Also, check the comments here for "Garry's SF Guide to Where Your Startup Should Be":
Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
11–20 of 39 posts
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#12Only an answer to a specific part, but as far as needing a car goes, in SF you don't, but you likely will if you plan to visit people/companies/events in Silicon Valley. It's possible to get to something like DevHouse ( http://superhappydevhouse.org/ ) by public transit, but it's often a hassle. If it's only occasionally, though, you could sign up for a service like City CarShare or ZipCar.
I actually am considering picking up a scooter when infer there, as I've already got a motorcycle license. Does anyone have experience getting around on one in sf? Is it possible to make it out of the city to somewhere like mountain view / San Jose on a scooter, or does it require going on high speed highways?
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yea, we were hoping for $1000 total, for a small studio. What price range should we expect to find? Please keep in mind we have no idea what the neighborhoods are in SF, so please include that as well.
Tenderloin/Mission/Sunset are places you might be able to find something for a grand. Tenderloin - stabby stabby. Mission - on the dirtier side, a little sketchy in parts, but trendy and experiencing lots of gentrification. Sunset - lots of asian influence, very livable. You'll very rarely see the sunset from here though. You might even be able to find something in Richmond for a grand if you're lucky. Just keep an e…
You'll very rarely see the sunset from here though.
Let me clarify what smokestack is saying. The weather in the Sunset district is reliably foggy and cool or chilly. Most people don't like it.
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#14Only an answer to a specific part, but as far as needing a car goes, in SF you don't, but you likely will if you plan to visit people/companies/events in Silicon Valley. It's possible to get to something like DevHouse ( http://superhappydevhouse.org/ ) by public transit, but it's often a hassle. If it's only occasionally, though, you could sign up for a service like City CarShare or ZipCar.
I actually am considering picking up a scooter when infer there, as I've already got a motorcycle license. Does anyone have experience getting around on one in sf? Is it possible to make it out of the city to somewhere like mountain view / San Jose on a scooter, or does it require going on high speed highways?
A scooter is great for SF, easy to park, but to get almost anywhere outside the city of interest -- east bay, silicon valley -- requires getting on the highway. Mountain View is 45+ minutes away by highway; San Jose 1hr+.
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#15The closer you get to popular neighborhoods, the more expensive.
Avoid the Tenderloin and Bayview/Hunter's Point. Yes, they have cheap rent. They also have high crime rates, drug usage, etc.
Some of the most inexpensive but nice areas to live are in the Sunset(near Ocean Beach along the N-Judah MUNI line) and Twin Peaks. The problem with Twin Peaks is that you get a great view and slightly lower rent, but there are no trains that go up there and limited MUNI bus lines. You're also not quite next to any popular places, so its not as easy as walking out your front door to go to the bar.
I live in Lower Haight near Haight St & Filmore. I'm paying about $1000 a month for my house that I'm sharing with one roommate. However, I only have this lucky situation because I've lived here for 3 years, and my old roommate for 2 years before that. So I've basically inherited a lower rent.
Craigslist is the primary place to find apartments in SF. Be aware of the occasional scam. If you see postings that are too good to be true, i.e. low rent for an otherwise awesome place, be wary. Typically when you reply to these, you will get an email a day or so later where the person is saying they are out of the country and that after you make the deposit, they will mail you the keys. No, no no no no. Stay away from these scammers.
One of your best bets would be for you and your roommate to find one or two other people that are either looking for people to fill vacancies in a house, or looking to get a big house together. There are many houses in SF that have 3-7 rooms, so often you can find inexpensive rooms like that.
You might also have luck with the last idea yourself. Given the number of people on HN that live in or around SF, you and your buddy might be able to hook up with some locals and rent a new house together, or might even find suitable vacancies in a geek-friendly house. =)
Here's the craigslist link you want to use http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#16Also, can anyone speak to the social scene of the different neighborhoods? Since we're not going to know anyone when we get out there it's important that we live somewhere where we can make friends either through good bar scenes, or startup meetups. Does anyone have experience moving to Sf without knowing anyone and making friends?
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#17Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yea, we were hoping for $1000 total, for a small studio. What price range should we expect to find? Please keep in mind we have no idea what the neighborhoods are in SF, so please include that as well.
Tenderloin/Mission/Sunset are places you might be able to find something for a grand. Tenderloin - stabby stabby. Mission - on the dirtier side, a little sketchy in parts, but trendy and experiencing lots of gentrification. Sunset - lots of asian influence, very livable. You'll very rarely see the sunset from here though. You might even be able to find something in Richmond for a grand if you're lucky. Just keep an e…
I'll have to respectfully disagree. The TL is sketchy, but there are so many crackheads/witnesses/cops around since it's close to city center, overt violence is more rare than you'd think.
The mission is my favourite district in the city, and it's close to everything. If I had to live in the city, I'd live in the mission.
The sunset is crap. It's like a suburb that's attached to the city, especially outer sunset, where the rents are cheaper. It's blocks and blocks of houses, and very family oriented. There are a few good places in the sunset, but it's almost essential to have a car there, and you can't really go bar hopping, and it's about 20 minutes to drive to downtown.
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#18Only an answer to a specific part, but as far as needing a car goes, in SF you don't, but you likely will if you plan to visit people/companies/events in Silicon Valley. It's possible to get to something like DevHouse ( http://superhappydevhouse.org/ ) by public transit, but it's often a hassle. If it's only occasionally, though, you could sign up for a service like City CarShare or ZipCar.
I actually am considering picking up a scooter when infer there, as I've already got a motorcycle license. Does anyone have experience getting around on one in sf? Is it possible to make it out of the city to somewhere like mountain view / San Jose on a scooter, or does it require going on high speed highways?
You can certainly make it all the way to San Jose without going on the freeway, but it's tough going. If you already know how to ride a motorcycle why not get a proper motorcycle for a few thousand more?
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#19Only an answer to a specific part, but as far as needing a car goes, in SF you don't, but you likely will if you plan to visit people/companies/events in Silicon Valley. It's possible to get to something like DevHouse ( http://superhappydevhouse.org/ ) by public transit, but it's often a hassle. If it's only occasionally, though, you could sign up for a service like City CarShare or ZipCar.
I actually am considering picking up a scooter when infer there, as I've already got a motorcycle license. Does anyone have experience getting around on one in sf? Is it possible to make it out of the city to somewhere like mountain view / San Jose on a scooter, or does it require going on high speed highways?
A scooter would be a fun way to get around SF.
It's theoretically possible (I think?) to get to San Jose on local roads but it would take so long it would be impractical. It wouldn't be much faster than bicycling there.
I had a motorcycle in SF and found the freeways to and from the South Bay terrifying on a motorcycle. You can lane split in California, though... so a motorcycle is probably the most practical vehicle for getting over the Bay Bridge in rush hour...
Re: Ask HN: Best place to start in San Francisco?
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
I actually am considering picking up a scooter when infer there, as I've already got a motorcycle license. Does anyone have experience getting around on one in sf? Is it possible to make it out of the city to somewhere like mountain view / San Jose on a scooter, or does it require going on high speed highways?
A scooter would be a fun way to get around SF. It's theoretically possible (I think?) to get to San Jose on local roads but it would take so long it would be impractical. It wouldn't be much faster than bicycling there. I had a motorcycle in SF and found the freeways to and from the South Bay terrifying on a motorcycle. You can lane split in California, though... so a motorcycle is probably the most practical vehicle…
It's not too terrible to get all the way up/down the peninsula on local roads, but it does take a while (~2 hours). The directions are easy, though, because El Camino Real (CA-82) goes the whole way.