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Short Street is indeed short, on a significant slope between Market and Yukon.

Thanks to San Francisco's peculiar micro climates, Short Street is pretty sunny, the bulk of the fog wall bypassing it and rolling down Market Street. It's a quiet, residential area, but - for people in good walking condition, not far from the conveniences of civilization. Short St. is ALL about hills, and mental terrain maps will come to affect all your route planning.

The housing stock on the lower side of the street dates from the early 20th century with wood floors, and while the houses had very similar layouts originally, most have been substantially remodelled since. The apartment building on the other side dates from the 70s and is fine but shows its age. Most houses and the apartments have gorgeous views of the city. The houses on the lower side have largeish but sloped gardens. The houses are mostly on bedrock and highly earthquake and mudslide resistant. We lost a plate in the Loma-Prieta quake. While Short St. is free of hidden streams, basements do tend to damp. Traffic on the street has lately grown heavier, and on-street parking is tight, so it is better for single car households. The garages date from an earlier age, so check whether your car FITS in the garage. At least one car is a material convenience here.

Kite Hill Open Space, down and around the corner on Yukon St. is popular with dog walkers and spooning couples as well as local kids. Local dogs are pretty quiet and well behaved, possibly kept in order by the cats. Raccoons, hawks, mocking birds, an American kestrel and the ubiquitous pigeons make up the bulk of the local wildlife, though I have seen a parrot and a largeish (harmless) garter snake. The Seward St. park with a native plants garden, very exciting cement slides, and a sandbox popular with the local cats is also just up and over Kite Hill. For more adventurous walkers or drivers there are many other convenient parks. Until the Eureka Valley library re-opens, Noe Valley is probably your best bet.

The turn on and off Market is a bit hairy, but convenient for car access to the rest of the city. There are several local buses that run within a few minutes walk, the closest being the 37. The walk down to Castro St. for the trains, shopping or the movies is pretty painless, though you may want to wait for the 37 back up the hill if you're carrying anything heavy.

In a car, shopping at the Diamond Heights Safeway or the Mollie Stone's/Tower Market is most convenient. On foot, the [used to be Cala] market on 18th, or the fruiterer and organic grocery store at the bottom of 19th are most convenient. For sturdy walkers, not afraid of hills, Haight-Ashbury, Cole St. and UCSF Parnasus campus and the shops of Noe Valley are also in plausible walking range.

More families with children are moving into the area lately, and I liked growing up here, but if you want a lot of kids around, over the hill to Noe Valley is still your better bet. While the newer residents largely keep themselves to themselves, they are generally polite and easy to deal with. Older residents are very friendly and well worth getting to know.

There is very little crime in the immediate neighborhood, and I wandered all over alone from about nine or ten years old without any problems. However, I was also raised in the city and had a pretty good sense of self preservation.