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Even though it has more of a low key reputation as a foggy stretch of sleepy residential streets with Chinese and Russian American roots, there's a lot to explore here. The area's lush parks and rugged coastline bring a generous dose of nature's drama to the neighborhood. And small town vibes, complete with historic movie houses and charming locally owned restaurants, give the neighborhood a magic all its own.
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Residents love Inner Richmond's proximity to lots of parks as it's sandwiched between two of San Francisco's largest: Golden Gate Park and the Presidio. It's also well known for it's availability of food from all cuisines, including Burmese, Chinese, Mediterranean, Lebanese, German, Polish, Japanese, French, Indian ... just to name a few.
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While the hustle and bustle of San Francisco can be loud, both Presidio Heights and Laurel Heights are quiet neighborhoods, divided by California street, and inhabited by people who feel like they have everything they need to be content. Walk the tree-lined, orderly streets to visit old-school eateries and boutique clothing shops. Since most of the homes are owned by families, you won't find too many apartments for rent there. Locals say that if there was any problem at all, it'd be that the neighborhood can occasionally be too quiet.
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According to locals, the Marina is known for its lack of diversity, particularly with a majority of young, attractive professionals who wear athleisure and like to party. With bars and clubs packed on its streets, the Marina is known for its "college-like" scene of heavy drinking and lots of singles. The neighborhood is also home to incredible restaurants, high-end shopping, spas, and apartments mixed in between expensive single-family homes. The weather tends to be sunny, and its flat topography makes walking and biking much easier.
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A space that was formerly home to cows grazing and fishermen looking to be close to work, Cow Hollow is now a generally affluent area that is home to spas, wellness centers, and boutique shopping. It's also home to great restaurants...and you can hit the gym after. Cow Hollow is currently home to many young professionals as well as younger families who enjoy a city feel without being enveloped in the city itself.
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It's a nice place to visit...but it's quite expensive to live there. When the 1906 earthquake and fire destroyed the wealthy residents' homes in Nob Hill, they built new homes in Pacific Heights. Today, Pac Heights is characterized by these gorgeous mansions and a lack of public transportation. While Pac Heights is home to many rich and famous folks, it also feels very "neighborhoodly," according to residents. Besides Fillmore Street that boasts high-end boutique stores, the neighborhood is fairly residential.
Fun fact: Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is a Pacific Heights resident.
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Previously called "Upper Fillmore," Lower Pac Heights was renamed to draw in the prestige of Pac Heights, its neighbor to the north. While it doesn't have the views that Pac Heights is known for, Lower Pac Heights has fewer hills, fewer tourists, and great shopping and restaurants. For live music lovers, Lower Pac Heights is home to two major venues: The Fillmore and Boom Boom Room.
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Considered one of the more swanky and upscale areas, Nob Hill is named after the Central Pacific Railroad's barons, who built massive mansions on the hill and were known as "nobs" (a slang term meaning "wealthy people"). The 1906 earthquake and fire wiped out almost all of the homes. Now, the area is full of a mix of old and new styles. On all parts of the hill, you'll find lavish hotels and restaurants, tourists riding cable cars, remaining "old-money" families, and lots of nightlife on Polk Street.
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Russian Hill is a clean and quiet neighborhood with a low-key nightlife. At the highest altitude in the city, biking and walking there are challenging but good for those who want a workout. Picturesque Victorian and Edwardian houses line the streets, and parks, restaurants, and boutique stores allow residents to find everything they need.
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At Fisherman's Wharf, thousands of tourists flock the streets. While you won't find many houses or apartments there, you will find places like the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. Not surprisingly, its most notable cuisine is seafood, and it's tough to walk around there without running into hundreds of tourists.
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Thanks to its diverse past, North Beach is home to one of San Francisco's most prominent cultures. Commonly referred to as "Little Italy," Italian culture is still present in North Beach today throughout Italian cafes, delis, and restaurants. The Beat literary movement gave the neighborhood an avant-garde edge, but most of those creative residents moved away after rent prices increased. The red-light district used to span throughout North Beach, and neon signs at strip clubs still line Broadway Street. Most of the homes are walk-ups that are tucked away on small streets.
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San Francisco's Chinatown is not only the oldest Chinese community in the United States but also the largest enclave of Chinese residents outside of Asia. The Chinatown community is one where Chinese culture and custom is maintained while also being one of the largest tourist attractions in the state — it attracts more tourists annually than the Golden Gate Bridge. Because of its influx of tourists and the residents that live there, Chinatown gets pretty crowded, but residents say that navigating the crowds is worth it for the authentic cuisine and experiences. If dim sum and endless supplies of fresh fish and cheap produce is your jam, then Chinatown is your kind of place.
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Located above North Beach, Telegraph Hill is much quieter than its adjacent neighborhood. Much like North Beach, Telegraph Hill became an area for bohemian artists and poets. While most of the homes are packed into small streets, the Coit Tower and Filbert Steps give brave walkers a chance to view the beautiful houses and gardens.
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Like any other city, the Financial District in San Francisco is home to the city's skyscrapers and big office buildings. Not many people actually live in the Financial District since it's primarily commercial real estate. Butted up against Market Street, you can find lots of MUNI stops that will take you to and from work, and just a few blocks away, you'll find Union Square, penthouse bars, and dozens of hotels.
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While Hayes Valley used to have a pretty seedy reputation, it's recently undergone a revitalization. In 2013, SF Jazz Center was opened, the first free-standing building dedicated to jazz performance and education. Throughout revitalization, Hayes Valley and the Civic Center area has maintained a diversity that shows in its entertainment, small boutique shopping, and an exciting nightlife (by SF standards).
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Western Addition was once the furthest west spot in San Francisco. Now, in the middle of city limits, the large neighborhood encompasses smaller areas too, including NOPA (North of the Panhandle), Alamo Square, and Japantown. Once the city's most multicultural neighborhood with a strong African American community, Duke Ellington and Billie Holiday often played at clubs there. Today, Western Addition is home to many working-class individuals and families, as well as diverse bars and restaurants along Divisadero Street.
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If you're looking for a neighborhood with good and cheap food, laid-back bars, and easy to bike streets, Lower Haight is your place. Lower Haight sits directly to the east of Upper Haight (AKA Haight Ashbury). It has drastically changed over the past few decades and is now one of the most desirable central pockets of the city due to it's walkability, proximity to other neighborhoods and community vibe.
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Haight-Ashbury was the epicenter for hippies and the Summer of Love in 1967. It's named after the corner of Haight and Ashbury, where hippies would gather in their tie-dye clothes and peace sign necklaces. Today, Haight-Ashbury capitalizes on its past, with vintage clothing shops, second-hand stores, marijuana shops, tattoo parlors spread all along Haight Street for its hundreds of tourists each day.
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Located on the south side of Golden Gate Park, Outer Sunset looks similar to Outer Richmond. It's close to the beach, which means a lot of foggy days, but it's home to a lot of families and can feel more like the suburbs than a city. You can expect to live near some surfers, and if you're close enough, the sounds of waves can lull you to sleep.
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It looks like San Francisco, and it's got a lot of the same vibe, culture, food, and entertainment. People are pretty divided about it, though. With it being one of the largest neighborhoods in San Francisco, it lacks the walkability some may be searching for in a city. Either way, it's a stone's throw (a car or bus ride) away from the city proper, even if your friends act like it's lightyears away.
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A popular place for families with babies or dogs, Cole Valley residents love that their neighborhood is a one-stop-shop for everything they need. It's a small-town feel much like Bernal Heights with more accessibility to the things residents need and want. The proximity to Golden Gate Park provides opportunities to venture, while Cole Valley proper is home to pretty much every type of food you can imagine. The community encourages pets so much so that you can bring your dog to dinner at Zazie's every Monday night.
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Surrounding two peaks, called "Twin Peaks," this neighborhood is a popular spot for an urban hike with 360º views of the city. Located in the geographical heart of the city and above its surrounding neighborhoods, getting to Twin Peaks requires a bus, car, or strong calves. The western side is foggier than the east side, with the peaks blocking the fog, and the top is quite windy. Built in the 1950s and 1960s, the homes on the neighborhood's winding roads have a retro feel to them. Many of the residents have lived there for decades, and since few businesses operate in Twin Peaks, the neighborhood makes for a sleepy lifestyle.
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The Castro is often referred to as the "Gay Mecca" of San Francisco. The Castro was one of the first established gay neighborhoods in the United States and continues to be a prominent location for LGBTQIA+ around the world. There is always something to do, whether it's catching a movie at the famous Castro Theatre or catching the game and having some brews at Hi-Tops, San Francisco's first gay sports bar.
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Noe Valley is indeed a valley — it's surrounded by hills, making the neighborhood feel intimate and cohesive. The new town square, located on 24th street, is home to boutique shops, live music, and the Saturday farmer's market. You will see lots of strollers and dogs walking their owners over the weekends. While the neighborhood seems picture-perfect with its ever-present sunshine, beautiful Victorian houses, and quiet nature, some locals mention that it's great for buying artisanal goods but not always basic needs like weekly groceries or household supplies.
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The Mission is named after San Francisco de Asis church, the oldest standing structure in San Francisco. The church stands next to the immensely popular Dolores Park, the neighborhood highlight. Diversity stands out in The Mission, and gentrification, eviction, and housing projects are hot topics there. The two main cultures are long-standing Latinx families and the younger people who work in tech, which fuels gentrification there. The neighborhood's two main streets, Valencia and Mission, run parallel to each other. While Valencia is known for its hip bars and boutiques, Mission is known for taquerias and corner stores. Zoning laws prevented the construction of buildings taller than 4-5 stories, so lots of older Edwardian and Victorian houses line the streets.
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SOMA stands for "South of Market," and encompasses three areas: SOMA, Yerba Buena, and South Beach. The neighborhood used to be solely commercial, and today, the area is full of high rises on main streets and some smaller walk-ups and condos on side streets. While the neighborhood recently gained popularity with coworking spaces and tech employees, few families live there. The north side of SOMA has lots of public transportation options, including buses, BART stops, and MUNI stops, and the south side has a punkier feel due to its bars and music venues.
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Thanks to its location, Mission Bay and Dogpatch don't receive visits from Karl the Fog, making it one of the sunniest neighborhoods. Historically, Mission Bay was actually part of the bay, and the industrial Dogpatch held warehouses and docks. Since 1990, builders started converting those warehouses into industrial condos, apartments, and offices. Young professionals and artists are on the rise, along with rent prices. Throughout all of the Mission Bay and Dogpatch, construction is a common theme with new apartment buildings, shops, and restaurants rising from the ground every year.
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Potrero Hill is unofficially split into two parts: the north side and the south side. New condos and larger apartment buildings sit on the north side, Victorians line the hills, and new "affordable" housing projects sit on the south side. Due to sunny days and rather steep hills, skateboarders and filmmakers are often found skating down the hill. With no real main street, tourists don't usually visit this part of town, but locals love the small shops, bars, and restaurants on 17th and 18th Streets.
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Residents of Bernal Heights love the feeling of community and small-town vibe. In this neighborhood, you can find families, first-time homeowners, and fried chicken touted as the city's best. Residents that live in Bernal Heights love the laid-back feel of the neighborhood. The best and worst part about living there is climbing the hill. The climb is well worth it for the view and rope swing at the very top.
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Glen Park is primarily residential, and the residents like to keep it that way. Most residents will try to convince you that "no one ever goes there," and they love its lack of tourists. Thanks to the commitment to keeping their community small, most would say that Glen Park has a fantastic village feel.
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Residents call West Portal "The New Noe Valley," due to its similar culture. While more affordable than Noe Valley, West Portal attracts a similar group of people — typically more affluent, less diverse homeowners. Since SFSU and UCSF sit on either side of West Portal, lots of students live there, and with its foggier and sleepier feel, retirees tend to settle down in this area. People starting families also choose to live there due to its affordability of homes with more backyard space and proximity to schools, markets, dentists, and bookstores.
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With a history of hosting shooting ranges, the Ingleside Jail, and rowdy saloons, Ingleside and Oceanview don't attract as many people as Noe Valley. Rows of colorful, older, smaller single-family homes line the winding streets, making it an affordable area for first-time homebuyers. In 1934, the jail was turned into City College, and now many of those students rent in-law units (legally or illegally) in the neighborhood. While most of the area is residential, residents can find major amenities like Whole Foods and Target on Ocean Avenue. Although the neighborhood is typically cold, foggy, and generally quiet, locals predict Ingleside and Oceanview will become a vibrant, community-focused neighborhood in the future.
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On the southern border of San Francisco, these neighborhoods are often grouped together because of their proximity and similar vibes. Excelsior also includes the smaller Mission Terrace, Portola, and Crocker-Amazon neighborhoods. People with lower and middle-class incomes live there due to the lower cost of housing, which primarily includes single-family homes with in-law units, making it a popular area for renters.
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Bayview has a colorful history and is now home to one of the largest developments in the city's history, The San Francisco Shipyard. The area boasts parks with trails to walk and piers with fish to catch at the India Basin Shoreline Park. The community in Bayview-Hunters Point has been historically diverse. Home to primarily Italian residents in the 1930s-50s, Bayview transitioned into a pivotal part of the Civil Rights Movement as the home of many prominent activists. In recent years, Bayview has become home to many artists, and builders are significantly developing the area. It's one of the more affordable neighborhoods and only a 25-30 minute bike to downtown.
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