What is Visitacion Valley like?

April 24, 2007 6:20 AM

I am interested in knowing more about Visitacion Valley.

My fiance and I are moving to San Francisco this summer and are looking into sublets before finding a more permanent home. We are looking into a sublet in Visitacion Valley but cannot find a lot of information on the neighborhood. What is the neighborhood like? What is the public transportation like there, and how long does it take without a car to get into the city?

posted by Silverlantern to Travel & Transportation around San Francisco, CA (6 answers total)

Um its not the best neighborhood. Its close to bayview and hunters point. I can't speak to the rest. If you're considering it based on price you may want to try something in the sunset district. (inner is a bit nicer than outer) or the richmond. Also parts of the mission as well depending on what you are looking for.
posted by bitdamaged at 7:22 AM on April 24, 2007

That should be fine for a sublet. I know a few people who live in Visitacion Valley. Its a working class neighborhood that hasnt been overrun by hipsters (unlike the Mission) and some blocks can be sketchy but the area as a whole is fine. It might help to know the cross-streets.

There's not much info about it because nobody really goes there, certainly not tourists. Its in the far southern part of the city. The new T line goes down there and promises 1/2 hour to get to the 4th/King Caltrain station but thats dubious. I'd say plan 1-1.5 hours to get downtown on public transportation.

Here's a few photos of the area.
posted by vacapinta at 7:56 AM on April 24, 2007

A lot of my wealthy friends think of Visitacion Valley as "a bad neighbourhood". I've never been in most of it myself. I have a friend who lives on one edge of it, just by Monterey Blvd, and it's nice and mellow. I know parts of the area are really bad. Without knowing exactly where, can't say much else.
posted by Nelson at 8:39 AM on April 24, 2007

It has good and bad parts, entirely dependent on exactly where you are. I think there are some cute houses on nice streets, but most neighborhoods are kind of rough, or at least sort of dismal. What I don't particularly like about it is that it's about as far removed from central SF as you can get, without being in another city; and the weather can be extra cold and damp, although possibly not with the same regularity as the Outer Sunset. McLaren Park is kind of a nice, big, wildish park, though. I agree with vacapinta's public transit time estimate.
posted by oneirodynia at 11:46 AM on April 24, 2007

There are definitely perfectly nice parts of Visitacion Valley, but it likely will not give you a feel for the city as a whole that you might want as a new resident. I'd recommend finding something more central if possible.
posted by judith at 2:51 PM on April 24, 2007

I should add that the folks I know in VV regret moving out there except that it is one of the few places they could affordably get enough space for their large family. Im guessing thats why the sublet sounds appealing - because its cheaper than anything else you've seen.

As someone said above, the Richmond and Sunset districts (Inner of course is better than Outer) are two other districts which are outside the city's "core" (and thus a bit cheaper) but still feel a lot more integrated with the the city than Visitacion Valley which feels much more like a distant suburb.
posted by vacapinta at 4:47 PM on April 24, 2007