Housing in SF

[docme]

I'm going to begin a fellowship in SF soon and the housing seems ridiculously expensive. Does anyone have suggestions about areas to live in? I'll work near the financial district/chinatown but any suggestions in a good area are welcome. Also, does anyone know about the UCSF campus housing and if any of the residents live there?
Thanks a ton!

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[eaglepsych]

I'm going to begin a fellowship in SF soon and the housing seems ridiculously expensive. Does anyone have suggestions about areas to live in? I'll work near the financial district/chinatown but any suggestions in a good area are welcome. Also, does anyone know about the UCSF campus housing and if any of the residents live there?
Thanks a ton!

I live in ucsf housing and it's a lot cheaper than everything else in the area and rather nice IMO. Lots of med students, residents, phd's, and some junior attendings. Shuttles stop right at the housing and awesome gym is right next door. Def worth looking into Imo. Drawback is 10-15 min walk to many restaurants/bars, not a classic sf neighborhood. Also a lot of construction right now with new buildings and hospital, so industrial feel and sounds. Also gets more sun than any other part of sf. cost of housing in this city is laughably high

 

[twright]

I'm going to begin a fellowship in SF soon and the housing seems ridiculously expensive. Does anyone have suggestions about areas to live in? I'll work near the financial district/chinatown but any suggestions in a good area are welcome. Also, does anyone know about the UCSF campus housing and if any of the residents live there?
Thanks a ton!

There is nothing cheap around there.
Agree with eaglepsych's characterization of the UCSF housing. The immediate surrounding area is kind of a wasteland.

If you're looking for cheap and liveable, try looking north and south of Golden Gate Park: Inner/Outer Sunset, Inner/Outer Richmond. Lots of fog, lots of great restaurants. Public transportation will probably be an issue (although if you live in Richmond there will probably be a bus that shoots straight down Geary).

 

[notdeadyet]

I'm going to begin a fellowship in SF soon and the housing seems ridiculously expensive. Does anyone have suggestions about areas to live in? I'll work near the financial district/chinatown but any suggestions in a good area are welcome. Also, does anyone know about the UCSF campus housing and if any of the residents live there?

Are you going to be within walking distance of BART? Depending on the part of Chinatown you're talking about, you could be a 10 minute walk from a BART stop, and BART (the subway) is FAR preferable to MUNI (the above-ground trains and bus system). If you will be within walking distance of BART, you could look in the areas around the 16th/24th/Glen Park BART stops. If you look to the area west of the first two, it's pretty nice (but can be pricey). Anywhere around Glen Park is nice.

By the way, eaglepsych is talking about the Mission Bay housing. There are two flavors at UCSF. The one he's in is beautiful weather in an out-of-the-way spot. The other is right above UCSF in what is known as the "cloud forest" and has some of the wettest and coldest weather in the City.

Google San Francisco neighborhoods, find which ones appeal to you, cross reference it with a map, then hit Craigslist. There's no easy way to do it. It's very much a micro-neighborhood city and a few blocks make a very big difference. There are too many x-factors for folks to give good advice about the "right" SF neighborhood without knowing you. What's your budget for rent? Are you living alone or with a partner? Straight or gay? Home cook or eat out a lot? Want the urban or suburban experience? Go out to bars a lot or stay in and nest? Have a car or public transport person? Crave sunshine or don't mind the rain? Tolerance for crime? ETc. etc. etc.

I'm very curious about what fellowship has you working mostly in Chinatown and the financial distict. That's odd. But I'm just being nosey, no need to detail. Good luck with the housing hunt. It's one of the most expensive places in the country but it's hard to beat SF.