San Francisco, California

Around 750,000 people call themselves San Franciscans, and they are undeniably an eclectic and interesting lot. Liberal, open-minded, and plenty opinionated, San Franciscans welcome diversity. Lots of young professionals and elderly live in San Francisco. There are some families, but compared to other American cities, San Francisco has a relatively low proportion of children. Less than half of San Franciscans are non-Hispanic whites, around a third are Asian Americans, and about a fifth are Hispanics. Some place the city's gay and lesbian population at around 15 percent. Homelessness has been a problem in the city for decades, with a relatively very high number of homeless persons per capita compared to other American cities.

Restaurants

San Francisco is known internationally as a major destination for foodies. With celebrity chef Alice Waters across the bay at Chez Panisse, the region became the birthplace of California cuisine, a movement that fuses diverse culinary traditions and places a focus on fresh, in-season, and locally-produced ingredients.

A truly rich diversity of cuisines is found here: Californian, Ethiopian, Chinese, Mexican, French, Vietnamese, Indian, Italian, Moroccan, Greek, German, Japanese, and more. Many vegetarians and vegans live San Francisco, and they can plenty on the menus of the city's eateries. There are even restaurants that only serve vegetarian or vegan food.

Some neighborhoods have a reputation for a particular cuisine; for example, the Mission is the go-to district for Mexican, Chinatown or the Richmond are heavy on Chinese and Vietnamese, and North Beach is dense with Italian eateries.  In other neighborhoods you'll find French bistros cozied up to sushi joints. Perhaps the thickest grouping of top-notch restaurants is found downtown, where diners have their pick from tables at ever-fantastic Fluer de Lys, Boulevard, Aqua, and The Slanted Door. In most cases, though locals don't have to roam far from their homes to find something to rave about, with excellent cafes and eateries found on nearly every neighborhood's main drag.

Nightlife

San Francisco has a lively nightlife scene, with lots of options to cater to the residents eclectic tastes. From dance clubs to scene bars to total dives, San Francisco has little bit of everything. After the sun sets, the city's busiest neighborhoods are:

The Mission – Home to twenty- and thirty-something hipsters galore, the Mission nightlife scene is a sea of crowded, laidback bars and dives, many with small dance floors. Bars include Zeitgeist, Amnesia, Doc's Clock, El Rio, Beauty Bar, The Attic, Argus Lounge, Bender's, and Pop's. Medjool and Laszlo next door are a bit fancy compared to the other bars in the area.

SOMA – SOMA is where you will find most of the city's clubbing scene, with major nightclubs bringing in top DJs. Here also you'll find some swanky lounges. Spots include: Mezzanine, 1015 Folsom, Mighty, The Endup, Harlot, Mr. Smith's, Cat Club, Temple, and 330 Ritch.

North Beach – With Broadway Street's scores of strip clubs and X-rated video shops, it's unsurprising that North Beach has a rather raucous nightlife scene. There are plenty of medium-size dance clubs, half-lounge/half-club bars, and a few laidback dives with a lot of character. Spots include: Dolce, Dragon Bar, The Boardroom, La Trappe, Vesuvio, Tosca, Spec's 12 Adler.

Marina/Cow Hollow – Arguably the best places in the city to pick up ex-sorority girls, Union and Chestnut Streets are flooded with young and well-dressed yuppies that fill up the scene bars and a handful of dives.

The Castro – The city's highest concentration of gays is found in the Castro, and the nightlife scene in the neighborhood certainly caters to its locals. Both ends of the spectrum are offered, from packed-to-the-gills Top-40 dance fests to relaxed and friendly pubs.

Downtown/Union Square – Here you'll find plush hotel bars, cozy wine bars, and a few major nightclubs like Ruby Skye.

Polk Gulch/TenderNob/ /Tenderloin – The southern blurry border of posh Nob Hill and the gritty Tenderloin is increasingly becoming a cool nightlife destination, with hipsterish bars, speakeasies, slick lounges, and dives. Destinations include: Hemlock, Olive, Bourbon & Branch, Edinburgh Castle, Bambuddah Lounge, and 222 Club.

For both restaurants and nightlife, Yelp.com is an excellent resource for current reviews from locals.

Parking in the city is notoriously hard to come by, and parking tickets are expense, as most residents with cars could tell you. Car insurance is also often high, and San Francisco gas stations regularly feature some of the highest prices in the Bay Area. The advice that many people give to new San Francisco residents is to just ditch the car. It's certainly cheaper, and often saves lots of headaches (especially if you ever find your car has been towed). If you have nearby access to public transportation, most find it to be relatively affordable and easy to use, albeit with the occasional delay or full bus during commuting hours.

While not as developed and extensive as those in other urban giants like New York, Boston, and Washington D.C., San Francisco's public transportation network is fairly wide-reaching and pretty reliable, although high prices might deter many from riding.

Within the City

Regular MUNI bus fares are $1.50 for adults; Seniors ages 65, youth ages 5-17, and the disabled ride for 50¢; Children 4 and under are free. For all fares, the ticket is valid for 90 minutes with a transfer. Remember to keep your transfer to show proof of purchase. (Hint: You might have to ask your driver for a transfer; not all of them hand them out.)

For $45 a month, pony up for a Fast Pass that gives you unlimited rides within the city on MUNI buses/trolleys, cable cars, and BART. This is a great deal for regular commuters, with discounts available for different demographic groups.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) has detailed information about all MUNI fares, passes, and related discounts. They also provide route maps, schedules, and other helpful tips.

A typical taxi fare from downtown to a close-in neighborhood (e.g., Pacific Heights, the Haight) will average $8-10; You'll pay more during rush hour and to reach neighborhoods across town (e.g., Outer Sunset, Ingleside). Numerous cab companies operate in San Francisco. Always make sure to choose one that has a working meter and a valid permit (these are usually posted inside the cab with the driver's name and photo where you can see it).

Throughout the Bay Area

San Francisco is fairly well connected to various locations throughout the Bay Area. While it doesn't have as extensive of a network or as sophisticated of a subway system as Boston or New York, folks looking for alternatives to their cars have numerous options from which to choose. Buses, ferries, trains, subways, and taxis are all available. Where you want to go, how much you want to pay, and how much time you have will all determine how you get there.

511.org provides helpful trip planning info and schedule listings fort various transportation modes and numerous Bay Area locations. The site also provides info on rideshare, vanpools, and bicycling.

To the East Bay
Bay Area Rapid Transit (or BART as it's commonly called) is SF's version of a subway. It primarily serves the East Bay, with destinations as far north as Richmond and Pittsburgh/Bay Point, as far east as Dublin/Pleasanton, and as far south as Fremont.

AC Transit buses leave from San Francisco's Transbay Terminal at 1st and Mission and service numerous East Bay locations.

Golden Gate Transit buses service Richmond and El Cerrito via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in Marin County to the north.

East Bay ferries leave from SF's Ferry Building and Pier 41 with service to Alameda and Oakland (Jack London Square). Baylink ferries leave from SF's Ferry Building and Pier 41 with service to Vallejo. Blue & Gold Fleet ferries leave from SF's Ferry Building and Pier 41 with service to Oakland, Alameda, and Vallejo.

To the Peninsula and South Bay

A new BART line opened several years ago that services San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and the town of Millbrae. Riders can connect with Caltrain at the Millbrae BART station.

Caltrain provides standard locomotive railway service from its SF terminus at 4th and Townsend Sts. as far south as San Jose and Gilroy in the South Bay. Service runs seven days a week, with express trains for commuters at various points throughout the day.

SamTrans buses leave from various SoMA locations (the Transbay Terminal at 1st and Mission is the hub) and service numerous Peninsula locations.

To the North Bay

Golden Gate Transit buses leave from various SF destinations (mostly downtown) and head as far north as Santa Rosa, with stops in between including Mill Valley, San Rafael, Novato, and Petaluma.

Golden Gate ferries leave from SF's Ferry Building with service to Larkspur and Sausalito. Blue & Gold Fleet ferries leave from SF's Pier 41 with service to Sausalito, Tiburon, and Angel Island. (Note: Blue & Gold seems to carry more tourists than commuters.)

To Airports
You have several choices when escaping from SF: Door-to-door shuttles, buses, cabs, or BART.

San Francisco International Airport (SFO)
BART trains from any of the SF stations offer service to SFO except during early morning hours. (Hint: Make sure you board a train bound for "SFO/Airport," otherwise you may end up in Millbrae or Colma having to transfer.) Fares vary depending on departure station (e.g., $5.35 one-way from downtown, $4.90 one-way from Balboa Park). BART to the airport is cheaper than a cab or Super Shuttle but can take a bit longer, roughly 35 minutes from downtown (set aside 45 minutes to be on the safe side). You'll arrive at the international terminal next to the SFO Airtrain stop. Take the Airtrain to the domestic terminals and other airport locations (e.g., rental cars).

Cab fare from the city to SFO averages $40. A door-to-door shuttle company (e.g., Super Shuttle) averages $17/person.

SamTrans buses also service SFO.

Oakland International Airport (OAK)
BART has a train/shuttle bus combo to reach the terminal directly. For $3.55 one-way from any SF station, take a FREMONT or DUBLIN/PLEASANTON train to the Coliseum/Oakland Airport station. Exit BART to the west side of the station, and hop an AirBART shuttle bus (one-way regular fare is $3.00), which brings you directly to the terminals.

Cab fare from SF to OAK averages $54, but keep in mind your driver will tack on the $5 bridge toll he must pay on the return (since he's not allowed to bring any return fares from Oakland into SF, this is legal.) A door-to-door shuttle company (e.g., Super Shuttle) averages $27/person.

San Jose International Airport (SJC)
You can take Caltrain to the Santa Clara station, then take the VTA Airport Flyer bus to the terminal.

Cab fare from SF to SJC averages $167 (wow!). Door-to-door shuttle company Super Shuttle only offers exclusive van service for $125/person; an executive town car will run you $120/person with them.

There are clunkier ways to get here as well (e.g., BART to Fremont, then light rail, then VTA), but the bottom line is, unless you get a really killer deal on a flight out of San Jose, or you have a dear friend willing to drive you the hour south, your best bet as an SF resident would be to fly out of SFO or Oakland.

San Francisco is an expensive city in which to live, but many believe the cost is well spent given the wide-ranging food, cultural, and social offerings placed at residents' fingertips. The city comprises the heart of the beautiful and vibrant San Francisco Bay Area.

Craigslist seems to be the place of choice for apartment and housing listings these days. You'll find everything from unfurnished places to corporate furnished digs to sublets/short-term to housing swaps to people looking for roommates to share their space.

Check out SF Rent Stats, which has been tracking craigslist rental postings and mapping statistics.

Much of San Francisco is protected by rent control laws, which is great news for tenants but often frowned upon by landlords/building owners and developers. What this means to you as a renter is that once you move in, your landlord can't legally raise your rent by more than a certain percentage every year, which usually hovers around 2%. These figures are set by the San Francisco Rent Board. Certain buildings aren't covered by rental control, and various rules apply. Be sure to visit the Rent Board's website to learn more about rent control.

The San Francisco Tenants Union is another valuable resource for renters, and you might find yourself consulting them during the term of your tenancy for a variety of issues. For one, did you know you're legally entitled to receive annual interest on the security deposit you put down when you move in? Many tenants aren't aware of this little perk, which can add up to a good chunk of change depending on how long you occupy your unit.

From music and dance to museums, parks, and shops, San Francisco has much to entertain.

Music and Dance

Classical music and dance are found in the grand beaux-arts buildings in the Civic Center district. Davies Symphony Hall hosts the San Francisco Symphony, while across the street, the San Francisco Opera and the San Francisco Ballet perform at the San Francisco Opera House. Major music venues for contemporary music include the Fillmore Auditorium, Warfield, Independent, Great American Music Hall, Slim's Biscuits and Blues, Boom Boom Room, Yoshi's, Bimbo's 365 Club, 12 Galaxies, Rickshaw Stop, and Bottom of the Hill. Buy tickets at Ticketmaster and Tickets.com, and look for tickets to sold out shows on Craiglist.

Theater

The city's theater district is centered just west of Union Square. There Broadway musicals come to life at the Cuuran Theatre, Golden Gate Theatre, and Orpheum Theatre. The well-resepected American Conservatory Theater is found at the Geary Theater. San Francisco is perhaps better known for its experimental and cutting-edge theater work, performed by Exit Theater, Magic Theater, Marsh, Theatre Rhinoceros, and Theater Artaud.

Shopping

San Francisco is a delight for shopaholics. Near Union Square you'll find Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Barneys, Macy's, Nordstrom, international luxury designers, and loads of major chains (William Sonoma, Tiffany's, Crate and Barrel, Gap, Victoria Secret, Abercrombie and Fitch, Forever 21) and international designer outposts (Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Hermes). In other neighborhoods, streets hold clusters of charming boutiques. In Hayes Valley, Hayes Street from Gough to Laguna is home to fashion-forward boutiques, art galleries, unique shops selling everything from mod travel goods to whimsical home accessories. Posh Pacific Heights supplies upmarket fashions and modern home furnishings. In the Marina and Cow Hollow, Union Street from Gough to Fillmore and Chestnut Street from Fillmore to Divisadero are packed with glossy boutiques selling chic fashions. Many of the city's independent designers have set up shop in the Mission around 16th and Valencia, while the Haight is chock-full of thriftstores, music stores, head shops, and funky boutiques.

Museums

San Francisco has loads of museums. In SOMA are the SFMOMA, Cartoon Art Museum, MoAD (Museum of the African Diaspora, in SOMA), Zeum, and Contemporary Jewish Museum. In Golden Gate Park are the de Young and California Academy of Sciences. In Lincoln Park you'll find the Legion of Honor, while in the Marina you'll find the Exploratorium. Over in the Civic Center district is the Asian Art Museum. Over in Fisherman's Wharf are oddball attractions like the Wax Museum, Ripley's Believe it or Not!, and Musee Mechanique.

Parks

Environmentally conscious San Francisco has many patches of green, both small and large. Most neighborhoods have at least a couple blocks carved out for grass and trees, but a few lucked out with massive swatches. The gigantic Golden Gate Park is bigger than New York City's Central Park, and stretches from the Upper Haight to the ocean. The Presidio and Lincoln park carpet the northwest corner of the city. 

San Francisco's many neighborhoods all have a distinct character. The Mission is filled with working-class families, Hispanics, and twenty-something hipsters. The Mission's polar opposite could be the yuppified Marina, filled with chic boutiques and preppy young professionals. Russian Hill and Nob Hill are also well-to-do though in a more relaxed way, and Pacific Heights is filled with grand hilltop mansions owned by the city's uppercrust. The funky Haight retains a bohemian vibe, as does the lively North Beach with its Italian heritage. The Castro is the hub of the city's gay-community, and nearby Noe Valley is a quietly charming area with a main drag jammed with strollers. Still-devoloping SOMA is stacked with modern loft and apartment complexes, and on the other end of town, the residential Richmond and Sunset districts stretch along the Golden Gate Park toward the western waterfront.

Like any major city, San Francisco supplies all the essentials from grocery stores to banks, gyms, dry-cleaners, hospitals, libraries, and 24-hour drugstores.

Major grocery store chains include Safeway, Cala Foods, Trader Joe's, and Whole Foods. Major gym chains include Club One, 24-Hour Fitness, and Crunch Fitness. There are loads of dry-cleaners, laundrymats, and corner markets. 24-hour Walgreens outposts are at 498 Castro Street and 1189 Potrero Ave. Hospitals with 24-hour emergency rooms include California Pacific Medical Center, San Francisco General Hospital, UCSF Medical Center, and Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. The main branch of the San Franicisco Public Library is located at 100 Larkin Street.

The Craigslist job boards are very popular in the Bay Area. Other ways to find jobs include Monster.com, BayAreaJobs.com, and headhunters and placement firms.

Raising children in the city is difficult in general, but there are some relatively safe areas to raise a family, and there are lots of parks and playgrounds in the city. For a complete list of elementary schools, you can visit the San Francisco Unified School District homepage. San Francisco has a number of public and private middle schools and highschools. Colleges and universities include: UC San Francisco, San Francisco State University, Academy of Art Univesity, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, the California Culinary Academy, and Hastings law school.

San Francisco has mild weather compared to the rest of the country. Winters are mild (average daytime highs of 60 degrees F) and wet, with plenty of rain but snow only once in a very rare blue moon (in the last 150 or so years, San Francisco has seen snow 10 times).  Summers are dry, with the warmest and most sunny time of year being late August and September. San Francisco is known for its fog, which can cover parts of the city all day long, particularly in the spring and summer. Because of its many steep hills, San Francisco is a city of microclimates. Western neighborhoods are often overcast, while eastern neighborhoods see more sun.