janedoe1970

I know the Marina gets a bad rap sometimes. It can have a reputation for frat boys and “cougars.” I know sometimes when I tell people what neighborhood I’m in, I get an, “oh really?” response and a little smile. But, having lived all over SF, I can honestly say I LOVE the marina. With great access to the beach/waterfront, it’s an excellent place if you love to go running (or walking). You’ll also find much more space for your rental dollar than you get in places like Russian Hill or Pacific Heights. Parking can still be pretty rough, but get just a little off the beaten path, and it’s not so bad. Also, while I love to exercise, I hate having to hike up a large SF hill just to get to my local coffee shop. Not a problem in the Marina. No shortage of great restaurants and bars, either. Personally, I love Greens – a little gem in the Fort Mason building that has great vegetarian fare. Yum!

This is not somewhere to be after dark. A co-worker from a sister office was staying at the Holiday Inn nearby and was trying to make her way to Mission. She walked in on some people in the middle of a drug deal and ended up getting robbed at gunpoint. According to the people at the hotel, she was not the first one to run into this problem on Laskie.

My aunt and uncle bought a place here so that their kids could go to Daniel Webster for school. When I visited I was surprised to find the area so nice, despite being so close to I-280. The street actually has pretty light traffic, considering that it’s a large, through street. Also, there are several active neighborhood associations, helping to keep things clean. This general area of the city has developed much more in recent years, and is becoming much safer than it used to be. There’s even a whole foods a few blocks down on Rhode Island!

I looooove the Bi-Rite creamery, but I do not love finding parking there. I usually prefer Muni for getting around the city, but when I have out of town guests, they’re always driving and I’m always taking them to Bi-Rite. Gaiser Ct. is a little street behind some office/retail buildings, but there’s almost always a parking spot hidden down at the end. It’s a couple blocks from Bi-Rite, and you get to walk around with your tourist guests and see the other cute shops nearby. There’s also a really cool bar/happy hour spot called Double Dutch around the corner on 16th.

My cousin recently moved in to a place on Flint Street, and I’m surprisingly jealous. Her neighbors houses all looked great, but hers looked kind of beaten down. But the inside of her place is gorgeous – all hard wood and new granite counter tops! Who knew? This is a nice spot, super close to parks, and it’s a dead end street, so the only traffic comes from the people who live there and the occasional lost tourist. And from the quiet noise level, you’d never guess it was so convenient to Castro St./Market.

French Court is basically just a loop around a parking lot, which doesn’t really seem that exciting. And it’s not, until there’s some big event going on down in the Marina and you would like to park a car. I’m not sure what this lot is normally used for (there are some surrounding buildings that look like they could be condos, but I don’t think they are) but during special events like Fleet Week, etc. the lot opens up for paid public parking. I had friends come in from out of town last year for Fleet Week and could find nowhere to park. Finally, we happened upon French Court and were saved! Safe convenient parking for only $12. Not bad in SF. I’ve heard they were also open during Hardly Strictly Bluegrass this year, though I don’t know for sure (and it would have been kinda far from Golden Gate Park). But, if you’re desperate for parking somewhere near the Marina, it’s worth a shot.

I rented a room on Valparaiso for about 2 months. Luckily, my lease was month to month, because I became trapped in my apartment way too many times. There is a City College campus right around the corner, and students seem to think it’s perfectly fine to park in front of garage doors during their classes. I hate having anyone towed (especially city college students who probably can’t afford it) but by the 6th time I was made late to work, I gave in and starting calling the tow trucks. Only problem was that, by the time they got there, the car would have been moved yet I was still late. Seemed like a great location when I moved in, but parking trolls were definitely a problem.

Florence is only a little hard to find – you have to take that funny little part of Vallejo that come up off of Jones to get there. But, there are some really nice houses here. Parking is next to impossible, and it’s tough to turn around (it’s easier to just back all the way down the street), but the views are worth it. Terrific views from Coit tower to the Bay Bridge. I was on a waiting list for 2 years to get a room in a condo there, so I finally took a spot somewhere else. But if my number had come up, I would have loved to move in! Also, neighbors are friendly – I parked illegally a few times while meeting with the condo manager, and was never bothered by neighbors calling tow trucks, etc.

Cosmo Place is home to one of the best restaurants in San Francisco: Le Colonial. So delicious! The street itself is little, but not too hard to find (right off of Taylor, near Post). Parking is kind of tough in the area, but public transit is pretty easy. Even if it’s hard to park, a trip to Cosmo Place for some Le Colonial tastiness is totally worth it.

I had friends who lived here and had a terrible time with their elderly neighbors. Their experience (and mine when I visited them) was that the neighbors were all in their 60s and 70s and got very upset when new people came into the neighborhood. My friends were given a hard time from the day they moved in – questioned when they put out a pumpkin for Halloween and admonished repeatedly that they should not display their Christmas lights past 9 PM. I also experienced problems with various neighbors when I would park my car on the street during the weekend. I got several rude notes on my windshield, even though I was legally parked. However, the neighborhood is quiet and safe, which is always nice.

My cousin and I rented a house here for about a year and could not have been happier with our choice. Super close to Twin Peaks, but somehow there’s WAY less traffic and noise than neighbors on some of the surrounding streets have to deal with. Something to do with the way it curves around or something? Whatever the cause, this is a great place to rent a room or a house (or buy if you can afford it). You get a great view, without having to be too far from city access – it’s just a quick drive down into the Castro. It’s also a perfect spot to be if you like to walk. While it is a little steep, you can take a nice morning walk up to twin peaks and see all of beautiful SF. If you’re looking for a place to rent in SF and want somewhere a little quieter, this is a great street to be on!