*Travel Tips>>>San Francisco Travel Tips

Moving to the san francisco bay area?

Travel Info
I'm going to an art school and I would like to know a little more about the area. What to watch out for, the best places to go, areas with the most crime, traffic conditions and such. I'm from l.a. so its a complete different scenerio. Much appreciated!

Travel Tips

Hope this helps...

TRANSPORT

The San Francisco region has excellent and well utilized public transportation. The Bay Area loves it's commuter rail (Caltrain) and subway (BART) systems -- you will probably never hear a disparaging word about either. There's also light rail (MUNI, VTA), a couple of ferries, and about a dozen bus companies.

If you must drive, the Major Roads (with Rush Hour Rating) are:

SR 1 = Pacific Coast Highway (heavy) --- connects to Southern California
SR 4 = John Muir-California Delta Highway (heavy)
SR 17 = Santa Cruz Highway (very heavy)
SR 24 = Caldecott Freeway (light)
SR 85 = West Valley Freeway (moderate)
SR 87 = Guadalupe Freeway (moderate)
U.S. 101 = Bayshore Freeway (very heavy) --- connects to Southern California
I-5 = Golden State Freeway (light) --- connects to Southern California
I-80 = Eastshore Freeway (very heavy)
I-280 = Junipero Serra Freeway (light-to-moderate)
I-380 = Quintin Kopp Freeway (light, short distance)
I-480 = No Longer Exists (N/A)
I-580 = MacArthur Freeway (moderate)
I-680 = Luther Burbank Freeway (moderate-to-heavy)
I-780 = Benicia-Vallejo Freeway (light, short distance)
I-880 = Nimitz Freeway (very heavy)
I-980 = Nelson Mandela Freeway (light, short distance)

CRIME

The following areas are generally considered high-crime neighborhoods: The Tenderloin (SF), Bayview/Hunter's Point (SF), Richmond, Oakland, East Palo Alto.

The Mission (SF), Berkeley, San Leandro, Hayward, Pittsburg, and Vallejo are also considered questionable by some people. But the situations in these areas are quite fluid, and the degree of seediness/safety varies from street-to-street.

BEST PLACES

For nightlife, art, and culture -- San Francisco (and to a lesser degree, Berkeley and Oakland).

For spas, casinos, and resorts -- Russian River, Napa

For forests and mountains -- Marin County

For beaches -- Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, Monterey/Carmel

For shopping -- San Francisco, San Jose

For theme parks -- Santa Clara (Great America), Vallejo (Six Flags), Santa Cruz (Boardwalk)

Others
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Hey. I live in a suburb near San Jose and San Fran called Fremont. In general, the bay area is very rich and prosperous, with a lot of single engineers ;D. People are well-educated here, and it is also a beautiful site of nature. Muir woods, Gilroy, and Lake Tahoe are all within driving distance of San Francisco. Areas with the most crime is easily Hayward, Oakland, and East Palo Alto. Oakland has one of the highest homicide rates in the country. Traffic conditions, to be honest, are quite unfriendly. There is a lot of congestion, especially close to and within the city. Good places to go are the Metreon (amazing), Muir Woods( the power of nature), Alcatraz (kinda creepy), and wine tasting in Napa county. Hope this helps, and have fun in art school!
Moving to $F bay area? Hope you have a very good paying job or wealthy daddy, unless you're planning on living in crime/gang ridden neighborhoods... Chose your neighborhood very carefully. We already ran out of space in our jails and the morgues are filling up quick. I am not trying to scare you, I am showing you the other side of the coin. Art?, do people go to school to study art? I thought that was an inherent talent... Yeah, yeah, I know that wasn't nice to say.....
Expensive