

Ask HN: Soma or North Beach - p01nd3xt3r

I am moving to San Francisco to run / work on my startup and I want to avoid driving / getting a car if I can.  I want to be around like minded people (techies and such) and I was wondering which neighborhood would be better soma or north beach.  Or is there another neighborhood that would be better?<p>--thx
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natemartin
First, remember that SF is a relatively small city, and you can get from
pretty much anywhere to anywhere else in the city via public transit in about
an hour max. So don't immediately discount all the areas that don't have
startups. There are plenty of other areas in the city that get you more
apartment for your money, and more diversity in the people around you
(diversity as in not just tech workers)

That being said, if you really want to live where you work, probably go for
SOMA. Most of SF's startups are clustered there. Be ready for high rents
though. And talk to someone who's lived there for a bit to find out which
areas of SOMA you'd want to live in, and which you don't. (Actually, I can
help you with that if you want!)

North Beach has some good bars, lots of good restaurants, lots of crappy
clubs, and tons of d-bags. Not many startups that I know of. Nice to visit
friday nights, I wouldn't want to live there.

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p01nd3xt3r
That would be awesome; what parts of soma should I look at? One of my friends
said he lives around Bluxome Street and he likes it so I was considering
something close to that.

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natemartin
Depends on which part of Bluxome.

Basically for SOMA, you'll want to be east of 4th street if you can, maybe 5th
as the furthest west. Once you get to around 6th the neighborhood gets pretty
bad.

There's a lot of startups clustered around the 2nd/3rd and Bryant/Brannon,
with more up towards market as well. South Park is a very nice area, but high
demand as well.

If you're near 2nd and Brannon-ish area, be prepared for lots of crowds during
baseball season.

The area north of harrison and east of 2nd is fairly industrial.

Email me (check my profile) and I can tell you more about the city.

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incomethax
Don't forget the crowds during the festivals (almost every weekend) near the
civic center that can spill out pretty far if you're located near market.

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slpsys
In my humble opinion, it doesn't matter so much where you sleep as much as
where you hang out/hack/work (you are an entrepreneur, yes? why are you
sleeping?). I presently live in NOPA, and for me, it's easier to find cheap
housing, and a quick bike ride or bus ride on the 5 to (or 24) to downtown
(SOMA'd be a few more blocks' walk).

natemartin's right, though; north beach probably wouldn't be the best fit.

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derwiki
Nob and Russian Hill aren't bad. I have a 20 minute walk to downtown, and easy
access to buses and cable cars. It's quiet (compared to the Mission or North
Beach), not terribly expensive, and pretty safe. The walk home through
Chinatown is a nice change of scenery, too.

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bjclark
I lived in Nob Hill for a year and it's a great area, except that walking to
SOMA you might go through a couple pretty rough blocks and walking home you go
up some of the steepest hills in SF.

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lacker
I'd recommend the Haight (upper) or the Mission (closer to 24th than to 16th).
They're good places to live, and you can get to anywhere else pretty easily.
There will be techies wherever you go in SF.

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aschobel
We moved from the upper Haight to South Park (Soma). Even w/ all the
gutterpunk kids and tourists the Haight was much move liveable and felt like a
neighborhood.

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natemartin
Personally, I'd avoid both areas for the reasons you stated. The
homeless/gutterpunks/tourists in Haight get pretty annoying, and there really
is no neighborhood feel in SOMA. In SOMA, people are there to work, or to
network, or because it's trendy. Other parts of the city it's a lot easier to
get to know your neighbors.

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slpsys
Yeah, what's wrong with lower haight? It's way nicer/more unassuming.

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malyk
It really depends on what you like. SOMA doesn't have a great neighborhood
feel, IMO. I do have a sweet 1200sq ft loft with an awesome view of Twin Peaks
out the west window and a cool view of downtown out the east window. Rent is
$2200 a month with parking. It's right near all the clubs around folsom and
11th which provides some noise at night from thursday through saturday.

However, getting to the mission to eat or go out is super easy. Getting
downtown is also easy. Getting to the castro or inner sunset are also super
easy. Getting to hayes valley is a quick walk. Getting to north beach is
pretty easy as well. Getting to the richmond is a little harder, but not that
bad especially if you have a car.

There is also not a whole lot of greenery in SOMA, so if that's something you
like you'll have to focus on 1 or two areas.

Most of the startups seem to be in eastern soma.

In general soma has a very industrial feel (no greenery, lots of big warehouse
like buildings, etc), but it seems to be one of the hot spots for
redevelopment in the city, so it could be completely different in a few years.

Oh, there's also not as high a concentration of restaurants and shops in soma
like there are in north beach, haight, mission, etc. There are some, with more
coming all the time, but it isn't nearly as much as in other, more established
neighborhoods.

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jsares
i live in the mission and a good friend lives in soma

to give you an idea of prices

i live in a new 3 bedroom condo building with two roommates (24th and bryant)
and pay 1150/mo plus about 50 in utils

my friend lives in an older 3 bedroom home w two roommates (sumner and howard)
and pays 650/mo plus about 50 in utils

im very happy in the mission but soma is cool two, i wouldnt live in n beach
too far away from everything

another friend lives right on market in a highrise and pays 1500 for a pretty
big studio

hope some of this helps.

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zaidf
I lived in SOMA on Market St. Super awesome for quick public transport to
anywhere in the city. Try to be on Market St and you should be fine!

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haseman
If you like wearing more than one popped collar, move to north beach.
Otherwise, live in the Mission, Lower Haight, or Soma.

