How safe is it to live in a "bad" neighborhood in SF?

[Tarmo_Sokolov]

I'm a bootstrapped startup founder and, looking at the prices, the best option for me to rent a place is somewhere in Tenderloin. It's practically city center and 15mins walk to Caltrain and BART. I'm wondering though if it is safe to actually live there?

[Tammy_Douglas]

On my first visit to San Francisco I was literraly shocked by Tenderloin. I was strolling the Downtown with its posh skyscrapers and uber cars, then I turned around the corner and BOOM, I was in a different place. Crack addicts laying on the ground, 15-years-old hoockers standing on the sidewalk and half ruined buildings all around. I'm not sure about the actual crime rate in Tenderloin, but that scene was depressing to say the least.

Later, I lived in several neighborhoods all around Bay Area and considering your budget I'd really encourage you to think of alternatives. There are lots of places even in SF with more or less moderate prices. Think Sunset or Richmond. There are lots of neighborhoods all around Bay Area with good prices and not too long of a communte to the city. You can find some of them here: http://bayarea.teleport.org.

If you don't want to get some regular portion of adrenaline simply by walking back home every evening,
and considering there are good alternatives all around the city and the whole Bay Area, it would really be a good idea to rent a place somewhere else.

[Jinyoung_Park]

Its about tradeoffs.

If you have limited budget you either have to give up at least one of the things ;

1. Security (won't be that bad in the daytime but definitely not in the night time)
2. Nightlife/Restaurant (you may live in more 'boring' place)
3. Access to public transit (do you have a car? Or can spend money on uber? Or take forever ride on MUNI?)
4. Privacy (have a roommate/sleep in bunk bed)

Or... Be incredibly lucky (often comes with social connections in the area.)

People say that tenderloin is bad and that's right its bad. But is also quite centrally located, close to public transit and SOMA (where all the startup offices are) and in the process of gentrification - there are some startup houses and people there so I don't think its the (absolute) worst. There is even a hostel there... So probably you can give it a try.

The absolute worst area in SF is BayView/Hunters Point that has high crime rate, radioactivitiy(the govt used to dump radioactive waste in the area, no joke), lack of groceries and public transit.

For startup founders, networks and accessibility to resources are the most important ones... But of course you cannot ignore your sense of well-being.

[elen]

I agree about Tenderloin - it definitely has its characters and I wouldn't recommend wondering around alone at night too much, but during the day it's fine and as long as you just stay alert you'll be okay. Some neighborhoods of SF that were deemed unsafe years ago have now gentrified and newer residents have made them way safer. The food around there is really good as well!

[John_Holman]

Mind your own business and you’ll be fine.