

Moving to San Francisco? Some Tips. - brianmckenzie
http://blog.dreamoperator.com/?p=3

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uuilly
It's funny that nobody mentioned pac hts. If you're looking for a multi-room
place, it's REALLY expensive. But for some reason there are plenty of cheap
studios. I know lots of young people here who don't pay more than folks in the
mission / hayes valley and have much nicer places. I live here b/c I need to
run on trails every day and the presidio is close by. Parking is mellow
enough. I'm never more than 5 blocks from my house and seldom closer than 2.
There is just enough of a social life to keep you going and you're not far
from anywhere. I also surf when the waves are good and it's near OB (waves
were rocking today.) My car has never been robbed and I hardly ever see
crazies. I grew up in DC and NYC and I thought we were the market leaders for
crack heads! Man, they are a different breed out here.

I can't imagine being w/o a car. Once every two weeks we have a 7:30am meeting
in SV (angels, VC's, lawyers) which means a 6:15 wake up. Usually we don't
finish coding until 4am. I could not deal with that on public transpo.

Also my co-founder lives in the Presidio in an ex-military barack. His rent is
as cheap as it gets but he is a bit removed from the city.

Hope this helps, good luck!

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gibsonf1
A very Important item left out:

Muni also has a fleet of - not buses - but light rail trains. These trains,
designed by Ferrari, travel on the surface away from the city center, and then
go underground to become subways down town traveling very quickly without
traffic interference. From my location (Cole Valley - just above the Upper
Haight) a bus ride takes about 45 minutes to get to SOMA, and the light-rail
about 25 minutes. So, if you can find a place on any Muni line, you will
dramatically improve your transit times PLUS you won't have to deal with the
crazies - they mainly ride by bus for some reason. The way you can
differentiate a Muni light-rail from a bus line is the light-rail lines are
designated with a letter, and the buses with a number. Avoid buses - life is
too short - go light-rail.

And as ced pointed out, Cycling! For me, its under 20 minutes to ride to SOMA
- cycling is one of the fastest ways to get around town, and the cyclists have
become a political force here and have been granted a bike lane network in the
city. But being right on a Muni light-rail line is perfect for those
occasional rainy days.

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menloparkbum
ssh... don't mention cole valley. I like the doctor's wives with the dogs and
$900 strollers... and running into Craig every day at Reverie. Let all the
nerd wannabees keep driving up rents in the mission, aka "la marina nueva."

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brianmckenzie
So, the decisions for this YC funding cycle will be out in a few weeks. This
means that a bunch of Hacker News readers will be moving to the Bay Area soon.

Since I already live here, I'm putting together a brief guide to bootstrapping
in SF. It's not as hard as you'd think, but this is a very different kind of
city and there are some things to consider before you arrive. Hopefully this
will help!

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geebee
Nice article. I'd also recommend checking out a couple of other neighborhoods:

Glen Park is near a bart station and has a small but reasonably entertaining
center with restaurants, a small (high end) grocery store, and a couple of
coffee shops/bars. You're also a very short hop from the mission (fairly cheap
cab ride, 5 mins in the car). The nice thing is that it is extremely easy to
get downtown on Bart (10-15min), but you're also in the southern half of the
city near the freeway - so if you need to get to silicon valley, you don't
have to battle city traffic.

Another cheaper option along the same lines is to live near Balboa Park -
there's a bart station, a few good muni corridor lines. Transportation-wise,
it's similar to Glen Park - quick strike to the peninsula, quick bart ride to
downtown/berkeley. On the down side, this section is on the outer edge of San
Francisco's rougher neighborhoods. But rents here will be lower.

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sbraford
And be sure to avoid civic center / tenderloin, unless you want to pass 5
homeless people on your half-block walk to the local Starbucks. =)

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some
Make sure to wear some flowers in your hair.

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ced
How about cycling?

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uuilly
Wear a helmet!!! I got NAILED by a commuter on a cellphone running a stop
sign. I was 4 blocks from my house getting my moring cup of coffee. I ALWAYS
wear a helmet but didn't that day b/c it was such a short ride. I was lucky to
only be limping for 6 weeks.

Contrary to common sense, stick to the major roads. The traffic flows better
and you don't have to gamble w/ stop signs.

Also the bad neighborhoods always seem to be in the valleys, which, unless
you're Lance, is where you'll be riding. So follow the crackheads for the
least hilly route.

I don't care if I get hit a few times. Driving is maddening in this city. I
only use my car to meet w/ folks in the valley and to surf or get out of town.

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bdr
Please write about groups, places to check out, and stuff to do for hacker-
types. I just moved to SF and need some advice. :)

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leeskye
You should check out MeetUp.com. I'm considering starting up a OpenCoffee
meetup in SF. The only one I know of in the Bay is in Palo Alto. What do you
all think?

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gibsonf1
A great idea - go for it.

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rms
Thanks, great post, look forward to part 2.

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staunch
Thanks for the post. It's good and I look forward to the next ones. Any advice
on peninsula living?

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indie01
The peninsula is much nicer than the city, I think. I lived in the city for a
little while after moving here, but after my car got broken into TWICE in one
month, (even my sunglasses were stolen), and a couple of way too expensive
parking tickets and even getting towed on one occassion, I decided to go
migrate south. Very glad I did; it's _much_ cleaner, there are more trees,
less crime, and notably fewer crazies. It's easier to hear yourself think,
too. Rent is not really any less than you pay in the city, but you seem to get
more -- as in square feet -- breathing room, etc.

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ardit33
Yes, agree, but also it is 10times more boring. Just drive-everywhere burbs.
Better weather thou, but that's it.

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indie01
There's really nothing like a stereotypical "the burbs" on the peninsula -- or
anywhere in the Bay area for that matter. Concepts like "the burbs" are
perpetuated by the perception of a need to commute via personally-owned
vehicle or transport, as there are no other options -- and that just doesn't
happen here. It's perfectly reasonable and viable to live without a vehicle in
this place. Besides, Caltrain is fun.

If you think about it, the only people that benefit from people en masse
becoming infatuated with a certain neighborhood (or likewise shunning certain
neighborhoods) are Realtors, who make $ based on turnover of property in
certain areas, and Realtors are all pure Evil. I actually gave up driving my
car _after_ I moved down here; only 5 months thus far, and I estimate I've
saved a lot -- far more than I would have spent otherwise -- in transportation
costs, time, and even energy.

I guess I just don't understand your point. I've never met a genuinely
creative person who ever gets bored. I guess I don't really think of "getting
bored" being resultant from a function of place.

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PStamatiou
thank you. I will be making the move in a year and I must have my car with me
(I'm a car nut) - although I don't think it will pass CA emissions easily..

