I'm moving to SF in less then 2 weeks. Work is putting me in a hotel for a couple weeks. Looking to find a place by Oct 1st. I'm targeting SoMA, Civic Centre, or South Beach as I want to live in a new high-rise. I haven't stayed more then a few weeks in SF before, and mainly in the financial district and fishermen's wharf, and that was for business. I took a tour bus once so I've seen all the areas.
So I had a couple questions:
1) What's the best places to eat and drink? Where's the nightlife?
2) I'll be working near the Embarcadero, what train do I use to get there (assuming I don't just Uber or bike ride every day?)
3) How is it riding a bike around SoMA?
4) How's transit (for whatever train I'm taking)?
5) What's Amazon Prime delivery like in SF? I've never used it but I'm excited to use it to avoid most shopping. Is it same day? If so, when do you need to order by for it to get delivered same day?
6) Any other tips for someone new to the city?
EDIT - Oh, I'm just using CL right now, but what's best website for finding someone looking for a roommate? I'm going to do the roommate situation in SF since rent is high and I have no US credit yet.
EDIT 2 - Also looking at Mission Creek area since there seems to be a bunch of new developments there.
2) BART, maybe. Otherwise almost all the Muni streetcar lines go through the same stops as BART does in downtown SF. All of those stop at Montgomery and Embarcadero. Otherwise, you could try the F streetcar line that goes along the Embarcadero.
3) I like transit in SF. Depends what you're willing to deal with. Caltrain (for going to the Peninsula and South Bay) is expensive but relatively plush. BART is OK. Muni feels bad but covers the city; BART is just functionally a single line (within SF proper) running south to the Peninsula (and SFO) and north/east to the East Bay.
6) misc tips:
- a Muni pass (monthy or even seven day) also gets you free rides on the cable cars, which are otherwise priced to fleece tourists.
- it's hella hilly in many parts of SF.
- start looking for a roommate
right now if you want one by Oct 1st.
- develop some healthy skepticism about CL postings. If things look too good to be true, then either the poster mislabeled the address or is straight up scamming. In the latter case, for example, they love to put 3 br/2 ba posts for comically low prices.
- Oct is one of the warm times of the year, more than actual summer.