San Francisco Neighborhood Profiles
San Francisco is home to more than 35 official neighborhoods, many of which are well known because they are tourist attractions in and of themselves. These include Chinatown, the Castro District, Pacific Heights, North Beach, and Union Street. Along with this notoriety often comes exorbitantly high rent. Still, as you get to know the neighborhoods of San Francisco, you will find they all have their specific charms. Here are a few of the more interesting ones where you will find a plethora of rental properties.
Hayes Valley
Located near San Francisco’s Civic Center, is known for trendy shops, sleek restaurants and funky furniture stores. The district’s main intersection is Hayes and Laguna. Some of San Francisco’s most noteworthy dining establishments call Hayes Valley home. These include Absinthe, Zuni Café and the Hayes Street Grille. A vivid example of gentrification, 30 years ago Hayes Valley was greatly ignored. Today it’s an epicenter of modern cool.
Noe Valley
Noe Valley’s small-town feel is something of an aberration to the otherwise bustling nature of San Francisco. There, you will find an abundance of young urban professional families. Baby strollers and Labrador Retrievers fill the sidewalks. Primarily residential in nature, Noe Valley has but two major commercial areas that are home to a multitude of coffee houses, quiet cafes and craft boutiques.
The Mission
San Francisco’s homage to Latin America, is a mosaic of authentic Latino restaurants, fresh produce, and of late—hipsters. A wonderfully affordable neighborhood in which to hang out, eat and drink, the vibrancy of the Latino community gives the area a delightful energy. Its main thoroughfare is Mission Street between 16th and 24th streets. The area takes its name from Mission Dolores, which is the oldest known building in the city of San Francisco. Perhaps one of the most prized of the string of Missions lacing the California coast, the cemetery there inters some of San Francisco’s earliest Spanish inhabitants.
Haight-Ashbury
Haight-Ashbury, was first made famous during 1967’s “Summer of Love” was the birthplace of the hippie movement. Counterculture overtones still hold sway in this area with a number of eclectic bookstores, one of the world’s best and most popular record stores (Amoeba Records), piercing salons and purveyors of offbeat apparel. A sure sign gentrification has also reared its head in the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. Here you will find an outpost of one of the trendier surf/skater clothing retailers— Billabong-owned RVCA—at the hallowed intersection of Haight and Ashbury.
Although the city of San Francisco encompasses just under 48 square miles, it has a richer variety of neighborhoods than many considerably larger cities. The variety of neighborhoods that each offer something a little different and sharing it’s own personality means that there is something for everyone. From family-friendly to hip and trendy, San Francisco has a neighborhood and rental market to meet your needs.