BAIC,

after living most of my life in the east bay (and a few in l.a.), i am making the trek over to the city in the next month. my wife got a position at ucsf parnassus and commuting from the east bay is going to be too much of a pain for her as she has to take bart and muni.

i will most likely be driving to berkeley for my job but it would be nice to stay somewhere near a bart/muni station in case i decide to bart it over which is totally possible for me. i started looking at different places on craigslist but i don't know much about the neighborhoods.

my ideal* place is:
under $1800 a month
close to a bart and or muni rail station
has either a parking spot or somewhat safe street parking
*again, this is an ideal place (which may not exist ) and i'm certainly willing to be flexible on some things.

so, for those of you who live or have lived in the city,
-what neighborhoods would you recommend?
-which ones should i stay away from at all costs?
-is it impossible to find street parking in apartments in certain neighborhoods? (for example, dwtn/civic ctr/van ness seems convenient but i don't know how available parking spots are in that area.)
-any other general tips about neighborhoods, parking ect?

 

street parking is nonexistent in SF except for maybe the outer sunset, but even that is getting overcrowded...

i havent lived in sf for a few years now and it gets more crowded ervytime im there

i was born and raised in the richmond district so im biased towards the richmond, sunset and parkside areas...bus lines run through all districts that can take you to bart...my dad rides the 38 from the richmond to downtown to take bart

in the sunset you can take the 28 (19th avenue) to daly city bart, or the 29 (sunset blvd) to balboa park, or take the rails to civic center or balboa park (whichever is closest)

i would not live in hunterspoint/bayview/excelsior for violence, the mission cuz its too crowded and still has gang violence (although there are two bart stations in the mission)...i wouldnt live in downtown either, crowded like crazy and i dont think any street doesnt have metered parking...

im biased to the leftside of the city (richmond, sunset basically)

good luck im sure youll get better advice on actual prices and etc because i lived with my parents haha

 

Sunnyside near Glen Park Bart Station is pretty close to UCSF and has got some neighborhoods with ample street parking. Or you could live in Daly City.

 

+1 on all of that...
Sunset and Richmond are really the only areas where street parking is practical.
Honestly, I would not try to have a car if I lived in the city... more PITA than it's worth.
Driving from SF to Berkeley will be a nightmare every day.

You could always do the Lafayette thing and take BART in from there.

 

I second this. It sounds like this meets the needs of your and your wife perfectly.

 

You could try the Baker Beach side of the Presidio. You get one assigned spot with the place and there's plenty of street parking. A little above your price range at $2k, and 2 bedrooms are the smallest the have.

Residential Leasing - Presidio of San Francisco

 

i third this. that's one hood i wouldn't mind living if i live in SF. this or Diamond Heights area.

 

if I was going to stay here in SF I was planning on finding a place around Potrero Hill. Some pretty decent neighborhoods with plenty of street parking and right next to the freeway. And most importantly, the place with the most sun in the city! I lived the first 2 years in the sunset, the fog seriously made me want to punch babies every morning

 

might be time to buy a Smart Fourtwo

 

The fog made you want to punch babies every morning? Wow hah, I guess being raised on the leftside of SF makes a big difference because most people I know born and raised there love the fog...its refreshing cold air in the morning to help wake up...roll the windows down, crank the heat up..

Id personally stay away from phill, I knew a bunch of people that lived in phill and they had problems with breakins and such

Diamond heights is expensive but really nice, glen park/twin peaks/noe valley is chill too, but some sketch characters can hang around the gp bart station

(Again this is all from my personal experience growing up in SF, not living as an adult)

 

thanks for all the tips! i actually went to look at a place near the glen park bart station, and the guy was willing to share his garage for parking. however, the place was just too small for the both of us. it did look like there was a decent amount of street parking around there though. prices seem relatively reasonable too. i will definitely keep an eye out for that area.

 

you can check how safe a hood is: https://www.crimereports.com/