I'm moving to SF for a job (hooray!) and I'm trying to find a place that's less than a 45 minute commute by public transportation to SoMa, and is in a relatively safe/quiet neighborhood.
So far, I've been looking at places in Inner Richmond, Inner Sunset, and Panhandle. How do those sound? Any other suggestions?

Hey Eric,
Congrats on the job and the move to SF! You'll love it, as long as you're getting paid enough to live here. I suggest looking in the Potrero Hill area which is very close to SOMA. The hoods you're already looking at are good too, but be prepared to deal with some fog - not as much as Outer Sunset or Outer Richmond, but enough to make you contemplate turning on the heat when residents in Potrero are sitting in the sun. We have micro-climates in SF.

out of all of those, Panhandle is the best although Inner Richmond and Sunset are more affordable probably.  

I also think your best bet will be Portrero Hill - it's super cute neighborhood, one of the more affordable neighborhoods in SF (although probably not for long) parking is super easy if you have a car, really close to SOMA, and it's one of the warmest hoods in SF.  Also, I believe it's pretty safe as well.

Good luck!

I just moved from Nopa (aka. Western Addition) to the Inner Sunset and LOVE it.  You get more for your money, there's tons of great resturaunts and shops, it gives you easy access to Golden Gate Park, and it's more laid back with less hipster scum than the more popular parts of the cities.  Plus for you, the N will be a great way to commute to Soma.  Look around the 9th and Irving area.

There is very high demand for rentals in SF.  So it's not like there are tons of places for you to choose.

Yeah, I moved a couple of months ago, and it's insane how much rents have gone up in the past year or so.  It's also hard as hell to get one.  I have a good salary, steady job for 4 years, perfect rental history, no debt, etc etc etc and it STILL took me 6 months or so to get a place.  Nearly got one in the Lower Haight and some guy came in and prepaid a year's rent ($30k or so) to secure it.  Also lost a couple due to people offering more rent than asking.  Luckily the place I liked the best ended up being the place I finally got, so at least there's that, but yeah, it's brutal out there.  Rent control is forcing so many landlords to let places sit vacant so they can sell the building's empty, which is causing the supply of units to steadily dwindle.  Add to that the new tech bubble we're experiencing, and you have a perfect storm for high rent.

Congrats on the move Eric. I lived in several neighborhoods during my time in SF, and my favorites were the Inner Richmond (but Michelle's right, it's foggy) and Glen Park (close to both Noe, the Mission, has a cute little "downtown" and a BART stop).

I also agree with the recommendations for Portrero Hill, but I think it's a little isolated from everything else.

A lot will depend on what you like to do.  If you're working on SOMA, are your hours going to be regular or irregular (will they expect you stay late at work and commute home during the wee hours of the morn, will they be calling you in a midnight, etc. because the Night Owl (or whatever it's called) transit system is s l o w).  I would suggest finding a month-to-month rental to see how things go--you may make friends at work who all live in SOMA so they won't want to commute all the way out to the Richmond or Sunset to visit you.  Some people don't like the family-oriented/bedroom community feeling of the Richmond/Sunset either because the streets do shut down at about 9pm.  It also is often hard to find a cab out that way too.  As someone else pointed out, the N-Judah Muni Metro line can be a bit** and often breaks down, the train you're on gets taken off line and you have to wait for the next one (If they'd told you when you first got on you could have taken some alternate route then), and it is rumored that starting in 2012 the N-Judah tracks will be going through a long drawn out fix-it and buses will be used in place of the trains (on weekends so far but things do change).  And any connecting buses to the N-Judah are often really sparse.  The Richmond at least has the 38-Geary buses.  Parking is always going to be a challenge.  And, yes, a lot of landlords are just not renting because the annual rent increases are so ridiculously low (.01%?) that they won't be able to cover repairs, etc. so they avoid damages by just not renting, plus a lot of people who defaulted on their house payments are now renting.  From what a repair guy I talked to recently said, San Francisco rental units are still hot, hasn't cooled down any with the housing bust.  If you can, get a month-to-month rental so you have the option of finding a new place in a better suited area without losing too much money (although I love being in the Richmond Dist. and am often over there, I don't want to live there (and I can't figure out why, it just always feels "dirtier" to me for some reason).

sfgate.com/neighborhoods

Thanks for the replies, everyone.
I'm down in SF right now, and for a few days to check out places. Finding a place is pretty crazy. I have an appointment or two today, and have been spending the whole day looking.

Sweet! Good luck with your search

0 friends0 reviews7/21/2011 Eric D. says:

I'm moving to SF for a job (hooray!) and I'm trying to find a place that's less than a 45 minute commute by public transportation to SoMa, and is in a relatively safe/quiet neighborhood.
So far, I've been looking at places in Inner Richmond, Inner Sunset, and Panhandle. How do those sound? Any other suggestions?
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Okay, I recommend the Inner Richmond down near Lake and Arguello.  There's trails there to walk your dog or whatever..

Good luck.

Oh, congratulations!  I agree that maybe finding a temporary place might be a good way to go. That way you can explore the city and get a feel for what you like.  SOMA isn't that hard to get to from a lot of the central areas.  

When I lived there I was in the Hayes Valley.  I thought it would be a no brainer to get to school (I was moving from L.A. to go to law school at UC Hastings.)  It ended up that from where I was, it was easier getting to USF law or Golden Gate Law via mass transit. I used the USF library way more than the Hastings one.  All of that to say a map can be distracting.

When I moved back from living abroad, I lived out in the Richmond for a couple of months before I moved east.  Unless you're near the Geary line, transit times can be frustrating.  If you're up there make sure you're close enough to Geary to get on that frequently running bus.  If you do the Sunset, then make sure you're near the N-Judah route (however, if they're about to rip up the tracks, well, maybe not.  However, it's not that bad if you're getting on the N before 9th.  My ex lived out there and it would get squirrelly trying to hop on the N a few more blocks in during rush hour.

Good luck!  I'll be move back after two torturous years in NYC and eight in Asia.  I can't wait to move back.  After the hellish rental market in NYC, I think I'm going to look forward to the hellish one in San Francisco.