<p>Hi all! Teenage son moving soon to Soma…am worried! Hows the area? He will be alone.</p>
<p>I take it we are not talking about Soma, the dress/underwear store… ;)</p>
<p>Haha no ;)</p>
<p>Pixel- Your son will think it is safe.
A parent will not, but then your expectations about security are high.
During the day SOMA is fine, but at night, parts of SOMA is very sketchy.
Doesn’t matter what part of the city he lives in he needs to be street smart and take care of himself.</p>
<p>You’d worry no matter what part of SF he decided to live.</p>
<p>here is the description of the area(SOMA=South of Market street). I drive through it every so often and have shopped in the costco there. The neighborhood could be challenging in places, they are pretty mixed. You will have the good, the bad and the ugly… Just be careful picking the right location and he will be fine.</p>
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<p>Thank you will PM you^.</p>
<p>I am really really worried. He saw a place near 7th in an alley. I really cannot understand why he cant live in a safer place? What would your suggestions be for a startup type guy.</p>
<p>My start-up employee son is living in the Inner Richmond neighborhood and using the Muni to commute to the Third & Market St area for work each day. Loves San Francisco and seems to use the entire city for entertainment on weekends. Why limit oneself to one sketchy neighborhood?</p>
<p>[San</a> Francisco Crime Map Beta - Trulia](<a href=“http://www.trulia.com/crime/San_Francisco,CA/]San”>http://www.trulia.com/crime/San_Francisco,CA/)</p>
<p>This maps the crime in San Fran. Many young adults live in the Castro or Mission neighborhoods.</p>
<p>My husband and I are empty-nesters, just moved to SOMA from the SF suburbs. We love it here. But we live in the Yerba Buena Gardens part of SOMA, near the museums, shopping, and park. Most young folks cannot afford to live in this part of SOMA. In fact my post-college daughter and her roommates live in Noe Valley. They prefer to hang out in the hipper neighborhoods like the Mission and Fillmore. </p>
<p>As the other posters have said, the neighborhoods in SOMA can change within a few minutes walk. You can be in Union Square on Fifth, and a few minutes later be on Sixth where it’s a drug war landscape. You just really have to get to know the neighborhoods. A place in an alley off of Seventh is sketch. If rent seems too good to be true, it is. For good reason.</p>
<p>If he has to pass thru or on Sixth Street to get to Seventh, forget about it. I am not overly paranoid, but Sixth is ROUGH.</p>
<p>I am a native of SF . For someone new to SF , I cannot recommend SOMA if you don’t know it well .</p>
<p>Sixth and where is rough? He saw a place that he really likes, rent is not cheap either.</p>
<p>Sixth and Market/Mission area is really rough. If you Google Sixth Market SF you’ll probably find a lot written about the area. Your son may want to try using a real estate agent to guide him to rentals in safe neighborhoods. My daughter loves it in Noe Valley (close to both Mission and Castro 'hoods) and she takes public trans to downtown for work. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Agreed, around 6th and Market/7th and Market is not a great area at all. Some parts of SOMA are okay, but generally not where I’d recommend living at all. I usually feel comfortable walking around the area as a single, young female in bright daylight, but not for a long amount of time. There are lots of other, better areas that will be just as cheap. </p>
<p>The suggestions of the Castro and the Inner Richmond or Inner Sunset seem good. Both v. accessible to downtown on Muni, and much safter.</p>
<p>Thanks will pass on the messages to him.</p>