Lower Haight - San Francisco, CA Area Guide

The neighborhood of North Central San Francisco has maintained its grungy, bohemian feel and provides residents with a wide array of local establishments and small nightclubs that have crept into the area over the years. Though crime ran rampant in the area, an initiative and public nuisance lawsuit in the 1990s cleaned up the area and made it a safer place to live.

Now, Central North San Francisco abounds with cultural events including the Haight Ashbury Street Fair, where musicians, local artists and local businesses come out to celebrate the city, and the Lower Haight Art Walk, which occurs in the early spring and attracts artists and patrons of all kinds. Lower Haight also remains home to a number of music festivals, including a number of rap events.

Given that restaurants fill the Lower Haight region, you can easily walk to your dining destination and have plenty to choose from. Make the first restaurant on your list Rosamunde Sausage Grill. Here, you can get that hot-off-the-burner beer sausage cooked to keep in all the juices so the first bite fills your mouth with succulent meat and flavor. Try out the Ghetto Dogs (hot dogs wrapped in bacon) too, if you're feeling adventurous. Also within walking distance lies Palmyra, a tucked-away Mediterranean restaurant with authentic tahini dressing that goes perfectly with any of its falafel entrees or wraps. The rotisserie chicken meal has huge portion sizes and a juicy, roasted taste. Visit Love N Haight Deli for fresh vegetarian and vegan sandwiches. Loaded with vegetables and "veggie meat," the veggie chicken steak sandwich makes for a tasty and filling lunch. If you wanted, you could do something exotic and fun every night of the week in Central North San Francisco. Walk on over to Ignite the Mic for fresh, local music or to Noc Noc, one of the oldest bars in San Francisco, which never serves name-brand beer.

Because the parking in North Central San Francisco remains notoriously sparse and risky in many areas, the residents often prefer to walk, bike or take one of the many MUNI buses that run through the neighborhood. The metro station also lies within a few blocks of the neighborhood, making it easy to ride the train to your destinations.

North Central San Francisco has innumerable bike trails, including the famous Wiggle Trail, that can take you all around the neighborhood safely. Because the locals have grown accustomed to driving around bikers, you have little to worry about.

Divisadero Street, Geary Boulevard and Highway 101 offer the best methods of cruising off toward the cities that neighbor San Francisco, and both I-80 and I-280 lie within 10 miles east of North Central San Francisco.

Getting a cab in San Francisco rarely presents a problem, though you may have to call it yourself depending on the neighborhood. Uber has become a major method of transportation in the area as well, and, with so many alternatives, few residents actually drive themselves anywhere.

Koshland Park, located in the Hayes Valley portion of North Central San Francisco, has been a highlight of the neighborhood for years, especially now that the city has taken pains to keep the park clean. Though many of San Francisco’s downtown parks do not want you to bring dogs, this park and its staff do not usher them away, though parkgoers are expected to clean up after their pets. With lush trees and peaceful benches, this park makes for the perfect destination for a morning or afternoon stroll.

The Page and Laguna Mini Park, very near to Koshland Park, also makes for a nice place to sit, rest and enjoy the sights of the city, though there are not many benches in the small area. Don't forget to catch one of the many beer festivals that take place in the area.

Living in San Francisco packs a heavy punch in the financial area, and North Central San Francisco does not make exceptions. Overall, it costs about 99 percent more to live in North Central San Francisco than the national average and about 11 percent more that the San Francisco average.

Though everything from groceries to the $6 beer you pay for at the bar costs a bit more than it would in other places in the country, the hardest hitting bill, not surprisingly, remains the housing costs. With the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment at around $2,983 per month, staying in the neighborhood comes with the hefty price tag. A pass for a regular adult on the bus costs around $2.25, though MUNI offers many discounts for residents with low and medium income.

Plenty of vintage and eclectic stores serve the Lower Haight and China Basin areas within North Central San Francisco. This includes Held Over, a tiny vintage store where everything fits into a well-labeled decade and style. In the Hayes Valley area of North Central San Francisco, Plantation provides a number of fascinating home décor items, from decorative tables to candles to throw blankets, making it the perfect place for picking up a great housewarming gift for a friend or treating yourself.

Whole Foods, Safeway and a neighborhood market called Small Foods all serve the locals with groceries, though Heart of the City Farmers Market often provides fresher, cheaper and closer produce than the typical grocery outlet. This farmers market is open every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 7 a.m., but its closing times range from 3 p.m. on Fridays to 5 p.m. on Sundays.