In this solo YouTube video, former lawyer and current Bay Area real‑estate agent Austin Klar gives a candid, post‑pandemic assessment of San Francisco neighborhoods that he advises prospective movers to avoid. He begins by noting that media coverage often exaggerates the city’s problems, but acknowledges that a large majority of San Francisco remains safe and livable. Drawing on more than a decade of personal experience before, during, and after the pandemic, Klar outlines five areas he considers unsafe or otherwise undesirable for primary residence: (1) the Tenderloin and Civic Center, which are centrally located and affordable but suffer from the city’s highest crime rates; (2) Bayview and Hunters Point, isolated, economically disadvantaged, and polluted, with notable safety concerns; (3) the Mission District, culturally vibrant with great food and parks yet plagued by longstanding homelessness and crime, especially near major transit corridors; (4) northern SoMa (between 6th and 10th Streets), where the neighborhood’s feel deteriorates, safety drops, and amenities are limited; and (5) Chinatown, rich in history and cuisine but extremely crowded, noisy, and difficult to navigate, making it less suitable for living. For each area he also mentions a few positive attributes (e.g., proximity to transit, parks, cultural sites) and suggests alternative nearby neighborhoods that offer similar benefits without the drawbacks. Throughout, Klar emphasizes his willingness to answer real‑estate inquiries and encourages viewers to subscribe for more content.
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San Francisco is the public whipping boy of post-pandemic major cities. Everywhere you look, the media is flashing headlines about crime, homelessness, human feces, drugs. But we all know that the media has a tendency to exaggerate and generate clickbait so that they can get views. And the reality is that 90+% of this city is still a beautiful, safe, and incredible place to live. But there are some areas, especially post-pandemic, that I definitely would recommend not living in and that I tell clients all the time to avoid. And I'm gonna break those down in this video. What's up everyone, this is Austin Klar, your lawyer turned real estate agent and real estate developer in San Francisco and Marin County. I've been a Bay Area resident for over a decade, giving me in-depth firsthand knowledge of what it's like to live and work there. If you're thinking about relocating or want more information about the San Francisco or Marin County real estate markets, definitely reach out to me. The contact information's in the description below. I will personally answer every call, every email, every text, and I'd be more than happy to help you. And if you like videos just like this, please subscribe to my channel and don't forget to click the bell so you're alerted every single time I post a video. All right, so this video is all about where not to live if you're thinking about moving to San Francisco. I first moved to the Bay Area in 2012. I worked in downtown San Francisco for several years. I know what it was like pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and now post-pandemic. I know firsthand how the city has really changed, and I want to be as unbiased and honest as possible and let you know where I think the bad neighborhoods are in San Francisco, because there definitely are some. Now, these areas that I'm about to talk about, there are positive aspects of living there. It's not all bad, and I will try and highlight some of the great things about living in those areas., but there are ways to experience the positive aspects of those neighborhoods without actually living in them. So that's why they're still on my list for areas that I think people moving here should avoid. So let's get right into it. First up, no doubt about it, it's the Tenderloin and Civic Center areas. These two areas border each other north of Market Street between Gough to the east and Mason to the west. They are really close to downtown shopping, restaurants, um, the theater district. There are great music venues there, great location for commuting, super close to BART and Muni, very easy to get to the highway. But make no mistake about it, 9 times out of 10, if you see images of like homeless encampments or hear stories about street crime or drugs in the city, you know, those stories probably have to do with the Tenderloin and Civic Center areas. Kind of ironic since Civic Center is the center of government in San Francisco, but these areas have the worst crime and worst reputation in the city. And as a result of these issues, housing in these areas is among the most affordable in the entire city. There are actually a lot of nice newer condo developments and apartment developments that are going up in the area, but unless you're absolutely 100% have to live in this city and literally cannot afford anything else, I would not recommend living in either of those neighborhoods. Next up on my don't live there list, Bayview and Hunters Point neighborhoods on the southeastern edge of the city. These areas are among the most economically disadvantaged areas in the city, you know, in part because of their isolation on the southeast end of San Francisco. They're right next to like former industrial sites that have heavily polluted the surrounding area. There are some positives to living there. There are, you know, open park spaces, there are historic landmark buildings, there are beautiful murals throughout the area. It's actually really good for commuting. There are a lot of bus lines that run through there. So it's not as if like there's nothing to do there or it's some like barren wasteland, but it's among the more crime-ridden areas of the city, you know, least safe neighborhoods in the city because of its isolation from the rest of the city. And so it's somewhere that I wouldn't really recommend living. Next up is the Mission District, south of Market. Now, this one's tough because the Mission does have, I think, one of the most vibrant nightlife, dining, and art scenes in the entire city. There's a ton of heritage and history here. You know, one of my favorite parks in the city, Dolores Park, is there. It is one of my favorite neighborhoods, just not to live. It has great food, you know, fine dining, street food. I go there all the time. It's just not an area that I would necessarily recommend living in. The area has been plagued with homelessness and crime for decades, and efforts to sort of right that ship have largely been unsuccessful. The areas surrounding the main transit lines like 24th Street BART in particular are exceptionally problematic. Those main thoroughfares of the Mission are where most of the crimes there seem to occur. There are more upscale, kind of quieter, safer areas in the Mission. It's a really big neighborhood, and I don't mean to imply that nowhere in the Mission is suitable for living,, but there are areas within the Mission that are definitely on the rougher side, and I absolutely would not recommend living in them. Next on the list is the northern part of SoMa between 6th and 10th Street. SoMa is one of San Francisco's biggest neighborhoods. It's really 3 separate mini neighborhoods: South Beach, Yerba Buena, and North SoMa. South Beach near the Embarcadero and Yerba Buena near like the Metreon and the Museum of Modern Art, those areas are relatively safe. They are good areas. You know, I used to live in that part of SoMa, and I never once had any issues or feared for my safety., but once you get to 6th Street south of Market, it definitely gets dicey. There's a very noticeable change in neighborhood feel walking the streets once you hit 6th. The area just isn't as well kept. You know, the courthouse is there, which doesn't always draw the best crowd. There aren't also a ton of destinations in that immediate area, like great food. So not necessary to live there to be in close proximity to really anything particularly noteworthy in the city. So. Yeah. Not something I'd necessarily recommend. Last up is Chinatown. This is another area with great history and amazing food and architecture, very much like the Mission, but again, not somewhere I'd personally recommend living. I don't necessarily fear for my safety when I'm in Chinatown. There may be property crime there, but I mean, you know, I'm not saying it's perfect. The real issue there isn't about crime. It's more about the crowds and the incredible foot traffic. It is so loud, so noisy. It's so busy, you know, there's rarely ever parking around. It's very difficult to navigate with all the people and all the cars. Um, there are plenty of other neighborhoods you can live in that are walking distance to Chinatown. If you really want to go to Chinatown, you know, you don't need to live there. Uh, you can live in Nob Hill or Telegraph Hill or near Polk. All of that much better from a livability standpoint, walking distance to Chinatown, than living in Chinatown itself. Well, there you have it. Those are the 5 neighborhoods I wouldn't recommend living here if your primary concern about moving to San Francisco is safety. If you're thinking about relocating or want more information about the market, definitely reach out to me. My contact information is in the description below. I will personally answer every call, every email, every text, and I'd be more than happy to help you. And if you like videos just like this, please subscribe to my channel and don't forget to click the bell so you're alerted every single time I post a video.
