Dunno what I was thinking. The first time I saw a 1bdrm for over 2,000 bucks gave me sticker shock, I guess, but browsing craigslist seems like there's a good # of people looking for roomies for at a more reasonable rent price. Yeah I guess I'll check out mission district based on reviews below, anyplace in the process of gentrifying is prob where I'll fit in best.

If you are young and single…

…you ARE going to live in the city. No further discussion.

Forget about rent costs, we're talking about a life experience that you'll never be able to repeat "when you can afford it."

When you're married and have kids, that's the time to think about the 'burbs.

Additionally, if you can swing it, don't pick a neighborhood sight unseen. Take a little time before you settle on one. It is a very diverse city, and anyone can find a niche that fits, but take some time to search out the right little corner for you.

“I serve as a blank screen on which people of vastly different political stripes project their own views.”

You could've counted on a grad student having some free time for a drink.

Honestly if you're woprking in the city I'd say get a place in the city. The rents aren't that different from Oakland. If you're set on the East Bay, I'd say Oakland's Temescal is a nice + reasonably priced neighborhood just off the MacArthur BART.

Unfortunately many of the nicer neighborhoods in oakland are farther away from the subway.

In the city, you could check out the parts of the mission that have been gentrified. Between 17th-21st from Valencia to Church is a fun place to be w. good restaurants close by. E.g. on 22nd + Valencia is my favorite Indian restaurant, Rasoi.

North Beach is alright though a little touristy, full of strip clubs, and mediocre Italian restaurants. Still worth checking out on a visit. Streetlights bookstore is a good stop. Maybe grab a drink at the Prague Cafe nearby in the afternoon. After a Czech beer, Enrico's is just up the hill and has a nice atmosphere + jazz piano if you like that sort of thing.

The Exploratory is really nice as Jordan mentioned. I don't think Fisherman's wharf has much to recommend it other than sourdough bread and a lot of tourists. Skip.

Going across the Golden Gate is pretty mandatory and just north is a great view of the city. The Japanese garden in golden gate park would be a nice stop-off on your way if you've got wheels.

If it's a nice day and you haven't got transport take a bus to the Haight and wander around for a bit and then access Golden Gate Park that way (Haight dead-ends at the park close to the shops and bars.)

I'd also recommend picking up a Guardian or SF weekly and seeing if there are any shows to your liking over the weekend. Whatever you like SF's got it and I think the people are super-friendly. Even in the richer joints you can easily strike up a convo and I wouldn't worry about going out alone.

hmmm... I don't like Karoake generally but the Mint has some really funny acts as does the Stud's Trannyshack shows on Sundays. Good fun, but not everyone has my tastes. (In general I was trying to keep it classy!)

p.s. I'll send you Luis Alegria's email address. He once told me he didn't drink and hasn't been ehre in awhile, so I wouldn't expect much.

IIRC, Mac + aireachail both live in the Bay Area tho not SF proper. Keep checking back for suggestions, and best wishes on your move! SF is still my favorite US city!! You're gonna love it!!

My fave is Rose Pistola's in North Beach. A Reed Haeron place with food like people ate in SF a hundred years ago. Jazz trio on weekends. Try the Terrorized Steak if you're a meat eater.

Also, Greek Isles food at Kokkari on Jackson near the Pyramid. A unique deep-fried smelt appetizer ("Marithes Tiganites") and wonderful fish. Coffee sucks, though.

Also, classic SoMo Mediterranean at Lulu (Mussels cooked on a bed of salt).

Of the big names, Boulevard was great last I ate there, though pricey, of course.

IMO there's nothing really very good in the Fisherman's Wharf/Cannery area, and the big-name North Beach places like North Beach Restaurant and Wash. Square B&G are overrated.

Even a dead midget is far from light. - Confucius

Our family lives in the east bay of San Francisco-but our favorite tour for first time visitors, I think, captures the incredible diversity (in all senses) and beauty of the area:
- drive out to Muir Woods and take in the beauty of the giant coastal redwoods in a beautiful park only 30 minutes from SF
- on the way back, go to the top of Golden Gate Park (fog should be off the coast by then) and take in the specatular vista of the bridge, the city, and the surrounding Bay area
- then go to China town, park, wander and wonder
- or, drop into Sausalito, take the ferry back to SF and have dinner at the Slanted Door there in the ferry building.
- or, drive down the Embarcadero and grab a pint or two at the Gordon Biersch
- go to the Giants game. They may suck but the view from the park out over the Bay is a beautiful back drop for a night baseball game.

Enjoy. Dress warmly though! May is chilly with the damp fog and cold air coming off the Pacific

rule # 1, Don't call it "San Fran" or "Frisco" it's "the city" and don't you forget it. Bay-area residents are very sensitive, owing to the fact that they live in the perpetual shadow of Los Angeles (Doooh! You love it)!

I had discovered a great secret. That everyone loves themselves more than they love anybody else. And if I wanted them to love me, I better be like THEM!... Ken Nordine

In early May *will* be freezing your tuckus off come sundown, if not sooner, and it's a bad, insidious kind of cold. If you're driving, understand that the street plan was devised by a psychotic 12-year-old version of Ivan Pavlov -- one-way no exit streets can go on for dozens of blocks, through-streets dead end in hillsides for no good reason, roadsigns are placed mostly to add to the hilarity, and I say this as a veteran of Manhattan & Houston (and Italian) driving.

Touristy stuff worth seeing: Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park (or head down to Ocean Beach if it looks warm enough, won't be swimming weather yet though unless you have a wetsuit). Haight-Ashbury. The Palace of Fine Arts. Chinatown. I'd put Fisherman's Wharf about last. Berkeley if you're heading across the bay.

Good eats/Nightlife: unfortunately past few times I've been I just followed the crowd to the booze and food. I'd get a zagat's or something. Cool bars in the North Beach area as I recall.

Dangerous: the Tenderloin & parts of Mission districts can be damn sketchy, reminds me of East New York in my part of the world.

Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes. -JH

But I found this fire engine tour a hell of a lot of fun. Crossing the Golden Gate bridge in an open top vehicle is about as much fun as you can have with your pants on, and the run to Sausalito is much good.

The nice thing about doing the tourist bus thing, first, is you'll get an idea of the general layout. I've done this with almost every city I've been to, and it's paid off handsomely. Nothing wrong with being a tourist for a few hours. Get the best maps of the place you can find. Bring a map on the tour, start circling places you find interesting.

Nothing is less wanted than unwanted advice, but since you've asked for some: getting a good place in the Bay Area is as much about knowing someone as anything else. I was there for about six months in the late 90s, sublet an apartment in Millbrae.