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by hemloc_io 680 days ago
> Can a single, childless tech startup-type person live comfortably walking car-free in contemporary SF, long-term? If so, how much does that cost, and in what neighborhoods?

yes-ish

In SF generally the areas are the most car dependent and the hilliest are also the quietest and have the least amount of bullshit.

SOMA, where you see a majority of those modern apartments, is going to have some of the worst problems. You get what you pay for in the city. Every part of the city is going to have some kind of street problem, but some, like Bernal for example, have them very rarely. It entirely is neighborhood dependent and there's tradeoffs.

Maybe you get a quiet apartment, but it's at the top of a hill. Do you want to walk up that every day?

The easiest way to tell is just to show up and walk around the whole city, it's only 7x7 so you can literally spend a weekend walking around and see all of it and make your own conclusions. Certain places change completely within a few blocks.

e.g. you can go from the Tenderloin which is easily one of the worst parts of the city to the yuppie paradise of Hayes Valley in like three or four blocks.

Edit: in terms of cost? prob 2-4k in monthlies for a good studio/one bed.

The rest is up to your budgeting, eating out and anything in the service economy is very expensive compared to the rest of the country. Including places like NYC.

Very few affordable places survive here, regardless of their quality.

I'd say you could tack on like another 1-2k a month as a single person and be pretty happy with the amount of things you're doing, plus some grocery cost depending on how much you cook for yourself.

1 comments

> SOMA, where you see a majority of those modern apartments, is going to have some of the worst problems

I dont think thats true once you get east of 4th and for sure 3rd street.

8th and Mission is a lot different than 4th and Mission that's for sure.

I actually work up near that area and would still say you'll have interesting characters, but not something like 8th and Mission where I feel terrible for everyone who runs a business around there.

Most new apartment buildings I saw for my move a few years ago were concentrated around the civic center + market area.

Regardless of what people say here, walking around is the most effective way of ensuring that you're comfortable with where you are planning on being.