Hi!
I went to San Francisco a few years ago and really loved it. I'd like to go again, but for a slightly longer period of time. Ideally I'd like to rent an apartment for say a month. Does anyone have any suggestions for reasonable apartments, preferably in the city itself so I don't need to hire a car unless I am going out of town. Thanks a lot!

I have a few I've researched, but what do you call "reasonable" for San Francisco? How much do you want to spend for a month? Just one person?

Yes just one person. I have no idea what would be reasonable for San Francisco standards in a decent neighborhood. Am hoping for something in the $800-1000 range. Is that possible?

A good resource for you is Craig's List: http://www.craigslist.com

It is highly used in san Francisco and has apartment listings among many other things.

Check it out and see if you have any questions on neighborhoods and such that we might be able to answer here.

Ouch. $1000 a month is a tough one in SF, if you're not willing to share an apartment (rents are astronomically high in the City these days). But maybe Patrick has some possibilities....

I'm glad I asked. The places I'm thinking are more in the $3000 to $4000 a month bracket, which I thought was reasonable for a nice place in a good neighborhood fully furnished for a short term (one month lease).

I think you'd have a hard time finding a decent furnished apartment on a one year lease for much under your budget! You might check somewhere like Craigslist for someone looking to sublet for a month, or post your own ad there for free.

Wow, three of us posting at once. I agree on that craigslist idea as that will be much less than the usual "vacation rentals" like VRBO. Another possibility there is someone looking to rent out a room, possibly with private bath within an apartment?

$800-1,000 range is a price of a non-furnished studio for rent. You will be looking for a short-term furnished rental. At least double your estimate.

Wow, I didn't realize it was so expensive, I used to live in Washington DC a couple of years ago and then was paying $2200 for an incredible condo, 2 beds, 3 baths, lounge kitchen... and assigned parking! Guess things have changed. Thanks for the feedback, had thought and apartment would be cheaper than a hotel, but at these prices the hotels are worth looking at!

eternamburg are you suggesting that you could have gone to DC and rented that fully furnished apartment for that price if you were just renting it for a month? Or would it have been double that? The big issue here is you aren't looking to sign a year or more lease. A furnished rental for a single month is way more than a regular leased apartment.
Also, yes in-town San Francisco rentals are WAY higher than DC.
Now let's see. You're not willing to pay up to $100 a night for a nice one bedroom furnished apartment for a month, but you think you're going to find a nice hotel for LESS than that? There are some motels that you might get for $79 or so a night -- plus tax -- that will be about $2700 or so for the month.

No, all I am saying is that if I have to pay more, it seems feasible to look at hotels where I have additional services like cleaning and fresh linen available!

eternalburg: Short term furnished rentals ALWAYS cost much more than longer term residential rentals. In DC, in SF, in London, in Tokyo, anywhere. Do you think you could rent a vacation apartment in a reasonable area of DC for $800?

Sure you can get a decent budget hotel for maybe $75 - $100 per night but it will be a small room. An apartment might be 2 or 3 time larger and have a kitchen. And some do have maid service.

If your budget is less than $2200 per month you will have a hard time finding either a flat OR a hotel.

You didn't mention when you wanted to come back to SF. If you have some time, and are flexible, I also agree with checking out Craigslist.org. You can even place your own ad. You might find someone traveling who will sublet to you for a month, or perhaps, do an apartment swap? You may want to google under apt swaps as well. Depending on where you live now, I've read in travel magazines that it's a popular solution for people who want to live somewhere for a month or so.

Best of luck to you!
Andiamo