Question: Anyone know San Francisco?

[rusty_halo]

A general question for my FL: Anyone know San Francisco?

Like, would it be possible for a single woman who doesn't drive to fly to SF and use public transportation to get to a hotel in the area of a club called Bottom the of the Hill, at 1233 17th Street (17th @ Missouri).

All the hotels I see look to be at least a mile away from the club. Is that walkable? Is it a safe area to walk in alone at night? What are the public trans options? I've read reviews on Citysearch for what seem to be the closest hotels, and there's not much info--and what is there sounds pretty seedy.

What would be the closest airport? Jet Blue has good airfare to Oakland, is that feasible? It looks like I can take the "BART" from the airport into San Francisco.

Map of the area here.

I can figure out the technical details, but what I really need to know is whether this area would be safe enough to be in alone, and whether I'll be able to get around without a car.

If anyone can provide any information, it will be greatly appreciated. :)

(If I do this, it'll probably be Thursday March 16 to Sunday March 19.)

Comments

[swmbo.livejournal.com]

If you don't get an answer, there are a couple of people from SF on my flist that I can ask. Good luck!

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

I got some good answers. I really hope I can pull this off. Thanks!!

[shadowlass.livejournal.com]

SFO might be closer (also might not), but I vastly prefer Oakland's airport. Much smaller, less crowded, and less of a maze.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

That's good to know. Airfare is cheaper into Oakland, too, so I think I'll stick with that. Thanks! :)

[jolielaide.livejournal.com]

Well, we just moved to the area pretty recently, so I'm afraid I don't really know how much help we can be. I can tell you that it's super easy to get from the Oakland airport to SF on the BART-- that's not a problem at all. Don't know much about the neighborhood you'll be in, though. BART in general is pretty lame and I wouldn't rely on it for much outside of airport transit (I think it shuts down at midnight as well.) Seems like SF is more of a bus city...

If you get out here, it would be fantastic to see you!

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thank you so much for the info.

I would love to see you guys when I'm out there. I'll let you know once I get the details finalized of when/where I'm going to be. :)

[jolielaide.livejournal.com]

You also might try www.511.org and use their trip planner-- it's the public transit website and it's really useful.

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

First off, fly into the Oakland Airport - SF airport is a hellhole, even if it is closer. There are shuttles and BART into the city from Oakland.

Secondly, the club is in the Potrero area of town, which is east (I think) of the Mission (roughly equivalent to the East Village) -- I think Potrero used to be working class but is now sort of filled with artists and such looking for viable rents. Anyway, if you feel secure walking through the East Village or Alphabet City at night, it will probably be OK (although taxis aren't horribly expensive in SF). There are buses everywhere, though -- SF isn't LA, and lots of people use rapid transit at all hours. You might try the SF Muni website to see which buses run between the venue and your hotel.

If you're talking about hotels in SoMa, please be aware that lots of homeless people, drunks and crack addicts still hang around there. I've walked short distances there late at night, but I did not feel particularly secure (and I was only heading to my car). There is an area of Market Street that is also fairly dicey - between, say, 7th and 12th, before you hit Van Ness (after Van Ness that part of Market segues into the lower Fillmore, a bit of the Mission, Noe Valley and the Castro, which are relatively safe). Stay out of the Tenderloin if you can (it's what the Bowery used to be) - check a Mapquest map if you're not sure of the area.

FYI -- there are a lot of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants and cafes in SF. I'll give you a list if you want (my husband's a vegan and we were there over Xmas and ate very well).

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thank you for the info.

What are your favorite restaurants that are easy to get to? I'm only going to be there a couple of days but I definitely want to check out some good vegan food. :)

[namastenancy.livejournal.com]

What she said about the Oakland airport; however, be advised that if you are arriving at rush hour, BART will be crowded. Ditto Market St. between 5th and 12th; 6th Street is crack central and nasty even during the day time.

The club is not in a very safe area of town and it's also very deserted after dark. Right now, there are a lot of upscale interior design firms around there but they all close down at 5 or 6 PM. The one bus line (22 Fillmore) does not run often after 7 PM and is often full of druggies, crack dealers and the loud and obnoxious. If you are going to take a cab, and I'd recommend that you do so after dark, call from your hotel and give it an hour or even more. SF General Hospital stretches between 20th and 24th street and again, full of patients, mentally ill, etc. It's OK during the day but I'd be cautious at night. I've lived here for 40 years and have not had much trouble but I do err on the side of caution.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you so much for all the info.

I guess my biggest concern now is getting back to my hotel after the show. If it ends at, say, 1am, it sounds like the bus won't be running (and wouldn't be safe anyway). And the area is deserted at night? Can I call a cab? Is there any safe way to get back to my hotel?

Any info you could provide would be much appreciated. Thank you again!

[kellyhk.livejournal.com]

Cabs run like they do in NYC. Never not been able to hail one. And the price isn't that prohibitive to take a cab, unless you are hoofing it out to SFO.

A cab is your best bet!

[namastenancy.livejournal.com]

I'm adding my two cents yet again. In fact, if you know when you will be getting out of the club, why not arrange in advance for a cab to be there - say at 1 or 2 AM? You can call from your hotel and ask for a cab to be waiting for you at the club. It's just best not to be wandering around any strange city in the wee hours of the morning. As far as cheap and decent hotels, well, why not try the W? There's one on the Embarcadero right next to a Bart stop; that's probably the least expensive downtown hotel that you will find. As others have said, stay away from the Tenderloin; that's a really grotty area of town, full of husters, drug dealers and other rif-raff.

[darling-effect.livejournal.com]

It's true the 22 is a bit skeevy (not to mention pretty unreliable). I used to live on that route and go to the BoTH all the time, but not usually alone. The main problem is getting back to SF proper because the Potrero area is a bit cut off from the rest of SF due to China Basin. A cab is definitely your best bet —you should be able to get one easily enough, but if there aren't any around I'm sure the club will call you one.

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Awesome, thank you.

What's the club like? Like, how big, and are there usually a lot of people there?

:)

[darling-effect.livejournal.com]

It's always been packed whenever I've gone there. I'd say the chances are good. (It's not all that big.)

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Ditto to the cab recommendation - you'd wait a long time for the bus, and the area after working hours is a ghost town. Walking, out of the question thanks to hills and distance, to any downtown hotel, and I can't think of too many SoMa hotel options that aren't pretty seriously in the middle of neighborhoods you wouldn't want to stroll around in at night anyway.

I've actually never had a problem with SF airport. Either there or Oakland should work fine - you can take BART into the city from both, and it should be about the same amount of time.

Have you already picked a hotel?

[rusty_halo.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the info.

If it's a ghost town at night, will there be cabs around? Or will I have to call for one?

I haven't picked a hotel yet. My plan is to find a cheap and decent one close to a BART stop so that I can get there directly from the airport. Plus I'll want to be near fun stuff so that I'll have something to do before and after the show! Any recommendations?

Thank you again!

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

There should be cabs in the club area, no prob - I just wouldn't want to be alone walking/waiting for the bus. I doubt you'll have a problem hailing, but the club would no doubt call for you if you did.

I checked out Hotels.com to see what the deals are - mostly, if you want to be in a fun area, you want to be downtown, more or less, although I'd err toward the north side of Geary and East of, say, Mason if you don't want to be a) too far a walk from the BART stop, and b) not so right downtown that it's utter noiseworld. Hotel Des Arts looks like probably the coolest deal - that's a boutiquey place right near the entrance to Chinatown, a few blocks from the Montgomery BART stop on Market, but not too far to walk. The Olypmic's even closer to the station, if not as trendy, Union Square Plaza looks pretty good, and is right on the Geary bus line (a little noise issue there, though, probably), but it's right near a bunch of Academy of Art hangouts... I'd probably start with those. The rates on the site are great for SF - typically, getting a hotel here for under a hundred is a neat trick.