I Ranked San Francisco's BEST Neighborhoods (Tier List)

San Francisco has over 80 subdistricts. Each of them are vastly different from each other, which can make choosing the exact right neighborhood very challenging. And believe me, the wrong neighborhoods here, they can be really bad. So in this video, I'm ranking my worst of the worst to the absolute best of the best to help you decide where the right neighborhood is in San Francisco. What's up everyone? This is Austin Klar, your lawyer turned real estate agent in San Francisco and Marin County. I moved to the Bay Area over a decade ago to work as a lawyer at one of the biggest law firms in the world, where I represented Fortune 500 companies and C-suite executives in multi-billion-dollar cases in courts all over the country. And now I represent buyers and sellers in one of the most important financial decisions of their lives, their homes. I create these videos because I love San Francisco and Marin County. I love their food, walkability, the views, the architecture, their history. And if you like any of those things too, make sure to subscribe so you get notified about more videos just like this. And now let's kick off the rankings with the worst of the worst, what I'm calling my D tier. Neighborhoods on my D tier: Bayview, Hunters Point, Tenderloin, and the Civic Center. These are the absolute worst neighborhoods in San Francisco. 99% of what you see or hear about in the news comes from these neighborhoods. I wouldn't recommend living in any of these neighborhoods unless you absolutely had to live in San Francisco and literally could not afford to live anywhere else in the city. These are generally the most dirty, have the most homeless, the highest crime rates, more car break-ins, areas that generally don't have as much infrastructure coming, uh, compared to other places in the city because they're just a lot less desirable. Now, it's not as if there's zero positive things about these neighborhoods. I just think that the negatives outweigh the positives. For example, You know, if you live in Tenderloin or Civic Center area, you're really close to the Theater District and all the bars and restaurants around the Theater District. You're also really close to Union Square, which has some of the highest-end shopping, the best shopping in San Francisco, absolutely gorgeous stores and great food in the Financial District. But you don't need to live in the Tenderloin or Civic Center to enjoy those things. There are a lot of neighborhoods that you can live in adjacent to those neighborhoods where you can still enjoy those things and not have to experience the negatives of living in the Tenderloin and the Civic Center. One of the best things about living in San Francisco is how walkable it is in those neighborhoods. Yes, they are walkable in theory. You can walk around there, but I just don't recommend it. There's just too much going on outside. It doesn't feel safe. It doesn't feel the most clean. So one of the best aspects of living in the city, you don't really get to enjoy there. So for those reasons, they're on my D-list. I would stay away as much as you can. Now for my C-list. And when I say C-list, I don't mean to imply that these are, you know, not so great neighborhoods. These are actually some of the most popular neighborhoods, the most talked about neighborhoods in the city. I just put them on the C-list for me because they don't necessarily fit my lifestyle. For example, two of them, Sunset and West Portal, awesome neighborhoods, less expensive housing on average compared to the other parts of the city. Incredible food options nearby. Sunset and West Portal have great amenities. You've got Golden Gate Park and Ocean Beach for the sunset. West Portal is next to Stonestown and all the shops and restaurants along West Portal Avenue. But for me personally, I spend most of my free time in Marin County, which is on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. On the other side of the north part of San Francisco. Sunset and West Portal are more on the southern end of San Francisco. So for me, someone who spends most of their time on the opposite side of San Francisco or across the Golden Gate Bridge to the north, it's not really a convenient place to live. Also, Sunset and West Portal, while they're awesome neighborhoods, they are in the fog zone of San Francisco. So you get those cold fronts coming in from Ocean Beach, which keeps it relatively cooler compared to other parts of San Francisco pretty much all year round. They're going to be more foggy than other parts of San Francisco. Not to say there aren't great sunny days there, there are. It's just that more foggy days there than in other parts of the city that I would prefer to live. They're also very far from downtown. I love the restaurants and bars downtown. I used to work downtown and would walk around there all the time. It's one of my favorite places in the city. So being super far away from downtown, especially if you're somebody who needs to commute downtown for work or likes the things that I like to do in downtown, they're not going to be great options for you. Very long commute on the bus, or if you're going to drive, sometimes it can take, you know, 30+ minutes to get to downtown from those neighborhoods depending on what traffic is like. Now on the flip side, because of those downsides that I just mentioned, Sunset and West Portal have a lot more reasonably priced homes than other parts of San Francisco. You can get really nice actual, you know, single-family homes, 3, 4-bedroom homes, 2,000 square feet for, you know, $2 million or less, which is the average price point of single-family homes in San Francisco. The other one on my C list is Nob Hill. This one is totally different from Sunset and West Portal. It is very close to downtown, which I really like, but it is extremely dense. So you know, very difficult to find parking. You know, all, all the buildings there, high-rise condo buildings, they all feel like they're on top of each other. It's true city living, which is great for some people, not so much for me. I like to have a little bit more of a residential feel than more of a downtown feel. I do like that Nob Hill is close to downtown, but I like to be a little bit more withdrawn from downtown but still be walking distance to downtown than Nob Hill is. Nob Hill also isn't exactly the cleanest. There are some pockets of Nob Hill that are gorgeous, some historic buildings there, incredible views in Nob Hill., but some of those areas, it's a little bit closer to parts of town that you don't necessarily want to live in. So those areas can be a little bit dirtier than I would prefer as well. All right, now for my B-list, and we're really starting to split hairs here because all of these neighborhoods I think are awesome, and anybody living here would be very happy. Kicking it off with Noe Valley, which has, I think, the city's best weather. Sunny days almost all year round because it's located in a valley in San Francisco, so you're shielded from those cold fronts coming in from the Pacific Ocean. Incredible weather year-round. Downside of living there, it's very hilly, very vertical. Homes have very steep steps to get from your garage to your front door. But upside of those steep steps, you get incredible views. Noe Valley has some of the best views to the east and to the south. Views of Sutro Tower, views of the bay, views of downtown. It's incredible. Noe Valley also has 24th Street, which is the main kind of commercial corridor on the south side of San Francisco. Ton of great shops, restaurants, Whole Foods, very kid-friendly, very pet-friendly. There are families and kids walking there all the time. They have events like farmers markets almost every weekend in that little downtown strip on 24th Street of Noe Valley. Great place to live. Reason why it's on my B-list, again, it's on the southern side of the city, so someone like me that likes to do everything, you know, in Pac Heights and the Marina and in Marin, it's a little bit farther to get from there to the places that I normally hang out and where my friends are and where my family is. So I prefer to live on the northern side of San Francisco. Jordan Park is another neighborhood on my B-list. It's actually a very unique neighborhood, like some of the other neighborhoods I'm going to talk about in a few minutes. It's one of San Francisco's 8 what are called master-planned residence parks. These are communities that were designed over a century ago to have more suburban-like feel, more park-like environments in what is otherwise a very urban environment. So some unique characteristics about these types of neighborhoods, including Jordan Park, wider streets, All the homes are fully detached. When these neighborhoods were first designed, very strict, only allowed for single-family development. Jordan Park is unique in that there are some condos there now, but for the most part, it's all single-family homes, so it's not dense at all. It's very luxurious walking in the area. All the streets are super flat, super clean, very quiet, gorgeous. Because all the homes are detached, they have true setbacks. So you have real front yards, big backyards, you know, larger than your average size lots in San Francisco. Very desirable place to live. Reason it's on my B-list and not A-list is because there's not really much of anything to do in Jordan Park itself. If you want to go shopping or go out to eat or go to any parks, you need to leave Jordan Park. Not necessarily a super long drive or commute to get to any of those places, but you just don't have those things in your backyard like you do in some of the neighborhoods I'm going to talk about on my A-list that have similar qualities to Jordan Park. Next up is the Inner Richmond, which has the most diverse Asian food scene in the city. Aligning Clement Street. It's a great neighborhood, very family-friendly and kid-friendly. I love a lot of restaurants there, but that type of food isn't what I eat on a regular basis. So if I was living there, I would be leaving that area on a pretty regular basis to go eat out. I love a lot of the restaurants there. I just want more variety, and I want to be closer to a lot more variety. Another reason the Inner Richmond is on my B-list is that it's not very close to downtown. It is a little bit of a commute to get there. So if you want to go shopping at those big, you know, big retail stores,. Or if you want to go to the mall or you want to, you know, go to the waterfront, it is a distance to get to from the Inner Richmond. But on the plus side, Inner Richmond is next to some of the best parks in the city, including the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. Depending on where you live, you could walk to either of those places. Also very close to Mountain Lake Park, which is a gorgeous, very quiet park on the northwestern side of San Francisco. So definitely some great aspects of the Inner Richmond. It's just not my personal favorite, but still an awesome neighborhood, and that's why it's on my B-list. Last up on my B-list is the Lake Street neighborhood, which is a tiny little sliver north of California Street on the north side of San Francisco. It's one of the most serene neighborhoods in all of San Francisco. Homes there, very historic Edwardian and Victorian homes, a lot of condos there, old homes that were converted into 2- and 3-unit buildings. All of the intersections along Lake Street have been turned into what are called slow streets. Basically, they put cones up on opposite sides of the intersection so that cars can't zoom all the way through. They have to travel very slowly down the street, so it is incredibly quiet, incredibly peaceful, and very safe. Great for walking around with families or pets, whatever, um, pretty much all year round. Kind of like Jordan Park though, there's really nothing to do in the Lake Street District besides go to Mountain Lake Park, which joins Lake Street. If you want to go grocery shopping or you want to go out to eat, you need to leave Lake District. So, you know, you can walk to some of those things, maybe a 10 to 15 minute walk depending on where on Lake Street you live. Mm-hmm. So that's why it's on my B-list and not like some of these other neighborhoods that I'm about to talk about on my A-list. So now for the A-list, which has some of San Francisco's most popular and desirable and yes, most expensive neighborhoods. First 3 I want to talk about: Russian Hill, Marina, and Cow Hollow. The reason why I put these on my A-list is because I think they have incredible blends of urban and suburban life. They have main commercial corridors that are incredibly popular both for residents and visitors. Hyde Street in Russian Hill, Union Street in Cow Hollow and Chestnut Street in the Marina. Great shops and restaurants, a lot of chains, a lot of boutiques, a ton of variety. It's where I spend 90+% of my time when I'm in San Francisco if I'm not where I live, which is in Pacific Heights. They are incredible. You're able to, you know, just walk a block or two and get to, you know, a very hustle and bustle part of town. Marina and Cow Hollow are adjacent to each other just south of Pacific Heights, and Russian Hill is immediately to the east of those neighborhoods. So they're all very close together. All walking distance to each other. So no matter which one of those that you live in, you can enjoy the great things about living in all of those neighborhoods, which I really love. I love the shops and restaurants there. I love the variety. My gym is in Cow Hollow. I'm there all the time. They have incredibly high-end luxury amenity buildings. They have a lot older condo buildings. They have a ton of historic homes. There's a lot of new construction there, a lot of great variety. And I just love the blend of urban and suburban and how close it is to a lot of great things like Marina Green, Crissy Field, the Presidio, Alta Plaza Park, Lafayette Park, ton of great parks, Francisco Park all over the place. Depending on where you live in those areas, you can walk to almost any of them. Seacliff is the next neighborhood on my A-list. This is another one of those master-planned communities like Jordan Park. There isn't really a whole lot to do in Seacliff itself, but the reason I put it on my A-list and not my B-list is because the homes here are absolutely insane. They have crazy views of the Pacific Ocean, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Presidio. For the most part, they are massive, fully detached homes. Very, very luxurious mansions, things that, you know, tech executives and famous actors and actresses live in. They are incredible. Words cannot do them justice. You have to see them in person. You will be in awe when you're walking around and looking at these houses. But like I said, you know, it is very far off the beaten path, very far from downtown. It is very close to the ocean, so it does tend to be a lot colder, and there aren't really any parks or shops or restaurants or bars in Seacliff. You need to leave Seacliff and go elsewhere if you want to have a night out of some sort. Last up is St. Francis Wood on the southern side of San Francisco, which is very similar to Seacliff in that it's one of those master-planned communities with not a whole lot to do. But similar to Seacliff, the reason I put St. Francis Wood on my A-list is because of the character of homes there. They're all incredibly historic, gorgeous homes. The area is so beautiful that it's actually listed on the National Register of Historic Places. So it is a protected space within San Francisco on a national level, which is pretty awesome. Awesome. The homes there actually remind me a lot more of like living in Hancock Park in Los Angeles than they do in San Francisco. A lot of Spanish-style homes, all fully detached. So you have a lot of privacy, real backyards, real front yards. It's beautiful. And a good thing about St. Francis Wood, like I said, even though there's not that much to do in St. Francis Wood itself, you need to leave St. Francis Wood. It is right next to West Portal. So you have all the shops and restaurants that you do living in West Portal if you were to live in St. Francis Wood, all relatively close, just a couple minutes drive or walking distance away. Now for my S tier, which is made up of the best of the best neighborhoods in San Francisco, and kicking it off with two adjacent neighborhoods on the north side of San Francisco, Pacific Heights and Presidio Heights. Very similar characteristics, made up of a good mix of condos and single-family homes. Presidio Heights is not very dense at all. It is more single-family homes than it is condos. Pacific Heights, you tend to find more condo buildings than you would in Presidio Heights, but you're not going to find a ton of high-rise buildings. Most of them are going to be low to mid-rise buildings. If they are, you know, big condo buildings at all. A lot of them are homes that have been converted into 2 or 3-unit buildings, and the rest of them are all single-family homes. And they range from very small 1,500 to 2,000 square foot single-family homes all the way up to the 10, 11, 12,000 square foot homes on Billionaires Row, which is a 3-stretch block of Broadway in Pacific Heights. Residents who live there sometimes have their own private security roaming the streets. So it is a very secure, very safe, very clean neighborhood. Yeah. You have kids and families and pets walking around all the time. Presidio Heights directly joins the Presidio, which is a huge forest overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge, Pacific Ocean, and the San Francisco Bay. Pacific Heights, depending on where you live, you might have walking access to the Presidio as well, but you also have parks like Alta Plaza Park and Lafayette Park, which are terraced parks in different parts of the neighborhood with incredible views of the city to the east and south, and then to the bay to the north. Pretty much anywhere you live in Pacific Heights, you're going to have great walkability, great views, and a great suburban feel while being pretty close to otherwise urban areas. So you're walking distance or a very short drive, whether you're in Pacific Heights or Presidio Heights, to Union Street in Cow Hollow, Chestnut Street in the Marina, Hyde Street in Russian Hill, all those neighborhoods immediately surrounding Pacific Heights and a very close drive from Presidio Heights. And then last on my S tier is Presidio Terrace, which is another master-planned community in San Francisco, except this one is unique because it's the only private gated community. So there's security out front, there's a gate out front, You can only get in there as a member of the public during certain hours of the day. They block it off after a certain time at night. The biggest draw there, it's a very small neighborhood made up of only a few dozen homes on some of the biggest lots in the city, all of them fully detached, with a variety of architectural styles. Each of the houses looks very different than the one next to it, so it's a pretty unique neighborhood. All the homes are gorgeous historic homes. And fun fact about the area, they go all out decorating for Halloween. It is a huge draw, brings in a ton of people from all over the city to go trick-or-treating there and have a little neighborhood party. Otherwise, you know, the rest of the year it is one of the most quiet, serene places in all of San Francisco. Very safe, very secure. Well, those are my tiers. If you're thinking of relocating to San Francisco and want an insider's guide, local tips on where to live in San Francisco, you can download my San Francisco relocation guide. Link to it is in the description below, and it'll tell you everything that you need to know before moving here. And of course, you can always reach out to me. My contact info is in the description below as well. You can click the link to directly set up a call with me. Or you can email me or text me anytime. And if you want to know which neighborhood I would choose to live in if I was moving here, it's the neighborhood that I live in right now, which is Pacific Heights. I think it has the best combination of walkability, views, architecture, amenities, parks, open spaces, restaurants, bars. For me, my personal lifestyle, wanting to be, you know, close to the Golden Gate Bridge in Marin County, it is the perfect mix. So if you made it to this point in the video, chances are you are thinking about relocating to San Francisco. If you are, please consider me a resource. Reach out anytime. I've helped so many people move to the Bay Area and find their perfect home, and I'd love to help you as well. And before you go, if you want to learn more about what it's like to live in Pacific Heights, which is where I live, I have an honest review, my likes and dislikes of the area, linked in the description below. It goes through all the pros and cons, and it'll tell you everything you need to know about moving there. So make sure to check it out, and I'll see you in the next video. Bye!