Where would be a good place to live in San Francisco if you wanted the following?

Question

I'm planning a move to San Francisco in a couple of months. I'd love to live in a place that has the following:

-Close proximity to a number of vegan/vegetarian/organic restaurants. My fav place in the city is Cafe Gratitude so anywhere I can live close to a variety of places like that would be awesome.

-Close proximity to a good yoga studio or two. I've been spoiled living in Santa Monica as it's the capital of good yoga. But I know SF has a lot of good stuff too.

-Close proximity to public transportation and ZipCar/FlexCar. Probably won't have a car but will need to get back and forth from SFO/OAK and also down to the South Bay.

What do you think the best places would be for this?

Answer 1

Since you've been to Cafe Gratitude (I love that place!), you know it's in the north Mission district. There are some affordable places there, though you have to be careful of the section you live, safety-wise.

There are many yoga studios in the Mission.

You'd have easy access to BART and Muni. There are many Flex Car locations in the area as well.
http://www.citycarshare.org/carsandlocations.do

A good second choice would be the Haight district, although the rents will be much higher.

Answer 2

SOMA is an excellent choice. It's an interesting neighborhood. This New York Times article sums it up quite nicely:

http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/03/03/travel/escapes/03hour.html

- There are plenty of yoga studios, including:

http://www.satoriyogastudio.com/

http://www.itsyoga.com/

- Any decent restaurant in San Francisco will have a selection of vegetarian dishes nowadays. While SOMA doesn't have a vegan "anchor" likes Millenium, Greens, or Cha-ya...it does have some good general restaurants that serve up nice vegetarian fare.

For example, the Vietnamese restaurant Slanted Door serves up veggie dishes that are just as tasty as their meat dishes.

http://www.slanteddoor.com/

- SOMA would also be most convenient for public transportation. From SOMA, you can easily go to the East Bay, South Bay, and SFO / OAK airports.

You'd have access to the four Downtown SF subway stations (Embarcadero, Montgomery Street, Powell Street, and Civic Center), as well as the main Caltrain station (4th Street and King).

Answer 3

North Beach. walking distance to everwhere

Answer 4

SOMA, average rent $1500 for one bed room.