I doubt that the apt is on Mission - which is almost all commerce, and I'm pretty sure there are no driveways or garages on Mission. There are alleys off 17th, and their apt and/or garage could be on this alley (which might be a little scary) Capp to the east is a full street - and 20-30 years ago was a major "do not go" - but I think it's OK today.

We'll walk around 17th, east & west of Mission in about 1 1/2 hrs.

annetti - you didn't "balk" much after newton's post - so I'll assume that you are kinda mid-range in you tolerance for funky/scruffy. There are way too many vagrants that are doped & hang out at the entrance to both the 24th & 16th St BART stations - but you would just have to walk by them - not hang-out with them. Ignore them if they bark at you.

BTW, there is a brand-new big Whole Foods grocery store that opened up on Valencia & Market a few weeks ago. It's about 6 blocks away. There is a Bi-Rite gourmet grocery store on 18th between Dolores & Guerrero - and a Bi-Rite ice cream store a half block west of the market (where we'll probably stop for a cone after dinner in the eastern Castro tonight)

Stu Dudley

Stu - you're right, I'm not too worried about funky, what I worry about is gang activity and violent crime. I worked in south central LA for years and other urban blighted areas which is not exactly the same as what is being described above?? I hope I am reading the posts correctly.

Looking forward to hearing what you and others have to say. Thanks again, everone.

@annetti - if you want to email me the address I could let you know what I think.
rad50th at yahoo dot com

The long answer - if you worked in south central then the misson will seem like a walk in the park..kinda. With the greater disparity in incomes between young, entitled internet rich kids and the local populace - petty crime is definitely up. And there's been a slight uptick in violent crime in the Mission-SOMA-Tenderloin areas.
Short version - I wouldn't;t walk alone late at night. Other than that you'll be fine.

Annetti, do you arrange your exchanges through an online agency? I've been considering the possibility and would love some direction regarding which are the better ones.

Just back. 17th street west of Mission is quite nice - much better than I thought it would be. Mostly nice/newly constructed condos/apts with large parking garages for residents at street level. Some very nice shops on the street - a pilates/massage/exercise studio on the north side of the street, and several other upscale shops & restaurants on 17th and also on Valencia. It is just as nice as you get farther west.

East of Mission on 17th is just the opposite - a large discount clothing store on the southeast corner of Mission & 17th, an auto repair/body shop, a gas station on 17th & South Van Ness, and lots of decaying buildings that probably won't be there in 10 years. We were amazed with the difference in just one block.

Mission St between 16th & 17th is a mess. I got accosted twice - once my a lady who shouted in my face "you're on the wrong side of the street" and another time by a mildly aggressive panhandler. Lots of low-lifes on the street too.

If the apt you are considering is on 17th west of Mission - go for it.

16th St west of Mission is OK - but not as nice as 17th.

I didn't see any place I would want to stay on 17th east of Mission - but it is hard to tell what is behind closed curtains. I don't think I saw any new construction east of Mission.

Hope this helps.

Stu Dudley

Stu, thanks very much for your lengthy description. It is quite helpful and I appreciate it. I guess I have to figure out whether they are east or west of Mission. As I wrote above they live in an apt in what appears to be a single family home, but has two flats in it, what we called a duplex back East, on a small side street.

Mmeperdu, we have done about 30 exchanges. My 2 favorite sites are intervac.net and homelink.org. Both have been around over 50 years. Intervac now posts references beside the individual listing (something fairly new). Before you had to go on faith and intuition. We've been pretty lucky, thus far, no serious problems, maybe an obnoxious person or two, but it has allowed us to travel to Europe, Australia and lots of places in No America. If you have any follow up questions, ask away.

Newtone, thanks for your offer. I would not feel comfortable giving out our home exchangers' address. You have given me some great information and I really appreciate it.

Thanks, annetti, for the referrals. Those 2 seem to be the ones the regular home-exchangers use. And I will ask if I need more help.

Most of the places I saw on 17th west of Mission were large apt complexes.

Stu Dudley

Well, I figured out that the property is west of Mission, so that's good, now I have to decide whether or not I want to be in this neighborhood. I know that eventually we have to walk the other way, especially to take the BART. SF is such a special place, I would hate to give up a great trip, so as I write this I am saying to myself, we should go. Of course, our home exchangers have things to consider as well. Time will tell whether we get two wks in this wonderful city or not! Thanks everyone for all your well-considered responses, AND, Stu we used your wonderful SF thread on our last exchange and are sure we'll use it again!

They are not on 17th, but a sm side street with small houses.

That's interesting. Hoff is the only small street that runs into 17th. On the west side of Hoff, there is a large public parking garage. On the east side, there seems to be a small public park. I did not walk down this street. There are probably other buildings on this street.

There are a couple of small alleys south of 17th and running parallel to 17th, between Mission & Valencia. I would be leery of any alley/small street off Mission. If I owned a property that was closer to Valencia than Mission, I would advertise it as Valencia & 17th. Valencia is quite nice. Mission around 15th to 18th is not.

If you know the exact street, maybe aprillilacs could do a look/see if she passes that area. We don't have any current dinner reservations in the Mission, or I would look myself.

Again - Valencia & 17th is a very nice area. Any area west of Valencia (and including Valencia) and south of 16th (perhaps not including 16th, close to Mission) is nice. 16th as you get into the Castro past Dolores St is nice. 18th between Valencia & Dolores is kind of a "Gourmet Ghetto" (that's a positive thing).

Stu Dudley

There are other small streets off 17th and west of Valencia - but I would think the owner would say that their apt is close to 17th & Valencia if it was on one of these streets.

Stu Dudley

Stu- I keep looking at the map, both aerial view and street grid. I am not sure what I am looking at nor can I do a better job of describing the location. I feel uncomfortable pinpointing it on a public forum. I thank you for your help. I wish the neighborhood was easier to figure out! Thanks again.

I don't think it would hurt to name the block it's on. Have you looked at the neighborhood on Google maps Streetview? I think you'd get a good idea for the feel of the immediate area by "walking" around the neighborhood. I've made such decisions that way a number of times successfully.

Mmeperdu- I tried to use Streetview. I think there's something going on with the site rt now. It did not work or I'm a total incompetent - probably the latter!

if you are a block west of mission on a small street - it doesn't matter which one. Many of them are not well lit so you'd need to be careful at night.
The truth is, it's a gritty area. If you feel comfortable being on vacation in a gritty area you''ll be fine. I do not go there at night along and I rarely go out to that hood latenight- my clubbing days are over. But if you are streetwise you'd probably enjoy it.

Since you don't want to send the address ( or even the # - like 100 block of Hoff) I cant tell you any more

Tell me what street the apartment is on and I'll take a look for you. I live in a 2-glat house (on 30th near Church) and find that a nice arrangement.

Thanks, aprillilscs: newtome kindly helped me out!