Moving to San Francisco. Help us settle our housing debate!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Whoops I mean Pacifica. Didn't mean to masculinize it

The schools are REALLY bad there though. I have three friends who live there. One of them actually teaches science classes at one of the elementary schools because otherwise the kids would get ZERO SCIENCE EDUCATION.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

Sunset, near the zoo? Seems to be where younger people are getting decent deals these days.

Serious question for op: have you ever lived somewhere that's overcast constantly? The sf neighborhoods that you could conceivably afford are really gray. San Francisco microclimates are an intense thing - some neighborhoods are always sunny (noe, mission, Castro for example) some (eg sunset) very rarely have blue sky. I would think long and hard about this before buying. I would be really depressed in the sunset. I would much sooner move to somewhere bart-covenient in Berkeley or oakland

I thought she said not having a long commute was one of the factors. Also then you will deal with having to figure out which neighborhood is going to be a good fit and that will take take time in order to get to know the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

Sunset, near the zoo? Seems to be where younger people are getting decent deals these days.

Ding, ding! You know SF! -OP

Factor in maintaining the property then. A lot of best deals in the Sunset are homes of the aged who have either died off or are getting too old to continue living in a two story home (often alone). Also the ocean air and fog takes a beating on the exterior. Keep in mind the drought will play a factor in outdoor space (the little bit you get).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

So ... Outer Sunset or Outer Richmond? I live downtown (rent) and actually hate going out there. It feels like the suburbs. Not much is walkable.

It isn't bad out there. The street cars run along the major streets and there are lots of small businesses in the area.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoops I mean Pacifica. Didn't mean to masculinize it

The schools are REALLY bad there though. I have three friends who live there. One of them actually teaches science classes at one of the elementary schools because otherwise the kids would get ZERO SCIENCE EDUCATION.

Maybe they aren't interested in the public schools. There are excellent private schools in the area and some charter networks like KIPP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoops I mean Pacifica. Didn't mean to masculinize it

The schools are REALLY bad there though. I have three friends who live there. One of them actually teaches science classes at one of the elementary schools because otherwise the kids would get ZERO SCIENCE EDUCATION.

Maybe they aren't interested in the public schools. There are excellent private schools in the area and some charter networks like KIPP.

KIPP is not good. We looked into it for middle school. They discipline through humiliation. Lots of screaming at kids like military school. DD takes a bus that picks up about half a dozen KIPP kids and I've talked with them about their school. What they said reinforced my decision that KIPP is not a good school for the average well-behaved kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

So ... Outer Sunset or Outer Richmond? I live downtown (rent) and actually hate going out there. It feels like the suburbs. Not much is walkable.

It isn't bad out there. The street cars run along the major streets and there are lots of small businesses in the area.

Yeah, it IS bad out there. I've got friends out in the avenues and taken the L and N out to them. The commute in the morning to FiDi is almost an hour, and the small businesses you speak of are overall, pretty shitty. All the people I know out there come downtown to do their main shopping (Trader Joes, Target, Container Store, etc.). They hit up the Whole Foods right outside GG Park next to the McDonalds, and the Safeway during the week. But they consider those fill-ins.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoops I mean Pacifica. Didn't mean to masculinize it

The schools are REALLY bad there though. I have three friends who live there. One of them actually teaches science classes at one of the elementary schools because otherwise the kids would get ZERO SCIENCE EDUCATION.

Maybe they aren't interested in the public schools. There are excellent private schools in the area and some charter networks like KIPP.

KIPP is not good. We looked into it for middle school. They discipline through humiliation. Lots of screaming at kids like military school. DD takes a bus that picks up about half a dozen KIPP kids and I've talked with them about their school. What they said reinforced my decision that KIPP is not a good school for the average well-behaved kids.

Is this KIPP in SF or another KIPP school? KIPP is not for everyone but I was offering it up an option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

So ... Outer Sunset or Outer Richmond? I live downtown (rent) and actually hate going out there. It feels like the suburbs. Not much is walkable.

It isn't bad out there. The street cars run along the major streets and there are lots of small businesses in the area.

Yeah, it IS bad out there. I've got friends out in the avenues and taken the L and N out to them. The commute in the morning to FiDi is almost an hour, and the small businesses you speak of are overall, pretty shitty. All the people I know out there come downtown to do their main shopping (Trader Joes, Target, Container Store, etc.). They hit up the Whole Foods right outside GG Park next to the McDonalds, and the Safeway during the week. But they consider those fill-ins.

Those are the people you know. Not sure where they are originally from but SF natives take it in stride. Again, the city is pretty small so grocery shopping and other errands don't tend to eat up much time. Most people have a car and if you don't then Uber is a good stand in on the weekends. Otherwise the public transport within city limits is OK though aging so you will need to factor in break downs, etc. There are other places to shop in SF other than WF, TJs, and Safeway.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoops I mean Pacifica. Didn't mean to masculinize it

The schools are REALLY bad there though. I have three friends who live there. One of them actually teaches science classes at one of the elementary schools because otherwise the kids would get ZERO SCIENCE EDUCATION.

Maybe they aren't interested in the public schools. There are excellent private schools in the area and some charter networks like KIPP.

KIPP is not good. We looked into it for middle school. They discipline through humiliation. Lots of screaming at kids like military school. DD takes a bus that picks up about half a dozen KIPP kids and I've talked with them about their school. What they said reinforced my decision that KIPP is not a good school for the average well-behaved kids.

Is this KIPP in SF or another KIPP school? KIPP is not for everyone but I was offering it up an option.

I thought there was an income limit for KIPP. Is that not the case?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

What neighborhood? Sunset or Richmond?

Still think it will be tough to get into this neighborhoods for under $1 million for anything in decent condition on a decent block.

[Anonymous]

PP, I know several families in the Sunset/Richmond area. They all use private schools. Are you factoring this in OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whoops I mean Pacifica. Didn't mean to masculinize it

The schools are REALLY bad there though. I have three friends who live there. One of them actually teaches science classes at one of the elementary schools because otherwise the kids would get ZERO SCIENCE EDUCATION.

Maybe they aren't interested in the public schools. There are excellent private schools in the area and some charter networks like KIPP.

KIPP is not good. We looked into it for middle school. They discipline through humiliation. Lots of screaming at kids like military school. DD takes a bus that picks up about half a dozen KIPP kids and I've talked with them about their school. What they said reinforced my decision that KIPP is not a good school for the average well-behaved kids.

Is this KIPP in SF or another KIPP school? KIPP is not for everyone but I was offering it up an option.

I thought there was an income limit for KIPP. Is that not the case?

For a charter school? Never heard of it. If they accept public funds how can there be an income requirement?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

So ... Outer Sunset or Outer Richmond? I live downtown (rent) and actually hate going out there. It feels like the suburbs. Not much is walkable.

Outer Sunset near Outerlands, the co-op, etc. We love Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park equally so it's walkable to those places for us. But agree, it's probably more bike able than walkable for things like the library, grocery store, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$1 million dollars will not buy anything decent in Sf if you are looking in the city itself. Definitely rent.

It actually can in the neighborhood we're looking at though admittedly it's about as far from the downtown as you can get and still be in SF.

What neighborhood? Sunset or Richmond?

Still think it will be tough to get into this neighborhoods for under $1 million for anything in decent condition on a decent block.

What is a decent block in that area?