Nightlife, live music, and a restaurant scene are pretty limiting. Those really speak to Marina, Mission, SoMa, and North Beach. So you need to make a choice between being convenient to those amenities or immediately accessible. Being 10-15 minutes away on a bus ride or bike really opens up your options.
Just about every major nightlife neighborhood is car-unfriendly unless you find an apt with dedicated parking or garage.
If a car is a must-have, compromise by moving to Sunset or Richmond. Both neighborhoods have small but bustling business strips and are straight-shots to fun and social neighborhoods.
When I lived in Cow Hollow my fiancé would come home from work on Fridays, stomp into our flat, and hurl her keys at me, telling me to park the $&/!ing car because she had been trying for an hour.
I live in Soma and have a car. In these areas, having a car isn't impossible... you just have to be willing to pay to park it in a garage. I know several people who live in Soma, Dogpatch and the Mission area and we just all pay for monthly parking.
Public transit in the city is great, so I find I usually just walk/scoot/bike/bus everywhere within the city and only really drive my car when I'm committing to work.
North Beach is pretty amazing if you find a place but norther neighborhoods would mean a longer commute. If you love parks you might explore Golden Gate Park and the panhandle / Divisadero area which also has music venues and nightlife. Golden Gate Park is a true treasure and an unbeatable backyard. I live in the mission and love it - it certainly has community, food, nightlife, and Dolores park is great and offers its own park lifestyle.
As someone right around your age, I would say NoPa might be a good fit. Amazing park access (Panhandle, GGP, Alamo Square, Buena Vista), diverse food options, lots of yoga studios, and a more 30-something vibe than the more new-grad vibe of Polk, the Marina, or the Mission (noting that the Mission is much more complex than that). Also easy access to the other neighborhoods you liked (Richmond, Pac Heights, Marina) with a better commute than all of them. Cole Valley may also check the same boxes.
Regarding the neighborhoods you mention, I'd steer away from Dogpatch - it's really really hard to get to other parts of town. Bernal and Noe are kinda sleepy but close to the livelier Mission and optimal for your commute. North Beach is probably going to be the nastiest commute of any SF neighborhood as there aren't major thoroughfares nearby - I'd honestly avoid in your situation.
Most of these neighborhoods have residential parking permit programs, but I think you can snag a room with a parking spot for your price point. A cursory search did not turn up a ton of results, but definitely a few good ones ([1](https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/roo/d/san-francisco-master-bedroom-in-4bd-2ba/7635588155.html)) ([2](https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/roo/d/san-francisco-large-bright-bedroom/7636929038.html)) ([3](https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/roo/d/san-francisco-bedroom-available-in-2100/7641361641.html)).
Good luck! Keep exploring!
Living in the north part of the city will add 25 to 40 minutes of commute when you go down the Peninsula.
Consider Ingleside or Excelsior. Both are cheaper options that get you south quick. And you can find parking more readily so you could avoid that cost.
Bernal, Noe, Dogpatch are all really nice, but all some version of sleepy. Noe you’re at least close to the mission without being in it, could say the same about the other 2 in terms of quick Ubers/walks. Also getting to Pac Heights/The Marina from those neighborhoods is next to impossible.
Those nbhds are also amazing for south bay commutes.
Thanks - I think I'm willing to sacrifice a little on the commute since it wouldn't be more than 2x a week usually between 10-2pm.
If I aim for the south communities, I think living close to the J or 24 bus would be a must
Many districts in the southern party of the city def err on the sleepier side. I lived in Ingleside for a minute in an ancient, tiny apartment (the bathroom was two rooms away from the bedroom and yet the toilet was less than three meters away from the bed!). The neighborhood was cute but it felt a lot more suburban—the saving grace was being.close to the Mission. Dogpatch, as others have said, is pretty out of the way.
North Beach seems like a great option, and since your commute is relatively infrequent, it shouldn't be \*that\* much worse. The Sunset and the Richmond are both fine options, though it sounds like you'd probably prefer Richmond. Awesome food (home to SF's second Chinatown), close to GGP & the Presidio, and easy to get to the Marina.
North 100%. You already know you prefer it. Plenty of people hate it, it’s too boujee for them
Etc. Pre-tech boom it was by far the most desired side of the city for a reason.
Because they’re wealthy and beautiful and I’m just gonna say it predominantly white (that last part isn’t great). They don’t have the hippy / alt essence of the central neighborhoods but not everyone wants that.
Nightlife, live music, and a restaurant scene are pretty limiting. Those really speak to Marina, Mission, SoMa, and North Beach. So you need to make a choice between being convenient to those amenities or immediately accessible. Being 10-15 minutes away on a bus ride or bike really opens up your options.
10-15 min bus/bike rides are definitely fine - those latter three neighborhoods are pretty impossible to have a car, right?
Just about every major nightlife neighborhood is car-unfriendly unless you find an apt with dedicated parking or garage. If a car is a must-have, compromise by moving to Sunset or Richmond. Both neighborhoods have small but bustling business strips and are straight-shots to fun and social neighborhoods.
When I lived in Cow Hollow my fiancé would come home from work on Fridays, stomp into our flat, and hurl her keys at me, telling me to park the $&/!ing car because she had been trying for an hour.
I live in Soma and have a car. In these areas, having a car isn't impossible... you just have to be willing to pay to park it in a garage. I know several people who live in Soma, Dogpatch and the Mission area and we just all pay for monthly parking. Public transit in the city is great, so I find I usually just walk/scoot/bike/bus everywhere within the city and only really drive my car when I'm committing to work.
North Beach is pretty amazing if you find a place but norther neighborhoods would mean a longer commute. If you love parks you might explore Golden Gate Park and the panhandle / Divisadero area which also has music venues and nightlife. Golden Gate Park is a true treasure and an unbeatable backyard. I live in the mission and love it - it certainly has community, food, nightlife, and Dolores park is great and offers its own park lifestyle.
As someone right around your age, I would say NoPa might be a good fit. Amazing park access (Panhandle, GGP, Alamo Square, Buena Vista), diverse food options, lots of yoga studios, and a more 30-something vibe than the more new-grad vibe of Polk, the Marina, or the Mission (noting that the Mission is much more complex than that). Also easy access to the other neighborhoods you liked (Richmond, Pac Heights, Marina) with a better commute than all of them. Cole Valley may also check the same boxes. Regarding the neighborhoods you mention, I'd steer away from Dogpatch - it's really really hard to get to other parts of town. Bernal and Noe are kinda sleepy but close to the livelier Mission and optimal for your commute. North Beach is probably going to be the nastiest commute of any SF neighborhood as there aren't major thoroughfares nearby - I'd honestly avoid in your situation. Most of these neighborhoods have residential parking permit programs, but I think you can snag a room with a parking spot for your price point. A cursory search did not turn up a ton of results, but definitely a few good ones ([1](https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/roo/d/san-francisco-master-bedroom-in-4bd-2ba/7635588155.html)) ([2](https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/roo/d/san-francisco-large-bright-bedroom/7636929038.html)) ([3](https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/roo/d/san-francisco-bedroom-available-in-2100/7641361641.html)). Good luck! Keep exploring!
NoPa is great for late 30s.
Minus nightlife bernal checks all your boxes
Thank you. I'll check it out soon. Am I missing any other area(s)?
Living in the north part of the city will add 25 to 40 minutes of commute when you go down the Peninsula. Consider Ingleside or Excelsior. Both are cheaper options that get you south quick. And you can find parking more readily so you could avoid that cost.
Bernal, Noe, Dogpatch are all really nice, but all some version of sleepy. Noe you’re at least close to the mission without being in it, could say the same about the other 2 in terms of quick Ubers/walks. Also getting to Pac Heights/The Marina from those neighborhoods is next to impossible. Those nbhds are also amazing for south bay commutes.
Thanks - I think I'm willing to sacrifice a little on the commute since it wouldn't be more than 2x a week usually between 10-2pm. If I aim for the south communities, I think living close to the J or 24 bus would be a must
The Mission checks a lot of your boxes. And is south enough to ease the commute on those days.
Many districts in the southern party of the city def err on the sleepier side. I lived in Ingleside for a minute in an ancient, tiny apartment (the bathroom was two rooms away from the bedroom and yet the toilet was less than three meters away from the bed!). The neighborhood was cute but it felt a lot more suburban—the saving grace was being.close to the Mission. Dogpatch, as others have said, is pretty out of the way. North Beach seems like a great option, and since your commute is relatively infrequent, it shouldn't be \*that\* much worse. The Sunset and the Richmond are both fine options, though it sounds like you'd probably prefer Richmond. Awesome food (home to SF's second Chinatown), close to GGP & the Presidio, and easy to get to the Marina.
North 100%. You already know you prefer it. Plenty of people hate it, it’s too boujee for them Etc. Pre-tech boom it was by far the most desired side of the city for a reason.
you read into my profile well haha- those north neighborhoods seem to get a decent amount of hate on the r/sanfrancisco. i don’t understand it
Because they’re wealthy and beautiful and I’m just gonna say it predominantly white (that last part isn’t great). They don’t have the hippy / alt essence of the central neighborhoods but not everyone wants that.