Advice on housing at UCSF

[charlie98]

I'm currently looking for a place to live around UCSF and am considering living outside of the city. I am not from the area and was wondering how difficult it is to commute into the city on the BART or other public transportation. Do many students live outside of SF? What areas should I consider living in, in terms of cost, ease of commute, etc? I was thinking about Oakland or cities south fo SF. Any advice would helpful. thanks

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[citygirl]

Coming from the East Bay (ie: Oakland, Berkeley, etc.) or from cities south (South San Francisco, Daly City, etc.) by BART can be a long commute because you would have to transfer to at least one bus/trolley to get to UCSF. Living outside the immediate area of the campus is doable but a bit more complicated. I am actually going to be living in Pacifica with my dad, so I will be bringing my car every day, which is also a big hassle. I will have to get to school really early every day to get parking. On a day when we don't start early I am going to try the bus thing to see how long it takes. On the up side, you can always read while on the bus or BART.

I don't think it is all that much more expensive to live closer to campus, especially with roommates and if you figure in the cost of commuting.

 

[citygirl]

P.S. For more specific housing advice, look at the message board on the UCSF accepted students webpage.

 

[mgmd]

I think citygirl's right about it making not that much difference financially if you live with roomates in sf. Most people in SF between the age of 18 and 35 live with roommates, regardless of whether they're students or not. It just makes more sense financially and it's a good way to meet other people.

The commute from Oakland would take about 45 min by BART and the N to UCSF. I don't know Oakland very well, it's supposed to be fun but there are also pretty iffy areas. I also can only think of one student (not that I know more than about 15) who commuted to UCSF from the Berkeley hills and ended up getting a room in town because the commute was too much of a hassle. I do know SF a bit though and it's pretty easy to get to UCSF from most areas, including some that might be cheaper than the inner sunset where school is.

Do check out craigslist.org (free posts directly from the renter) to get a good feel for what's available out there. Otherwise metrorent.com or rentech.com
lets you do a free search without addresses before you pay a fee to check out their listings.

 

[LoneCoyote]

personally i would not depend on BART, you would have to take BART to Muni and it would be a pain, especially for med school when you may need to be on campus at odd hours studying. BART service stops at 12 am and on weekends trains are fewer. I would look for a shared situation in the city near UCSF. a friend of mine who is starting a PhD at UCSF just found a nice place, actually her own place, for about $750/month within walking sitance of the campus. other than that look for anything on the N-Judah line (Muni) and your commute will be easy. Check out Craigslist as someone else mentioned. It is THE source for Bay Area housing, esp. shares. Good luck and enjoy this fabulous city

 

[DrWuStar]

1. Berkeley is pretty much as expensive as the city and will be a tough commute.

2. I live in Oaktown now. It's cheaper than the city or Berkeley, and can be fun. Just make sure you check out the neighborhood in both day and night and that you live near a BART stop. The commute will still drive you crazy.

3. The Sunset is one of the less expensive parts of town (because the microclimate is awful). There are a plethora of reasonably cheap places in the Sunset and the nearby Richmond. Maybe not right next to school, since the prices might be jacked up by so many out-of-town students, but only a short bus ride away.

4. Craigslist.com is a good resource, but the local consensus is that rents are about 10-15% overpriced. So if you find a place on craigslist, be sure to negotiate or you will kick yourself later. www.sfgate.com is also good.

5. If I were looking for a cheap but decent apartment in SF (which I actually am) my ballpark price scale right now would be about:

$1000 for a studio in an ok neighborhood
$1300 for a 1 bedroom,
$1500-$1600 for a 2 bedroom
$1900 for a spacious 3 bedroom.

Good Luck!

 

[Alli Cat]

My two cents,

I'm working @ UCSF now and living in Nob Hill. Depending on how social you are, I would not recommend living in the Sunset. There's nothing going on. Nothing. You should check out Cole Valley/Ashbury Heights. It's pretty close to Parnassus, where you will be going all the time, but there are some cool bars. The scene is laid back and a little older. Or you could live in lower Pacific Heights and take the free shuttle from Mt. Zion to Parnassus. This is what I'd do if I were you. Lower Pac Heights is megafun, especially around Fillmore. Tons of little coffee shops to study in, bars to hang out in... and the Marina is just on the other side of the Pac Heights hill.

But then, I'm a little social party-girl. So you might not be down with my vibe.

I definitely, DEFINITELY recommend craigslist.org. It's how everyone here gets housing. Share, don't go it solo. Even the attendings here share. You save so much $$, and besides, the studios here suck.

PM me if you want more info! ~Alison

 

[charlie98]

thanks for all the advice. I think I'll be living in the city, but I still need to figure out where. Any more suggestions? how long does it actually take to get to UCSF on public transportation from different areas?

 

[LoneCoyote]

Some neighborhoods I would recommend looking in would be the Inner Sunset, Ashbury Heights, or parts of the Haight (be sure you go and scope the places out because some areas are not the nicest) if you want to be very close to school. Another neighborhood that I think is cool and a good location is Duboce Triangle. You have a cool park to chill in (Duboce Park) and access to the N (to UCSF or downtown), the J (downtown or outbound), the 37 bus which you could also use to commute to UCSF (you'd need to transfer to another bus, the 43 I think...). The Outer Sunset would be another option, though it is further, and is foggy. But if you like being near the ocean it would be good, at least when the fog rolls out and you can see the water. Maybe look at places in Hayes Valley/Alamo Square area. That area has gotten a lot nicer than it used to be though parts of it can still be a bit sketchy. I think that's all I can think of right now... maybe I'll think of something else tomorrow when it is not 1:30 am....

 

[lola]

i think cole valley and the inner sunset are very nice/safe neighborhoods (but tend to be foggy in the summer) and are within walking distance to ucsf. cole valley is more charming, thus more difficult to find an affordable apartment than the inner sunset. the inner sunset has lots of affordable restaurants that are pretty good. you could live past 19th ave (outer sunset) and take the n-judah (10 to 25 minute commute?), but there is not that much out there other than chinese neighborhoods, some neighborhood restaurants/shops (not all that nice in my opinion), etc... i guess it depends on what you're looking for. you are likely to find the most affordable places that are convenient to school in the outer sunset. it is a safe neighborhood.
the haight is ok (lots of shops/restaurants, lots of hippies -- not really my scene but maybe your's), though parking can be MISERABLE, so i wouldn't recommend it unless you don't have a car or get your own parking space. you could probably walk from the haight or else take a short bus ride.
duboce triangle is quite nice and a quick hop on the n-judah to ucsf (8-10 minutes?)
personally, i would avoid hayes valley/alamo square area. it has a lot of cute shops/restaurants, but is close to sketchy areas.
you could also live in the inner richmond (across the park, also foggy but inexpensive and has some restaurants/bars). i'm not sure how the public transportation is around there, though. the bus service is rather sporadic to ucsf i believe. laurel heights is a pretty nice neighborhood (though not really any bars around if you're into that), and there is a free shuttle (takes 15 minutes) that runs to ucsf on weedays that is very reliable. there is also a bus that goes there and takes maybe 25 minutes -- the 43 i think. most of the places on that bus line as you go north are pretty nice. also, as someone else mentioned, there is a free shuttle that goes to mt. zion. you could live around there, but might want to be careful about where you choose -- you probably don't want to live on the south side of mt. zion or if you do, you should make sure it's a safe neighborhood. it can get a bit sketchy. fillmore street north of sutter is very nice, lots of cafes and yuppies.
my absolute favorite neighborhood in sf is noe valley (sunnier than most mentioned above), but i don't know if there's a bus to ucsf .
i agree that you should defintely check out craigslist. i was a little skeptical about finding roommates on the internet but used it twice and ended up with some great roommates.
good luck!