Living well means something different to everyone. For some of us, it means indulging in all the luxuries life offers, and to others it means living a healthy, active lifestyle. Luckily, and why we live here, San Francisco offers both.
Recently the folks over at Trulia shared their perspectives on living well in this Best Neighborhoods post, which coincided with the release of these super handy Live Well maps, and look at that…San Francisco takes top dog for Midsize City, specifically the Sunset District (Spoiler – Sunset is already more expensive than when Trulia wrote this, so get in before it goes more nuts out that way).
San Francisco actually has two of the top ten “Live Well” neighborhoods (that’d be Excelsior at #7) for mid-sized metropolitan areas (population 1,000,000 to 2,000,000) in the US.
Top Ten Neighborhoods for Living Well
| Neighborhood | U.S. Metro | Live Well Index | % Quiet Streets | # Play-Centric Amenities Per Square Mile | Miles of Trails/Footpaths Per Square Mile | # of Care and Essential Amenities Per Square Mile |
| Outer Sunset | San Francisco, CA | 93.6 | 52.5% | 2.5 | 5.0 | 13.0 |
| West Riverside | New Orleans, LA | 88.7 | 55.1% | 2.0 | 1.0 | 4.9 |
| Crestview | Austin, TX | 86.3 | 48.6% | 3.9 | 0.6 | 6.8 |
| Driftwood | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 83.2 | 58.6% | 2.2 | 4.2 | 1.1 |
| Riverwest | Milwaukee, WI | 82.5 | 52.2% | 0.7 | 6.2 | 2.2 |
| Midtown | San Jose, CA | 81.4 | 41.9% | 6.6 | 2.9 | 10.7 |
| Excelsior | San Francisco, CA | 81.3 | 43.1% | 4.4 | 2.2 | 7.1 |
| Shady Lane | Columbus, OH | 80.2 | 50.3% | 1.7 | 0.5 | 2.5 |
| Roosevelt | Redwood City, CA | 79.9 | 58.0% | 0.9 | 0.0 | 5.5 |
| Emerald Hills | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 79.9 | 44.9% | 2.3 | 1.1 | 4.5 |
The Outer Sunset, which scored 93.6 on Trulia’s index, is the best neighborhood overall for living well, beating out the large metro neighborhood Ocean Beach in San Diego, CA, which scored 96.0 (Is that OB v. OB?). The Sunset District of San Francisco, is flanked by three great resources: Ocean Beach to the West, Golden Gate Park to the North, and the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center to the East. Additionally, well over 50 percent of its streets are considered quiet (unless of course it’s festival season!). The Outer Sunset offers the added bonus of being one of San Francisco’s more affordable places to buy with a median sales price of $981,000…and climbing.
Excelsior, San Francisco, CA also made the top ten list for mid-sized metros, ranking seventh with a live well score of 81.3 – offering 43.1 percent quiet streets. Excelsior is nestled just south of Interstate 280 and is east of Outer Mission, Balboa Park, and Mission Terrace. Its great play-centric amenities include the Louis Sutter Softball Field and Playground in addition to the Philosopher’s Way trail. Scoring high for care and essentials, this neighborhood is conveniently located near Excelsior Health Services and a multitude of daycare facilities. Excelsior is by far one of the most reasonably priced neighborhoods in San Francisco with a median sales price of $910,000…and climbing.
If peaceful, active living with great access to exceptional care is what you are looking for in a neighborhood then San Francisco metropolitan area has ample choices for you. If you’d like to learn more about San Francisco’s micro districts, click “Browse theFrontSteps” over there in the right hand column for things we’ve said about most areas of town. Additionally, way back when, I did a Tour de San Francisco, which you might find enlightening.
You could also pick up the phone (or email/text us) and we’d be happy to show you around and find a neighborhood that is right for you. We have many from which to choose, and they’re all pretty awesome.
As for whether Trulia’s statements are accurate, that might be a cause for a new Battle Royale, which we leave up to you to discuss among friends over some tasty California Wine, paired with locally sourced cheese, and possibly oysters…or maybe Dungeness Crab (since they finally lifted the ban.)
Viva San Francisco!
–Reasons We Live Here [theFrontSteps]
–San Francisco Neighborhoods [theFrontSteps]
–Tour de San Francisco [theFrontSteps before theFrontSteps]
–Battle Royale [theFrontSteps]