<p>Parents,
My eldest child is starting her first job in downtown San Francisco on Monday (yippee!) and she has no place to live (ack!). She has been sleeping on someone's couch during the job hunt, but the girl can't pay the rent on August 1 so she is moving out. My child doesn't want to stay in this place because it is a dive (I shudder to think about it and did not realize until this week how bad it is). My daughter is going to make a good salary but the housing market is tight so I suspect it will take her a month or two to find a place she can lease longer term. She has money to pay for a place now, but every ad she responds to on Craigslist for a sublet is gone. There are some weekly hotels available but they look more like SROs to me, located in high crime areas (according to Trulia crime map) and I really don't want her to go there. She relies on public transit so really needs to stay in the city. And she needs to move on Sunday. And yes, she should have planned ahead, but as of three days ago, she didn't have the job offer and was still interviewing in both SF and Silicon Valley.
Anyone know of any temporary housing in SF?
Thanks.</p>
<p>Perl, there really are no bad areas in SF. Maybe I can help - I know many people there. Tell me something about your girl here or by pm - her age, budget for rent, type of work.
Many kids are traveling now and there are a lot of empty apts. It is common for kids to do what your daughter is doing - I know, hard to believe!</p>
<p>We have had great luck using HomeAway.com and VRBO.com for short-term vacation rentals that came in far less expensive than hotel rooms. Many are in residential parts of SF and can be rented by the month at reasonable prices. Hope that helps…</p>
<p>Age 22, software engineer, non smoker, hardly drinks, no drugs, prefers not too much social interaction with people (nerdy engineering type of girl). Requires internet access. The SRO hotel with bathroom down the hall, no kitchen places are $250/week. She could easily do $1500/mo and maybe $2000/mo. She is going to see an apartment today that is available August 22, so may only need 3 weeks of housing if she gets lucky. (If she gets lucky…)</p>
<p><a href=“Conversion of Apartments to Rentals for Tourists Is Surging - The New York Times”>Conversion of Apartments to Rentals for Tourists Is Surging - The New York Times;
<p>I bm this recently - it has some rental companies listed. </p>
<p>Mine is paying $850 for a room in a house he shares in San Fran. that is very nice. </p>
<p>Prior to that he had a one bedroom in Palo Alto for $1250,
just to give you an idea of the range.</p>
<p>Does “prefers little social interaction” mean she will only live alone?</p>
<p>Parent1986: She prefers to live alone on a long term basis, but will be happy with a room in a shared place for this interim period. Will live with males, females, gay, straight, whatever, as long as they are nice and don’t smoke. She is traveling light, I think some clothes, a computer and a towel would sum it up!</p>
<p>“Perl, there really are no bad areas in SF.”</p>
<p>Perl, I don’t want to frighten you, but, I’m sorry, as a 9 year resident of the City, I must disagree. The Tenderloin, the Bayview, parts of Western Addition and parts of the Mission are quite rough. Drugs, violence and other crimes are rampant. </p>
<p>SROs are not a place for a 22 year old young woman to be. They are located in high crime areas. </p>
<p>I would suggest that, in the meantime, she rent a proper hotel room. It doesn’t have to be at the Four Seasons. She can research options online. Might want to look into Club Quarters. Rooms are small and basic, but it’s in a great area of town and rooms can often be had for as little as $70/night. </p>
<p>She might also consider inquiring with the universities around to see if she can rent space in a dorm or even a Greek house short term. </p>
<p>The market is tight, it’s true. But if she can afford up to 2k a month, she should be able to get a place in a good area by herself. At her age, however, she can probably handle living in a room in a shared apt./house and could save all of that extra $! just a thought. Good Luck.</p>
<p>@calgirl: Thanks for the information. My daughter told told me Tenderloin is bad.<br>
Right now she is looking at two possible sublets. One is at Alabama near 20th Street, and one is Golden Gate and Steiner. Do you have an opinion on either of those locations?
(She eventually would like to live in SOMA, which is near work, but there is nothing available there right now.)
Thanks.</p>
<p>calgirl77 covered what I was initially going to say, which is that the statement that there are no bad areas in SF is absolutely NOT true! As mentioned, I would definitely avoid the Tenderloin, Bayview/Hunter’s Point, and certain parts of other areas. When weekly hotels were first mentioned, I immediately thought of all the seedy “hotels” like that in the Tenderloin…not a good choice for a young woman. </p>
<p>Golden Gate and Steiner is not bad - not the best, IMO, but a far cry from the worst! I would personally give it an edge over Alabama and 20th, although I admit that I am definitely not as familiar with that part of the Mission. If she’s working in/near SOMA, though, I suppose that might be closer…or at least closer to BART, which allows for easy downtown access. I guess that would be another thought in terms of Golden Gate/Steiner…how would she get to work? Hmm, sorry for rambling, but on second thought, public transportation from there to downtown would not be fun…she’d have to rely on the 5, I would think, and while it’s not the worst bus line, I do find it can be awfully slow…</p>
<p>Sorry if that wasn’t totally coherent…hopefully some food for thought. I am from SF and have spent plenty of time getting around the city on my own as a teenage girl, and definitely know public transit far more intimately than I would like to… ;)</p>
<p>@CaliforniaDancer – Thanks, that is very helpful, especially the specific information about the bus. Daughter just saw the Golden Gate place and didn’t like it, so I think she is going to take the room on Alabama. Based on crime maps, I don’t think Alabama is the worst part of Mission, but if anyone else has an opinion on that, please chime in!
Thanks!</p>
<p>the mission district is a great area of the city–multicultural, family-friendly, colorful (in a good way). i have fond, fun memories of that area. just stay away from the panaderias, because the peanut butter cookies can be habit-forming!!!</p>
<p>Did she try Craigslist? Temporary housing listings there, students going on trips, rooms to share. Alabama and 20th isn’t terrible, it’s an interesting neighborhood. 24th is the local shopping street and is very lively.</p>
<p>No immediate advice (altho I’m passing the info onto my son who is also a software engineer in SF), but keep checking Craigslist. Last summer my son arrived for a summer job without a place to live and found a room his first day in SF with a professor at University of San Francisco. This May when he returned, he also found a roommate on Craigslist and has a terrific apartment in Central Richmond. Being near work may not end up a priority because the public transportation system is so good. My son has a monthly pass and doesn’t mind the 20 minute bus ride to the edge of SOMA.</p>
<p>If the job is downtown SF, why not across the Bay in Oakland or Berkeley? She could BART or bus in or even casual carpool which is basically adult hitchhiking from designated locations. I used to do this and scandalized my boss. Casual carpooling is fairly safe, although I would avoid the crazy blond European guy who drove in a style that may have been customary in his country as well as the older (probably my age now!) Caddie driving smoker who had his radio station tuned to something I didn’t like.</p>
<p>For a sublet, or short term, has she considered Oakland or Berkeley? I commuted to SF for years and lived most of the time close to a BART stop. Once she gets settled a bit she can start looking for something more permanent. On the plus side, it is cheaper and sunnier. If she is still having trouble in SF, it may be worth it to look for a roommates wanted listing. I met most of my best friends that way. </p>
<p>As to no bad neighborhood in SF, avoid the Tenderloin, SOMA and parts of the Mission until she gets her street smarts. For convenience, taking public transit, the Sunset may take more time to get to her work than an Oakland address.</p>
<p>San Francisco is great, Oakland and Berkeley good… but just not as good as SF. I just realized that if she ends up at 20th and Alabama, she’ll be right around the corner from Blowfish Sushi, yum! It’s a mixed neighborhood with residential and light industrial buildings. Several of those buildings now have artists’ studios. There is a fabulous indoor climbing wall a couple blocks away. And there are tons of really good coffee places, kind of a bohemian vibe.</p>
<p>Try this, the Monroe Residence Club [Monroe</a> Residence Club - Welcome](<a href=“http://www.monroeresidenceclub.com/]Monroe”>http://www.monroeresidenceclub.com/)</p>
<p>There are a few other residence clubs, but this one is the most highly recommended. You can get single or double, shared or private or hall bath. Meals provided. Living room and movies, that kind of thing. The people who run it are very nice.</p>
<p>By the day, week, or month (s), and quite affordable.</p>
<p>A lot of dancers live her, foreign students going to a nearby cooking school, some college students.</p>
<p>Good area, bus nearby, stores nearby.</p>
<p>As a SFer I want to reiterate that yes there are bad neighborhoods. I think for the most part they are more mixed in with decent stuff than in many cities. Examples are 20th and Alabama and Golden Gate and Steiner, and I have to say I would not be comfortable with my D living in either location. Of course, it is somewhat dependent on how tolerant and street smart you are and some savvy sorts would do fine. Personally since I came here at 21, there are only certain neighborhoods I would live in (really none of the neighborhoods mentioned), but I have a low tolerance for crime. If you’re going for a bohemian vibe you’ll likely get some crime along with it.</p>
<p>I would suggest craigslist Berkeley summer sublets near BART for something fast and not too expensive.</p>
<p>Thank you for all of the ideas. The two options I discussed above have not panned out, so if there are additional suggestions, please keep posting. Right now she is talking about taking a room for a week at North Beach Hotel. I don’t know what to tell her about that. She is running out of options and needs a place on Sunday.</p>