What is the best neighborhood - in San Francisco - for a grad student to live in?

Where are you going to school?
You dont have to answer that, just find someplace that’s commutable by Muni.

AAU :) and yes, but I want to be in the city…

I would say the Sunset district. It’s close to both UCSF, USF, and SFSU. It’s nice, relatively quiet and usually easy to find parking. And it runs along Golden Gate park down to Ocean Beach. :)

Thanks girl of the beach! I’m going to AAU though and will not be bringing my car, so parking isn’t such a concern – but i’ve been hearing great things about this Sunset place…

Where is AAU?

All over from what I hear but I think most of my classes are going to be about 2 blocks from Fisherman’s Warf…

What about campus housing?

http://www.academyart.edu/campushousing/graduate_students.html

yeah that would be easy but I have two kitties that are moving with me and they can’t live on campus!

@Samantha_Rae -How exciting! Public transportation in SF is awesome, so you won’t have to worry about that. Sunset district sounds like it is a little further away from where most of your classes will be. What other types of recreational activities do you plan on enjoying while in SF??

@chicadelplaya: I’ve heard about the public transportation which is why I won’t drag my gas guzzling car out there… thanks!! I plan on doing everything, I cannot wait to live in a city and couldn’t be more excited to be in SF… I’m counting down the days (34!!!!) haha!

I’m excited for you! You’ll have the time of your life there. Let me know if you need any more info. or have any more questions. :)

@chicadelplaya: thanks girl! I may actually get at you in a few days with some more questions – I really appreciate your help. Bed time on the east coast for now… although this site is SOOO addictive (& it totally made my night – we’ll see how productive I am at work tomorrow!)

@Samantha_Rae -Welcome to Fluther! :)

NO, NO, NO. Do not live in “Lower Nob Hill.” That is a cheaty way of saying “the Tenderloin.” I lived in “Lower Nob Hill” for three weeks before I got mugged on my way home from getting take-out. Don’t do it.

Move to the Mission and have lots of roommates. It’s worth it.

Move to the mission. Tendernob stinks. It’s really bad.

Sunset is… foggy. Like, really foggy. Mission is great. Russian Hill is good too. Lower haight will work.

Look for places along bus lines that go to your school, though.

@nikipedia & andrew: ahh that’s terrible news… I don’t know anyone and don’t want roommates until I meet people that I’d like to live with (I had a bad experience once…) so the Mission is out if it’s expensive! Lower Haight is a possibility but may be far from school for me… I’ll look into it. Thanks for all the advice.

Here’s the thing about Fisherman’s Warf: it’s kindof a pain to get there. There is no metro train or any kind of “rapid transit” in that area, just buses and trollys. It would really be best for you to find a place in the Marina district so you can bike or walk to campus.

@LC_Beta: Thanks! Is the Marina District safe/affordable? What about nightlife & accessibility to other places?

@Samantha_Rae Marina is safe. I don’t know about affordable. I doubt that.
As far as nightlife goes, it’s fine, if you’re in the Dave Matthews/Coyote Ugly mindset.

Look at Russian Hill. It’s totally affordable.

@andrew: Thanks! Next question… any suggestions on where to look for apartments other than Craigslist (most sites are not good i.e. apartments.com) or any key locations/places I should be searching for?

Really, if I were in your position I would just take my chances with roommates or find a month-to-month deal so you can bail if it’s horrible. The cheapest I have ever heard of anyone living alone in SF was a little over $900/month, and even that is a pretty rare price.

I think I found all my apartments there via Craig’s List…the only other thing I can think of is asking around and trying to find someone who knows someone who has a free room/apartment.

Or what about checking with the campus housing dept. There may be many grad students who want to get off campus and who have registered there, or at least left a note on the bulletin board.

Safe, yes. Affordable depends on your definition and your luck. I would definitely look into getting roommates.

The Marina would be most convenient if your classes are near Fisherman’s Wharf, but I find that the atmosphere there is a lot more yuppie/preppie and the social scene is not nearly as interesting as what you’ll find in the Mission, Lower Haight, Duboce Triangle areas.

The Mission has lots of funky thrift shops and restaurants and art studios and cheap taquerias and bars, and you’re likely to find something relatively affordable (i.e. $800 per person) in that area sharing an apartment with a bunch of other roommates. The Sunset has good deals but it can be much more foggy there and it’s also pretty inconvenient for getting to the Fisherman’s Wharf area.

If you live near Fillmore Street (in the Lower Haight or Duboce Triangle) or in the Mission area near 16th street, you will be near the 22 bus line, which runs all the way to the Marina (about 30 min on the bus). So you might want to look for something near the 22 bus line and then it’s just one bus down to that area.

Public transit is relatively good here, but if you’re used to NYC you might be disappointed. If you think you are going to be spending late nights in your art studio in Fisherman’s Wharf, you might actually want to bring your car. The buses run very infrequently late at night (sometimes after 10pm the 22 comes only every 40 minutes). I have lived in SF for 6 years without a car, but I think if I were going to be going back and forth frequently from the Fisherman’s Wharf area to the Mission, a car would be useful. However, renting a parking spot in SF will usually cost you an extra $200 per month.

Another idea would be to find a month-to-month sublet for a few months while you get to know the city, and then after you’ve been here for a few months you can find a place in a neighborhood that you like.