Hi there! I'm a 25 year old young, single, female professional. I'm moving for the Summer from the east coast to SF for an internship and am wondering where is an affordable nice, safe, friendly neighborhood to live. I won't have a car, so public transportation would be nice, as well as living in an area where there are young professionals as well since I don't know anybody in the area.
Any suggestions would help! Thanks!

What is your budget? The words affordable and SF aren't generally seen in the same sentence, so be prepared to pay a premium for housing.

The most obvious part of town for a twenty-something on a summer visit is the Marina. It has loads of apartments and shops and restaurants, and the Marina Green is beautiful on sunny days. But if living in a potential earthquake liquifaction zone unnerves you try something up the hill a bit in either Cow Hollow or Russian Hill. Inner Sunset and Inner Richmond are nice also (if a little bland, and be prepared for lots of summer fog). For a little added funkiness you could try Cole Valley (but make sure it isn't too close to the main Haight-Ashbury area with its drug/crime/homelessness issues or the Mission (WEST of Mission St...up the hill toward Castro or Noe for safety but still easy access to the Mission's nightlife). North Beach might work as well. All of these neighborhoods are served by the cheap but often irregular Muni bus system. The BART subway system is mainly for the convenience of suburbanites coming into downtown for work or shopping. The ferries are a fun way to see more of the bay - and some of them sell drinks on the afternoon...makes for a very pleasant way to spend an evening.

bobludlow has given you excellent advice for neighborhoods. You are actually at an advantage because you don't have a car and can, therefore live in some of the charming, but hard to park neighborhoods (i.e., Russian Hill and Cole Valley) without any headaches.

As for wardrobe, you can go ahead and bring your fall clothes for the summer. If you're lucky, it might get above 70 for a few days, but that's if all the stars are aligned (i.e., it won't happen). It's not like a normal summer everywhere else (sigh). Just a warning!

Are you considering roommates? A young friend of ours just came here last August for a year. She used Craigslist.com to identify roommates and spent a long weekend interviewing people. She ended up living with some other young people in the Castro (straight people) and has had a great year.

I wonder what you consider "affordable"?

Craigslist is excellent to give you an idea of rents. I looked into moving to San Francisco a couple years ago but could not find anything in my budget (coming from Seattle) that I considered IN the city.

Most people I know live on the BART lines, like out in Berkley and Oakland (which might work for you) or even as far as Walnut Creek (which I would not suggest for a single young person).

I lived in Cole Valley for 8 years in my 20s. It's a great little neighborhood -- it has the N Judah for public transporation but is not near a BART station. There are plenty of young ppl. It has more character than the Marina which can be homogenous, though the Marina is near the water which is great for being outdoors and there are tons of young ppl.

Is anyone willing to post what a range of typical rents would be for a studio or small 1-bedroom in these kind of recommended neighborhoods?

Actually, Walnut Creek is a great place for single young people. It's not in the City, but it is a decent BART commute.

Don't get me wrong, I love Walnut Creek. Which I was extremely surprised to find this out -LOL. Friends from Seattle moved to the Bay Area and this is where they ended up buying a house. Great little downtown, restaurants, shopping. Easy BART commute. But I have trouble picturing a 20-something, new to the west coast there as far as getting to know people easily, etc.

summer internship often means a fairly low salary. So before anyone can give you useful suggestions - what sort of budget are you thinking of?

"affordable" in SF, or really anywhere in the Bay area, is a stretch, especially for short term rentals.

Suze --

Go to www.craigslist.org and search apt. rentals -- you can type in the neighborhood name under the search box -- ie. cole valley and up will come a bunch of apts. in that neighborhood. That will give you a good sense of rental costs these days.

I have used Craig's List, that's why I asked the question. I remember putting in $1500 for anything downtown and having no listings come up.

It asks for a minimum and maximum amount when posting. Did you put 1500 for both of those? If so, it may be that there are apartments for 1495 and 1510, but there weren't any for your exact number -- better to put in a range. Also, did you mean financial district when you said "downtown." ?

I assume since she is talking about nice, safe, and friendly in SF, then she's assuming "affordable" means $3000-$4000 a month.

NewbieGirl? Sound right?

I think NewbieGirl has gone elsewhere.

Stu Dudley

Maybe my Craigslist search was not correct, but I also know lots of people living in the area. They were guesstimating for a studio or smallish 1-bedroom I'd need to give ~$1500 for something central.

I am no SF expert but was thinking of Mission, Haight Ashbury (i.e., not Oakland). For comparison I live in Seattle on Capitol Hill which is a vibrant artistic neighborhoody kind of district 2 miles from downtown core.

For anyone that is interested..I just read an article which was on MSN. Various cities prices were discussed. The article stated that San Francisco is now the most expensive city in the US to live in, it is even more expensive than NYC.

Thanks LoveItaly. Appreciate it. And it doesn't surprise me in the least. That's why I'm still in Seattle (and it ain't cheap here) -LOL!

Hi Suze I know SF, Portland and Seattle are not inexpensive to live in but I truly was shocked to read (assuming the article is correct) that SF is the most expensive city in all of the 50 states. And now you know why I don't live in SF #39;( Take care, and enjoy your beautiful Seattle.