

San Francisco Questions - geoffw8

Hi all,<p>I'm from the UK, and my company has just received some seed funding, and I'm thinking of coming to SFO for a month or two, at <i>some point</i> to check it out.<p>I just wanted to ask:<p>1. How much can I expect to pay for rent? I'm looking for something I can eat and sleep in. I don't want to have to wear Kevlar to the shops, but I don't need a jacuzzi bath :) I'm not fussy.<p>2. Where does the magic happen? Wheres the place (town/city) to be staying?<p>Any info will be very much appreciated.<p>Thanks,<p>Geoff
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jpeterson
In my opinion, this is a horrible time for you to be checking out San
Francisco. You've just got seed funding--why do you want to blow that on one
of the most expensive places to stay in the US? This is when you should be
very frugal and concentrate on creating a kick-ass product. Worry about
location later.

~~~
geoffw8
Completely agree. Its not something I'm looking to do right away, I just
wanted to put the feelers out nice and early...

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dasht
(My comment is redundant with some of the others but I wrote it before reading
them. I figure it's helpful to see concurring opinions.)

I think that you will find such short term rentals difficult but not
impossible to come by. As a fallback, though it isn't a very exciting option,
there are various hotel-but-with-kitchens businesses that specialize in short-
term rentals.

The rental market is laid fairly bare on Craigslist for the SF Bay Area. There
you might find, closer to the time of your travel, temporary sublet or
roommate opportunities.

You don't make clear what you mean by "magic". I'll take two guesses that you
mean either crazy Bay Area culture or insane Bay Area business networking
opportunities. For culture, consider Berkeley (in the flats, not the hills)
or, within The City (S.F.) consider the Castro, Haight, N. Beach, or SOMA
neighborhoods (given your Kevlar aversion, I'd suggest avoiding the
Tenderloin). For business, I am guessing a bit but consider SOMA or, for a
complete twist into a kind of bland suburban hell (but close to a lot of VCs
and start-ups) consider heading south on the peninsula to Mtn. View or Palo
Alto or somewhere around there.

I'd caution against most of Oakland. In the hills you'll be isolated from
action. In many parts of the flats, you'll wish for your Kevlar. There are
excellent and peaceful and vibrant places to live in Oakland but if you are
picking from afar, don't count on your ability to tell them from the not so
good places. Similarly, sadly, avoid Richmond.

If you time your visit for early summer, after the Universities end their
spring semester, the chances of finding nice short-term sublets or roommate
situations goes way up.

I think some of the price quotes you got below are not impossible but you
should expect higher.

Be very careful not to get scammed when negotiating a deal from afar (of
course).

-t

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jamesk2
For housing: <http://sfbay.craigslist.org/> \- for shared rooms and sublets.

For tech companies: <http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/show/4358> \- this is a map
of many of the tech companies in the area.

For activities, check out <http://meetup.com> \- there are lots of tech
activities all over the area.

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burnout1540
When you say "magic", what do you mean exactly? Where is the startup action?
Or where is the fun/excitement/nightlife? If you meant the second, read on.

Lots of people seem to be recommending SOMA. As someone who lived in SOMA for
almost 2 years, take my advice: SOMA sucks. Due to the large warehouses and
apartment complexes, SOMA throws away one of the city's best traits: its human
scale and the "walkability" that brings.

\- Want to walk to a reasonably priced dinner within half a mile? You have
about 4 choices if you're in SOMA.

\- Want to go to a corner store at 10 PM? You're out of luck if you're in
SOMA.

\- Want to bar hop? You'll take about 3 hops if you're in SOMA.

\- Want to feel like you're a part of a living city and meet other people? In
SOMA (not counting the Embarcadero), you'll see about one person on the
sidewalk every two blocks after business hours are over.

\- Want to enjoy the city's grand views and expansive parks? In SOMA, get an
apartment in a highrise and never leave it because that's the best you'll get.

\-------------

If you're looking for a livable, walkable, lively section of the city, then
you should check out Polk Gulch, North Beach, Hayes Valley, the Haight, and
the Mission. They all have pros and cons, but they're all better than living
in SoMa.

However, this is all moot if you just want to check out the startup scene in
SOMA and not actually stay there for more than a day or two.

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haseman
1000$-1500$ a month for a studio-1bedroom.

Magic happens: The Mission, SOMA, North Beach (more of an LA scene over there)

Most of the tech stuff happens in those areas but a lot of it happens down in
the south bay.

~~~
mmt
Indeed, I find it rather telling that, though PG extolls the virtues of San
Francisco, YC is in the South Bay.

Personally, I think that's where it belongs and that having "everything" be
"so nearby" in a city is both a fiction and overstated as a benefit.

~~~
haseman
I live in the mission. It's amazing to be able to walk between a dozen coffee
shops and bike to work. But it's not for everyone, it's especially not for
people who don't want to sell one of their organs each month to pay the rent.

~~~
j_baker
I _love_ the mission. I wish I could move there so bad.

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nolanbrown23
I'm moving to the East Bay, taking BART into the city. While I know it's not a
perfect situation, it's easier access to SF than South Bay. Look in Berkeley,
Emeryville and Rockridge. Also try <http://padmapper.com>, it's been
invaluable to me.

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evgen
Assuming that by "magic" you are looking to network for business opportunities
rather than socialize and be a tourist, then you are probably better served by
starting off with a scan of meetups and semi-organized gatherings that fit
your needs and work back to a location from there. Since your schedule seems a
bit open I would see if there is a major conference of some sort in the area
that you want to attend. Arrive a couple of days before the conference to do a
bit of preliminary face-to-face networking, work the conference, and then have
a plan to follow-up in person with leads and related meetups and gatherings.

Depending on what your company is doing, your are probably going to be better
off looking at the Palo Alto & Mountain View area for housing -- there are
hacker houses and extended stay hotels available, possibly some short-term
rentals, and SF is just a train ride away. Most of the bay area tech scene is
not actually in SF and being mid-peninsula will give you more options.

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nym
You only really need to wear kevlar in Oakland by the way.

On the other hand, that's where the hipsters go to keep it real.

~~~
timr
Technically, it's where the artists go to live without going broke. The
hipsters just follow.

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enki
500-900$ if you're willing to live with others. soma, mission, north beach are
startup central - the rest is down in the south bay

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gtani
hacker houses in/around SF (palo alto and Mtn View are close enough

<http://searchyc.com/hacker+house>

toilet, whiteboard <http://divvyshot.com/photo/ltIwP/>

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pclark
whats your startup?

