hcj1440

Yes house prices here are totally ridiculous. I live in the suburbs south of San Francisco now, but lived in "the city" for many years before that.

A good place to look for rentals is www.craigslist.org -- abbreviations at the very top stand for "SF city", "South Bay", "East Bay", "Peninsula" (between city and south bay), and "North Bay" so you can narrow down your search to a more specific region if you'd like. I loved living in SF -- the population is very diverse (not just ethnically but in many other ways), restaurants are very good, in some places you can see the bay/ocean and it's good living in general. As with all city living, parking can be a problem.

I live on the peninsula now and enjoy that as well, we have more room and more sunshine and there is parking everywhere. But I do miss the hustle and bustle and the sheer convenience of living in a city.

Anyway -- fun neighborhoods in the city:
Pacific Heights
Marina/Cow Hollow
Russian Hill (less nice than Pac Heights)
Cole Valley
SOMA (newer, "revitalized" district)
Inner Sunset (south of Golden Gate Park)

Stay away from:
Bayview
Downtown (where all the bums are)
Western Addition (more bums)
Outer anything (takes a really long time to get to city center; can be faster from the suburbs)
Treasure Island (not actually in city but in middle of bay between SF and Oakland)

Also Bernal Heights, Glenview and Potrero Hill are all farther out, but they are little neighborhoods in their own right. Still, to me you might as well live in the suburbs as live in those areas.

The Mission District can be cheaper and has its own culture. Lots of students and early to mid-20 y.o.'s living here.