wasn't exaggerating by much.
I swear I don't mean to be glib here... but doesn't Minneapolis have a particularly vibrant music scene for a city its size? I think you've set a higher bar than a lot of people will realize.
The number of homeless/crazy people on the streets surprises me when I'm in SF. I know many are probably harmless, but crazy people jumping around, shouting abuse, or acting weird just doesn't make things inviting. Not to mention the beggars at the stop signs.
Is there a system in the US for looking after mentally unstable people? eg would they be put into care if they don't have medical insurance?
They can't be "put into care" against their will unless they are a proven danger to themselves or others, and many crazy homeless people are too adapted to the streets to successfully be put into care.
It all depends who you associate with. If I only hung around with techies / startuppers I think I'd have to shoot myself too.
I'll take my "high in the desert" people over your "high in Williamsburg, Brooklyn" people any day. I agree that a lot of Burners are deeply annoying, but the core people who actually make it all happen (or the larger installations and camps) are often incredibly interesting, intellectually broad people, doing it all on a shoestring. If you think you're doing a lot with your life being in a startup you're probably not doing half of what they do in an average week.
Not having actually lived in Brooklyn I can't say for sure but there are a ton of interesting bands coming out of Brooklyn right now, you're in the publishing heart of the world, you've got some of the best art museums on the planet right next door, and you're not going to find better theater anywhere in the U.S.
Compared to that the whole art-car, techno, cyberpunkish thing in S.F. just seems so provincial and quaint. I don't doubt that people put a lot of work into it but it just doesn't compel me at all.
If you really like theater, the Berkeley Repertory Theatre is just across the bay.
There are a wide variety of other theater venues around the Bay Area. Santa Cruz for small stuff, San Francisco for a huge mix of productions from Broadway shows to weird warehouse stuff, and San Jose, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Marin all have theater companies.
> there are a ton of interesting bands coming out of Brooklyn right now
Not to nitpick, but many of the bands "coming out of Brooklyn right now" are bands that moved there from elsewhere to try to ride the "Brooklyn band = good" wave. It's weird how arbitrary and amorphous these various scenes can be. If you can't find good music coming out of SF, you're probably not looking hard enough.
> Compared to that the whole art-car, techno, cyberpunkish thing in S.F. just seems so provincial and quaint.
It seems odd (and inaccurate) to sum an entire city's culture up with 3 indistinct generalizations.
The local music scene in SF is not good. There are few good places to see national acts but no local bands. The best you're going to get locally is DJ acts but even those guys seem to have moved to LA.
Can anyone name 5 bands from SF? 3? 1?
In contrast, when I grew up in Minneapolis there was a huge local music scene and one of the main things people did was go see local bands. There were dozens of bars with 3+ acts playing all weekend, and often during the week.
Deerhoof, Bassnectar, Girls, and Nodzzz are a few just off the top of my head. A lot of great stuff happening in Oakland, as well. The Anticon collective, etc.
There are lots of bars and venues, but I recommend checking out Bottom of the Hill in Potrero -- their shows tend to be cheap and they feature local talent a lot.
I get your point: SF isn't the top dog when it comes to music, but honestly... you can find local music no matter where you are, as long as you look for it. And if you don't look for it, all the local bands you're not going to see are just going to move to Brooklyn (or wherever else is cool that year) along with everyone else.
I've lived here for 10 years and in that time I've been to art openings, film festivals, all kinds of theater, museums, countless concerts etc and S.F. doesn't fare too badly considering it's really not a very big city at all. However, it's just not in the same league as a city like London, NYC, Berlin, Paris, or (IMO) even LA.
There are upsides to living in a smaller and less hectic city too, but you can't have it all.
We're even getting wifi on the tube in time for the olympics apparently as well as free wifi all over central London...
I've only visited SF for days, and stayed in a hotel there for a few days, but never really found my feet there. Like you say, it seemed like it has a lot of bad bits without the good bits being obviously there. Maybe they're hidden away :/
I'm much more at home strolling down University Ave or Castro st though. Relaxed, safe atmosphere with plenty to do.
Really? I live right off Castro st, in Mountain View, and I am in University Ave in PA every other day.
Once you spend a weekend on both places, you basically have seen it all.
The restaurants are reallyu nice (Castro St. Mountain View being cheaper and more authentic), but appart that there is not much going on.
It is very clean looking though, and if you have a family it is a good place. If you are single guy, you'd want to steer clear of them. There is not much going on excitement wise. I guess it is good, b/c you will get so bored that you will just work on your startup.
The weather is really nice though.
I lived in SF for 3.5 years, and I miss it. A lot more fun in general. There is never a boring moment.
I moved to the Inner Richmond (sort of by accident, long story) and I'm surprised at how great the neighborhood is. It may be better just for living, but I think it could be practical for a penny-pinching startup too.
- Much cheaper rents
- Services: lots of restaurants, especially Asian, many open very late (you have lots of options even from midnight to 3AM), bookstores, bars.
- If you pick your location properly (close to California or Geary, and near certain stops) you can catch express buses to and from downtown at peak hours. 20-25 min to a BART station or SOMA. Off-peak it's more like 30-40 min.
- Unlike SOMA, my cell phone works here ;)
- Downsides: no techie neighbors, except Archive.org who recently took over the old Christian Science building on Park Presidio & Clement.
Just generally, the place feels like a real neighborhood rather than some sort of Potemkin village constructed for yuppies or hipsters. That's important to me, anyway.
I lived in the inner richmond while I was working down the peninsula. I agree with everything you've said about the neighborhood - a lot of good bars, inexpensive restaurants, quick access to downtown on express buses, cheaper rents.
Huge downside: very difficult to get south on the freeways. There's no clear path, so you have to fight your way through city traffic. At rush hour, this can easily add 25 aggravating minutes to your commute (and add in an extra 10-15 minutes to find parking in the inner richmond). Really, it's a lot easier to live in the city and work south from the south-central neighborhoods (sunnyside, glen park, mission terrace, bernal).
Ultimately, I'd say that if you work downtown and only need to go to the valley now and then, the inner richmond is a great pick. But if you're in a daily commute type situation going south, I'd avoid it.
I agree. Lived close to the Inner Richmond (Laurel Heights), and I loved the neighborhood.
The starbucks at the Laurel Village is open 24hr, and always full! It is a very nice place if you want to hack at midnight, and get some caffeine.
You can also run all the way to the Marina/Chrissy fields if you are feeling for a long and hilly run, or just run to Golden Gate Park for a more flat one.
The only downside is the weather. Inner richmond gets some good amount of fog/wind (not as bad as outter richmond, or sunset), but still it is significant.
One note: I discourage Millbrae. I grew up there and it was on the boring side of things, while still being a tad pricey. My life is (somewhat) more exciting living in northeastern Sunnyvale (near Hacker Dojo), and rent is dirt cheap (as low as $450/person). Also, for the carless, biking is much better in Sunnyvale/Mountain View than Millbrae.
I've never lived in Sunnyvale. Where would you recommend? Near downtown?
Also agree about Millbrae being boring. I put it there because its kind of a sweet spot due to multiple transit options (both Caltrain and BART). Most startups will be either heads down coding, or heading to meetings. Mainly good if you don't have a car.
How much does it cost to own a car in san fran? If it's $X/month for gas, insurance and the amortized value of a cheap decent used car, you should just factor that into the rent cost and see if it ends up better.
Factor in the cost of parking as well. I've had a car here in SF and unless you have a garage space ($150-$200 per month) you will need to get a permit for your neighborhood ($75 per year I think). The permit is really cheap but you will spend a not insignificant amount of time searching for available spaces, and your car may have a window or two smashed over the course of the year.
What is the most ghetto part of SF? Like if you had absolutely no fear of getting stabbed by a crackhead girlfriend and your kidneys being harvested if you roll down your windows, where would you live?
Also, does one need to show some type of credit report or can one just come in with a bunch of cash and wave it around and get a place?
The Tenderloin is not that dangerous, contrary to what others here are saying. It has a very visible homeless population which makes people unaccustomed to that uneasy.
East Palo Alto is probably more dangerous than the Tenderloin.
The most dangerous parts of SF are Bayview / Hunter's Point and the eastern half of the western addition (near Jefferson Square Park).
Within the last month, for example, there was a stabbing at Laguna and Fell (which is highly unusual) and a shooting around Laguna and Turk (less unusual).
In 2007-2008 I believe the area around Jackson Square Park wad THE most dangerous place in SF.
This is juxtaposed with Hayes Valley immediately to the south, which is filled with lots of 20-something professionals.
Edit: Why am I being down voted? Everything I said was accurate.
tenderloin probably has the highest density of crackheads. if you want to get your kidneys harvested i'd go to chinatown or the sunset because i just assume that the chinese are the only ones sophisticated enough to steal and then sell organs. (crackheads just don't have the resources to pull something like that off)
i lived in the tenderloin for a year and some change and i kind of liked it. there's good night life on polk street and good cheap eats there. i had four indian restaurants within a block of my apartment and could walk to the great american music hall or BART. but it takes a certain kind of person to live amongst that kind of drudgery for so long.
if you want true danger, head down to bayview and hunters point. even the tenderloin has its share of wine bars and quaint coffee shops. the 'view is like another world.
Huh. I canvassed there during the 2008 election. I didn't even get funny looks, which has happened to me more than once when I went into the "wrong" neighborhood in Chicago.
In fact, I once pulled over into a gas station only to have the attendant tell me I needed to get into my car and drive off.
I've never once had an experience like that in SF.
In Chicago, not SF. Nothing like that has ever happened to me in SF, even as a white guy going door to door in Bayview.
Also, I wouldn't call it a "decent neighborhood," I just don't want to make it seem like you'll get shot for setting foot there, is all. I wouldn't live there.
the danger in the tenderloin is definitely overrated. People who think the tenderloin is dangerous has obviously never lived in places like NYC, Atlanta, or St. Louis. You could get mugged in broad daylight in Atlanta and the cops won't even blink. I've seen it happen.
I lived in the loin around 2003, pretty much at the worst part (6th/Jones). It was bad enough that I got hassled on the streets by drug dealers when I stood outside (I think they assumed I was involved in the business somehow?), and female friends would be really reluctant to visit without an escort to/from BART. I had 2 guys get shot right outside my door, and the police didn't come by to take a statement from me until the next day (I happened to be looking out the window right at the time, and called it in 5 seconds after it happened).
It's definitely gotten better since the 1990s, but I still would really not want to live there and do a startup.
It's nothing compared to HP, Bayview, EPA, parts of East San Jose, or parts of Oakland, though. When in the area, I often am driving to HP at night (to go to 200 Paul Ave, one of the big datacenters on the West Coast), and I'm always relieved when the gate closes behind my car.
The mission has some bad areas too; unfortunately the area right outside Noisebridge is actually pretty sketchy.
Interesting. Other than auto thefts it looks like you can draw a radius around the prostitution hubs to identify the high density areas for the other crimes.
The most ghetto parts of SF are Hunter's Point and Bayview. It is hard to end up in those neighborhoods unless you have a reason to go there (maybe to buy some discount siding?) so I wouldn't worry about them. If you are looking to actually live in the hood, that is where to go. Now if you have to commute to your yuppie startup job from these places, it's going to suck, because the public transit to these areas sucks.
The tenderloin is the most ghetto in the middle of the city. Personally I feel the danger in this area is overrated but it definitely seems sketchy. The 2nd sketchiest seeming part of the city is 6th and Market. It's like a zombie movie after midnight.
In the city I had more trouble from roving bands of drunks looking for fights in North Beach than I have from either crazy people or muggers.
I have been mugged in both Oakland and Berkeley near the Ashby stop. There are many more spaces where you can be walking around in the dark with nobody around in the East Bay.
You generally need a credit report but the last 2 apartments I rented in SF, the landlord did not ask for one. If it is being rented "by owner" it is up in the air. If it is a management company they will usually want a credit report. If you have no credit report (like, you're from overseas) you can often get by if you pay for a number of months up front.
The 2nd sketchiest seeming part of the city is 6th and Market. It's like a zombie movie after midnight.
True. And it also has Tu Lan, Julia Childs' favorite San Francisco restaurant, as an old greasy newspaper clipping in the window used to proudly substantiate.
I live in St.Louis and usually end up in the SF area once or twice a year. To be completely honest, most of San Francisco feels safe in comparison to St.Louis although the number of homeless people and beggars seems to be higher there.
What part of the country? (Did the locale have rent control?) In any of the cases, were you an overseas immigrant without a rental history?
What sort of references did they ask for, and did they verify income in any way?
Are you sure they didn't run a credit report anyway (even if there was no history of borrowing on it)?
In SF, they tend to ask for a copy of your credit report or enough info (social security number) to run one themselves.
And they ask more aggressively when the market is tight -- for example, in 2000, it was wise to bring a printed credit report to the first showing of a vacancy, so your application could be considered in the batch of 10+ people that were applying on the spot. It's not nearly so tight right now.
What part of the country? (Did the locale have rent control?) In any of the cases, were you an overseas immigrant without a rental history?
Sacramento and the East Bay. No rent control. I was only an overseas immigrant without a rental history the first time.
What sort of references did they ask for, and did they verify income in any way?
I think the most recent one did call my boss to verify my income.
Are you sure they didn't run a credit report anyway (even if there was no history of borrowing on it)?
They always run credit reports, even though I tell them "It'll come back blank". The last one did express some surprise that I still had a blank credit report after three years in the US, but nobody ever thought I was a bad risk.
That was in the East Bay, not in the city itself. Still, I have plenty of friends who have got straight off flights from overseas and rented apartments in San Francisco proper with no dramas. As long as you have a steady job and an adequate income I don't think they care about a blank credit report, just as long as you don't have a bad credit report.
As a current Berkeley student / start-up intern, I would definitely recommend looking into living on the north side of Berkeley. The neighborhood is quiet and the city is only a short (25 min) BART ride away.
Not even a mention of where YouTube grew up? Downtown San Mateo is pretty nice. Thread is there as are a bunch of other smallish startups.
Foodwise, there are plenty of options though in my estimation there is one great hot pot place "Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot", a shabu-shabu place, what seem to be three(?) izakaya places and several ramen shops, too.
I like how it's broken out and a nice basic list of what is good and bad for a startup / hacker, but for most people won't it come down to cost? What they can comfortably and reasonably afford?
I have never been to California, but I want to check it out someday, possibly give a try as a place to live for a while. I quick googled apartments in Palo Alto because it sounded like the ideal location for me. The cheapest one I saw looked exactly like the place I have now but was > $1000 / month (counter tops, layout, size, etc). I'm currently paying $475 for one of the better 1 br here (Oklahoma). The most expensive I have seen is < $900 here for a 1 br in the newest upscale places with every little bill paid included.
So, unless the pay is significantly higher for the same work that I'm making here, I want to know how people deal with the cost of living in the areas provided in this link? Do you live paycheck to paycheck? Do you save much (I'm saving about 2/3 of my paycheck each month)? I wouldn't want to live in a rundown area with holes in the wall (I have lived in such a place) eating only ramen or the cheapest ground beef on discount from the local grocer. Maybe I just should not be looking at Palo Alto.
I will check these areas when I take some time off to travel out there and I will be doing that someday, hopefully not too far in the future.
I'm grateful to the OP for providing this link. Living out here in OK, having never visited CA/SanFran this provides a better overview of the different parts of the area you often read about on here from people.
You should put some contact info in your HN profile. As a fellow OK Hacker, I'm always looking for other interested locals to chat with! (And if you work at the main interworks office, we're in the same town as well).
Soma is "Most yuppie / soulless area to live in SF" ?
When I was there, that was the Marina / Cow Hollow. Funny how quickly things change. When I moved down there in 1999, a friend of a friend told me to avoid SOMA if I "didn't like getting stabbed", but I guess that's mostly been gentrified at this point. It was already starting to improve back then.
SOMA just has a rather metallic personality. The rest of SF generally has a lot of history and character. SOMA is mainly young urban professionals, many of whom commute to Silicon Valley or peninsula jobs via Caltrain or driving (easy access via 280). Restaurants are on the expensive side, and often overpriced (though there are gems) and I just didn't enjoy living there very much compared to the Mission or even Castro St in Mtn View.
Soma is one of the youngest neighborhoods in SF. Being that, it doesn't have the same neightborhoody feel as say, the mission. It did used to be quite a rough place, but that changed when the baseball stadium was built.
Basically, give the soma a chance: there are quite a few gems and great people who hang out here. The area around folsom and 8th (some people call this folsoma) is starting to get more neightborhoody with the addition of many local restaurants, cafes, and bars.
Also, as the OP mentioned, soma is basically ground zero when it comes to startups and startup activity in SF.
This is a very startup centric map. The Marina is still the most yuppie neighborhood, but when professional = "works at a startup," then SOMA makes sense.
There are lots of startups around South Park and down into Potrero, even. There are like 10-20 startups working out of Pier 38 alone.
I came close to signing a lease for a place across the street from the Glen Park BART station before choosing Berkeley. The Glen Park area seems underrated.
I'm moving to SF in 10 days and I'd like to know the best way to go about securing an apartment. I've been trolling Craigslist for a couple weeks but have not received one response despite in-depth emails. Should I just have my credit report, a couple grand and the ability to drop everything and go look at a place? My friend (who, unfortunately for me, is moving from the Mission to Berkeley) suggested that a lot of people just leave things 'til the last minute. Any insight would be appreciated.
I lived in SF for a few years and I'm about to go back after dealing with some family nonsense, so I've given this some thought.
There is huge variability in the SF housing market and great deals tend to go quick. I'd put my stuff in storage and stay at a long term hotel for a few weeks and be really careful about this, after all you're talking about spending 12-20K a year.
You can get a decent hotel around the airport for like $60 on hotwire, which is really pretty cheap for SF.
Luckily I'll be able to crash with the aforementioned friend for about a week — any longer than that and I'll have to hit up acquaintances or dole out for a hotel or a place on Airbnb.
As for the Social Security card, hopefully that's not commonly a dealbreaker…
Just to echo what keefe said, I successfully apartment hunted a few weeks ago and did what you're planning: crash with a friend for a week and obsessively read Craigslist. Something that helped me get a feel for the area was biking/walking around the general vicinity of where I was wanting to live (Berkeley). A lot of apartments have signs outside stating they're for rent too; in general though, Craigslist is pretty comprehensive.
One other point: come with your checkbook and be ready to put down a deposit on the spot. Don't rush your decision of course, but places go /fast/ and you'll want to act quickly to ensure the place you're looking for doesn't get taken.
This is a great map.
I'm considering moving from Europe to SV after my work contract expires to do a startup...so really useful.
It would be very cool to get a similar map of HN startup locations, IT giants' original garage (YouTube etc), well known web 2.0 startups locations etc....obviously some of these won't be easily available due to founders not willing to divulge their location...would still be cool all the same.
Berkeley all the way. North side of campus is quiet and cheap, and I'm sure you can get rent down to the $700s if you share a house/apartment. It's also close to all the engineering buildings, so any interns you want to hire will be within shouting distance. South side has more (cheap) food options though, but it's also less quiet and more messy (Telegraph, etc).
Anyone looking for a place to stay, send me an email. There is an extra room available in my 5BR house in North Berkeley, available right now. ~$750/month +utilities.
Live with hacker types, and... me. If you're interested, send me an email and tell me about yourself, what you're looking for in a housing situation, etc.
What's the north side of Mission Bay like? I'm not in SF, but "strolling" down Berry on Google Maps, it seems like it's really nice. Anybody on HN live in that area?
i live there, expect 1500-1800 a month per person on rent for a 2bd room in one of the high rises. The apartments are all new, though with W/D in unit and other good amenities.
Hi, I'm bootstrapping, just recently moved to SF. Generally clueless of the goings'on around here other than there's stuff goings'on. What should I check out?
I will go out on a limb here and say you live in Berkeley. The description should read "Recommended for foodie hackers who don't mind hippies and homeless."
This is sort of silly. You can put your start-up anywhere in San Francisco and be reasonably close to the start-up community. The only real benefit to being in SOMA that I see is that it's easier to stumble to events straight after work like SFBeta, New Tech, or any of the various tech parties that happen within 3 blocks of Moscone (including but not limited to conference related parties). Having lived and worked at 3rd & Folsom for the past year and a half, I've become somewhat tired of spending so much time around the start-up community. All restaurants within 3 blocks of my apartment are filled with people talking about Twitter, constantly.
A cool start-up would get office space in the Outer Richmond so you can hike around Land's End every day before you start working, or maybe up in Nob Hill so you're essentially forcing your employees to use public transit some part of the day, giving them that 15 minutes of zen before work.
However -
I'm in a good part of the mission (near dolores) and every other day there is new graffiti on my building, trash everywhere on the streets and broken glass here and there.
related: my moving to SF post http://paulstamatiou.com/atlanta-to-san-francisco-moving-cro...