Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with sanfrancisco

Where are the hip places to live in the South Bay?

the_bone — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 23:42:12 -0800

Possibly moving to the Silicon Valley region... any suggestions on a place to live that meets the following criteria? I've interviewed for jobs in San Jose, Saratoga, and San Francisco. I've been to SF several times, and between having friends who live there and the ubiquity of craigslist I think I have a good handle on where I may live if I end up taking that gig. But I'm far less familiar with San Jose.

I live in LA at the moment, in the Los Feliz/Silver Lake region (for those familiar with LA), and I freaking love it. Best neighborhood ever... walking distance to stores/bars/cafes, a cool community, kind of a hipster vibe. I'd like to duplicate that if at all possible, and in my short time visiting SJ I didn't really see anyplace like that. I'm openly queer and definitely have a more alternative lifestyle, and would probably be very happy in SF, but if I take a South Bay job living in San Francisco probably isn't feasible. Additionally, my partner is writing a dissertation and probably won't work full-time, and her preference is to live someplace that is somewhat walkable/public transport friendly as a result. My surroundings are just as important to me as the job I eventually take, if not moreso.

So, are there any South Bay neighborhoods that are hip, queerish and/or pedestrian-friendly? "No, you should consider San Francisco instead" is a totally acceptable answer, and I am already doing so.

Help My Stepsons Not Be Bored in the Bay Area

The Gooch — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 08:58:17 -0800

Looking for recommendations on activities, events, places, tourist spots in the Bay Area for kids aged 12 and 14. Catch: One of the kids just got stitches and cannot participate in any activity where he will get wet. My family will be travelling up to the Bay Area next week. I have plenty of ideas in mind for my 3 year old, but am not so sure what to do with my stepsons that won't be boring for them or below their age level. I grew up in the area, but am drawing a blank on age appropriate activities specific to the area for their age group. We'll be staying in the East Bay, but will have a car so the wider area is available to us.

Where is a cheap and secure place to leave a car in San Francisco overnight for one night?

Melsky — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 08:41:18 -0800

Where is a cheap and secure place to leave a car in San Francisco overnight for one night? We are staying in a hotel at Sutter and Larkin. We have been using public transit, except we have had to rent a car for one day so we can drive to the Peninsula for my husband to attend a reunion. We were hoping to return the car the same day but just found out the rental place closes at 2:00 and we won't be there in time. Can anyone suggest an inexpensive parking lot that is reasonably secure? It doesn't have to be right by the hotel or even downtown if we can take public transit to get back to our hotel. Thanks!

Swimming in San Francisco

fourcheesemac — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:53:59 -0800

For a friend: where do people go swimming in San Francisco? Friend just moved there, asked me to post this. Nearest ocean beach that's safe for swimming? Does anyone swim in the Bay, and if so where? She thanks you, and I thank you, in advance.

All we are is dust in the wind, dude.

strangecargo — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 14:50:45 -0800

What's the deal with the box full of sand on the MUNI? I stare at this box every day on my commute and I can't figure out what it's for. There's a vertical window where you can look inside and it appears to have sand inside. What's the point of the box?

Mama's tired after her run-in with the law, children.

liketitanic — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:53:39 -0800

SFBikeLawFilter: I got pulled over and ticketed on my bike for starting against a red light. I am not planning on contesting the ticket, but I'm having trouble finding out what to expect in terms of traffic court and fine. The Bike Coalition's info is sort of outdated and Google isn't turning up much that's solid. YANAL and/or YANML but I'd appreciate some help. Can bike traffic fines be replaced with community service? Do these ever get thrown out? How much might the fine be?

(It was illegal. I know that and I don't plan to claim otherwise, so let's leave aside the lectures on cycling manners and road rules, please.)

Old West photo in the SF Bay Area?

rafter — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:40:49 -0800

Where could we get a kitschy, Old-West-themed group shot taken in the Bay Area next week? The more elaborate, the better. Something just like this would be perfect. Also this. We are five adults, if that matters. Locations in San Francisco proper or the East Bay would be tops.

Four hours in central San Francisco with luggage - what to do?

adrianhon — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:51:06 -0800

Four hours in central San Francisco with luggage - what to do? I'm arriving in SF at noon on Thursday, and I have about four or five hours to kill in the middle of town before I head over to a friend's place. Is there anywhere I can safely stow some luggage during this time, and then go around for a wander?

Sturdy walking shoes

scission — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 22:14:10 -0800

Looking for great walking shoes in the Bay Area. I've been in San Francisco for several weeks, doing a lot of walking in my assortment of flip flops, sandals, sneakers, and (my favorite) vaguely boot-like cheap shoes. I've experienced some mild ankle pain that I didn't have in another city last summer, when I actually did more walking than I do now.

I had a great experience with a running store that fitted me for shoes and inserts (which I actually lost in my move over here... oops). I would like to pick up new inserts at a running store, but I'm at a loss for what to do about the shoes themselves. I'm also not sure if the inserts that work for running are the best ones for walking.

Are there any other shoe stores with good salespeople that can help me find non-hideous shoes for city walking? I need a store that stocks wide-width (D) women's shoes. They don't need to be formal enough for the office, but they need to blend in better than the blinding white and reflective blue running shoes I currently have.

I have seen these posts but am specifically looking for good service, and would love to know where other wide-footed women shop. I would prefer not to shop online.

Last-minute camping in the Bay Area?

rkent — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:16:50 -0800

Last-minute camping within ~2 hours of San Francisco? What are some good(ish) campgrounds where it's likely I could get a spot this coming weekend, June 27-29, with no reservation or anything? Just 2 people, standard tent/tarp camping, no RVs or vehicle camping. Access to restrooms and water a plus, don't care so much about electricity

Solo 21st in san francisco- ideas?

acidic — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 09:28:14 -0800

I'm moving to san francisco, where I don't know anyone yet, right before my 21st birthday. Any meaningful/memorable ways to celebrate by myself? Relevant details: birthday is on a sunday. I'm a fan of good alcohol, 420, and outdoor activities.

I'm moving for work but don't really want to celebrate with coworkers or any other new acquaintances.

This could be geo-specific or not. I've considered having a boozy picnic with a good book, but I want enough stuff to do the entire day.

I'm also interested in trancendence-type things.

Know a good San Francisco lawyer?

Anonymous — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 14:15:45 -0800

I've decided to buck the trend and not ask you for legal advice and go straight to getting a lawyer. So... do you have a recommendation for a lawyer in San Francisco to help me through a business/contract/billing dispute? I developed software for a client, client is using the work but refuses to pay the final payment and also refuses to stop using/selling the software.

I don't have a SF (in the city proper) lawyer yet and I'd like to find someone I could use as a regular resource helping me out with various unfortunate things that a small business owner sometimes has to deal with.

However for now I need someone to write the Scary Letter and maybe a cease and desist and give me advice about small claims court. (The amount due is just under the small claims $7,500 limit.)

Any referrals are deeply appreciated, though I'd be happy with hints in how to narrow the choices. So far my search has narrowed the field to merely thousands.

For private conversation contact IMadeUpAName@gmail.com

Hangout near North Beach SF

anadem — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:00:34 -0800

Child is doing summer classes at San Francisco Art Institute (800 Chestnut St), Mon-Fri, 9-4. It's impractical for Mom to go home and come back between drop-off and pick-up, so she needs a place to study near the Institute. Suggestions please for a place to hang out and work - read, write and internet - within an easy walk of Chestnut @ Jones. This will be every day for the next month; low cost is essential. Maybe a library or better a laid-back cafe where not too much coffee needs to be bought. Wi-fi is needed too, preferably free.

Golden Gate Bridge vs Bay Bridge, which will have worse traffic on a Friday afternoon?

jcruelty — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 23:57:46 -0800

Golden Gate Bridge vs Bay Bridge, which will have worse traffic on a Friday afternoon? I live in Potrero Hill, near the east side of San Francisco (close to Bay Bridge.) Tomorrow after work we're driving up to Healdsburg, Ca, which is some ways past Santa Rosa.

I've experienced godawful traffic getting onto the Bay Bridge, so I'm thinking maybe we'll drive across town to the Golden Gate Bridge and take that instead. But will traffic be equally bad there?

Google Maps says the Bay Bridge route is : 81.8 mi – about 1 hour 34 mins (up to 2 hours)
whereas the Golden Gate route is: 79.3 mi – about 1 hour 48 mins
with no estimate on traffic.

On the one hand I'm much closer to Bay Bridge, on the other hand traffic there is always hell. Do you think it's worth driving across town to avoid?

Once you go backyard, you never go back

granted — Sun, 25 May 2008 17:46:54 -0800

Is there any neighborhood or general area in San Francisco that allows a carless commute to the Mission, and where an indoor-outdoor cat could be reasonably safe? I live in Oakland right now, but I'm sick of my hour-long daily commute and hope to move to the city in July. But! Here in the suburban-ish East Bay, my kitty can climb in and out my window at his leisure and spend the days and nights frolicking his little heart out. My street is quiet enough, and the backyards are big enough, that most of the cats here are indoor-outdoor and I don't worry that he'll be hit by a car or eaten by a cougar. I feel a twinge of distress when I imagine the plaintive whimpers and mournful looks he'll aim at me when he's confined to an apartment - and the property damage from his subsequent tantrums.

Is there any neighborhood in San Francisco where indoor-outdoor cats aren't dead meat? The catch is that I work in the Mission (Cesar Chavez) and don't have a car, so places like the Sunset and the Presidio are out, because the whole point is to shorten my commute. I generally get around by bike, but steep hills pwn me.

I realize the little bastard severely limits my options anyway (check "allows cats" on craigslist and 90% of the listings vanish) but I just loooove him so much and want him to be happy. As an aside, he was an indoor-only cat for his first four years when I lived in Chicago. But he's definitely less insane now.

Great San Francisco camera stores?

GuyZero — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:54:26 -0800

Great San Francisco camera stores? Looking to handle a selection of DSLRs hands-on. A previous thread pointed me to Keeble & Shuchat in Palo Alto but I was thinking of going into San Francisco anyway so I wanted a recommendation for a store there. Somewhere with a good selection of used lenses would be great too.

What's a PCB Designer to do?

otherwordlyglow — Fri, 16 May 2008 09:32:27 -0800

What's the next step, career-wise, for an experienced PCB Designer in the SF Bay Area who is finding numerous dead-ends on his current job search? I'm asking on behalf of my husband who is a PCB (printed circuit board) Designer with over 20 years experience. His been doing some freelance work for the past few years but now would like to return to full-time work in an office. However, it seems like the trend is toward out-sourcing this work to overseas and very few jobs are out there (or maybe it's just something about the San Francisco Bay Area job market?) for an in-house designer.

So my question is: Is this still a viable career? If so, where should he be looking for work (he's posted on numerous job boards and spoken with lots of recruiters but is having trouble getting to talk to companies directly)? If it's not a viable career anymore, due to offshoring, what is a good direction to go for a career, given his experience? He's willing to retrain but would love to stay in a similar field.

SF Filter: How much do you think my bonus room is worth?

paddingtonb — Wed, 14 May 2008 08:35:42 -0800

SF Filter: How much do you think my bonus room is worth? My boyfriend of 5 years and I just broke up. We share a great apartment in the Mission in San Francisco (a couple blocks from the 24th and Mission BART and a bunch of bus lines) that's a one bedroom + bonus room, and I'm trying to figure out whether to move out or not.

I would love to keep the apartment if I can, but I can't swing the whole rent on my own. Based on some previous MeFi questions about making money off a spare room, I've been thinking about renting the bonus room out as a workspace for freelancers/artists or maybe even as a practice room for a musician. (I know I could rent it as a small bedroom, but I'd ideally rather have the apartment to myself when I'm home from work.)

The room is small (8x6) but with great natural light and hardwood floors and a nice view of the painted ladies across the street. Rent would include wifi and I'm thinking of offering the lucky tenant lunches (sandwich/salad making supplies) and coffee/tea to sweeten the deal. I searched around Craigslist but didn't see many people offering a workspace rental, so I don't have much to compare prices with.

Think I could find an interested taker? How much do you think this set-up is worth?

Good offset printer in SF?

hihowareyou — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:23:52 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good offset printer in San Francisco for a small run of business cards? I've got a business card design, already formatted in Adobe Illustrator by a friend of a friend who is a graphic designer, now I just need a local printer. I contacted a letterpress shop, but because it is 4 color, two-sided, and a small run (250 cards) the shop owner told me that letterpress would not be a good option. He recommended offset printing instead. I have no idea what offset printing is or how to evaluate a good printer, so, any recommendations?

My priorities (in order of importance):
1. Quality (I want these to be really nice looking)
2. Price (<$100 for 250 cards)
3. Local (I'd rather not order online without being able to see some examples of their work, talk to a real person about the design, etc.)
4. Speed (Not in a rush, don't really need them for a few weeks)

Thanks in advance!

Tenderloin safety?

ClaudiaCenter — Sat, 03 May 2008 09:30:18 -0800

Safety in the Tenderloin? (San Francisco) My older foster kid is getting transitional housing through a brand new Salvation Army project. Yay him, yay me! The move-in date is estimated to be July 15, 2008.

The site is in the Tenderloin, on Turk Street between Jones and Leavenworth. What should he expect living on that block? What about walking from the Powell Street Muni to the site? Should he walk up Eddy and then cross down to Turk?

He's a street saavy kid who can handle himself in urban situations. He understands that he'll be living in a neighborhood that has a lot of drug use and related situations. But he's also a very small kid. Should we get him licensed for mace, or is that a bad idea? What about pepper spray? Other tips?

(This *is* where he will be moving, so "Don't move there!" is not helpful.)

How can I run a successful bookclub?

logic vs love — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:26:47 -0800

How can I make a new bookclub's first meeting an amazing success? So, I've decided to start a book club in San Francisco. It'll be mostly strangers from craigslist, and we're planning on meeting at a restaurant to get to know each other and pick our first book. I've never really been in a book club before, and I'm not exactly a natural leader, so how can I get this off to a good start? Any tips on running a meeting, encouraging discussion, choosing a book and, uh, anything else?

22 year old living with late 20s/30s?

patr1ck — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:52:11 -0800

I landed a great job in the San Francisco bay area, sweet! But I'm only 22, and all the roommate-wanted listings on craigslist seem to feature people in their late 20s to 30s. Am I wasting their/my time applying to them? Would people in their late 20s to 30s consider living with someone my age, or is that a terrible idea? I feel like it wouldn't be a problem, as I'm generally pretty mature, but never having been 30 it's not really my place to say.

I'm moving out of a place in college which just had a first year roommate and it was awful having to deal with that. Obviously people tend to change a lot through college (usually, I've found, anyways), but is the same true for people through their twenties? Or I am lucky enough to be in the specifics-unimportant "twenty-something" group I've heard about?

In SF, wants HP, leaves SAT, help!

mr.marx — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:57:06 -0800

I'm in downtown San Francisco for a couple of days. Where can I buy an HP Mini-Note?

Help me give my 50 year old uncle a 4 hour tourist ride through San Francisco

Chuck Cheeze — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 13:04:51 -0800

My 50 year old uncle is visiting San Fran this Thursday for the first time. I am picking him up at SFO at 11 and we want to be back to Novato by about 330 to beat (most of) the traffic. On the way out we will certainly go up to the Marin Headlands, and he is a big seafood guy so I am guessing we will catch lunch down near the Wharf or maybe at the Cliff House. Obviously we don't have much time, so what recommendations do you all have for a few cool things to see in the city on the way out? I think we'll do Lombard, but otherwise I'm not terribly interested in super-touristy stuff. Maybe some historic spots?

best unknown places to eat in SF

logic vs love — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:11:46 -0800

What's the best hole-in-the-wall restaurant in San Francisco? I love trying new restaurants, but my budget can't support any of the fancy ones I've been hearing about and I'd rather not wait two hours for a table on a Friday night anyway, so... what's your favorite little hole -in-the-wall restaurant in (or near) San Francisco?