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Babes in the City Don’t cross the city limits just yet. Instead, check out these kid-friendly ’hoods. |
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posted on September 23, 2006 |
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(Part of a multi-part series, Baby & Me, which includes Attack of the Tiny Wallet Eaters! and The Art of Conception.) Everyone knows that Noe Valley is a favorite among SF’s young families—the sidewalks need separate lanes for strollers. But where else can a pair of city-lovers settle down when they want to have a baby? Contrary to popular opinion, SF parents enjoy some enticing choices that don’t necessarily demand a quality-of-life downgrade. “Families like to be able to walk to everything,” says Robert Callan Jr. of McGuire Real Estate. “Being close to doctors, parks and grocery stores helps immensely.” Here are a few family-friendly options. The Presidio boasts tons of green space, easy parking and the chance to rent reasonably priced apartments, houses or duplexes. “It’s an extremely popular choice for people who are in transition to buy,” says Callan. While waiting for an opportunity to snatch up their dream home, Presidio parents have access to one of SF’s favorite playgrounds, Julius Kahn Park, on the park’s southern edge, which features separate sandy areas for toddlers and big kids. The Presidio also boasts a bowling alley and a well-kept YMCA that offers affordable summertime swim lessons. And when the urge to leave this serene Eden strikes, families can easily walk to Chestnut Street, that other bastion of Baby Björns and golden retrievers. Atop a hill near USF, and bordered on the west by the convergence of Masonic and Geary, lies an underexposed (read: affordable) housing pocket named Anza Vista. Callan notes that “a lot of people don’t even know where this is, but it’s one of the few remaining places in the city where families can buy for under a million, and it has views!” Spanish-Mediterranean homes from the ’30s and ’40s, as well as slightly newer, Art Deco–accented dwellings, are the norm. Backyards are common and parking is plentiful. Within walking distance is the Jewish Community Center at California and Presidio, where popular art, dance and gym classes give parents kid-free time to do some shopping in Laurel Village. Nearby hospitals like California Pacific Medical Center and Kaiser Permanente make doctor visits less stressful and time-consuming. Just south of Noe Valley is the quieter, quainter, BART-accessible Glen Park. Homes from the late 1800s, contemporary single-family houses and the occasional Victorian cottage often feature backyards and are still going for under $1,000,000. The region boasts some of SF’s most elegant family-friendly eateries (notably Chenery Park, which hosts a weekly family night), the Center for Creative Exploration (fun and funky art classes for kids aged six and up) and the fantastic Glen Park Playground, which features a sandy play area and indoor gym. Even better for older kids is the adjacent Glen Canyon Park, a wooded space crisscrossed by walkable dirt paths. Schools abound in this area, including Glen Park Elementary and Fairmount Elementary, which offers a UC Berkeley–supported, dual-immersion Spanish program for grades K–5. The city’s rising star in terms of urban domesticity, West Portal may be as close as San Francisco gets to Main Street, USA. Prices for detached homes—usually Spanish-Mediterranean in style—range from $1,000,000 to more than $2,000,000, and some come with unheard-of front yards as well as backyards. West Portal Avenue, the neighborhood’s main drag, is brimming with kid-friendly eateries (from parental fave Squat & Gobble to party haven Round Table Pizza); the pleasantly old-school Empire theater’s marquee beckons; and the new Bookshop West Portal hosts kids-only readings. You can easily walk to Stern Grove for Sunday concerts or picnics, or to the SF Zoo, and older kids can safely bus to the beach. Safeway and the Stonestown shopping center are also within reach. “Why on earth would you leave the city when you can have all this?” asks Callan. Our thoughts exactly.
(Part of a multi-part series, Baby & Me, which includes Attack of the Tiny Wallet Eaters! and The Art of Conception.) |
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