Where to stay around SF?

The further away you get from a place the more afraid of it you are. People living in Kyev right now will tell you it's not so bad. This thread is one comment away from getting locked

 

That’s because living in the Bay Area we’re just so used to crime. It’s not a shocking thing anymore. There are parts of the country that still don’t have crime.

 

It’s not a matter of people living in fear and being afraid. Yes there is some of that. Rather it’s a matter of people using good judgment, common sense, keeping yourself , your family and property out of harms way. Avoiding potentially harmful and threatening situations. It’s a matter of not wearing blinders , ignoring what going on there and around you. It’s a matter of not wearing rose colored glasses. Kind of hard to ignore the crime (San Franciscans have about a one of sixteen chance of being a victim of property or violent crime each year) , the filth human excrement, garbage, drug addicts in drug induced stupors lying in the gutters and sidewalks, aggressive and threatening panhandlers, mentally ill and violent threatening individuals wandering around and the list goes on and on. If you can just ignore all that, be oblivious to what’s going on around you, then San Francisco is definitely the place for you.
Took my wife into the city 2 years ago around Christmas time to go shopping and see Christmas displays. All I’ll say is it was a shitty experience, never going back again.
I was born and raised across the bay in Oakland. Spent lots and lots of time in SF. Worked in the financial district for 15 years. Spent lots of time there going to restaurants, entertainment, theater, plays, symphony, all the tourist attractions. I know the city well. Growing up in Oakland I was a bad ass, former professional boxer, currently conceal carry licensed. I’m not afraid to go to the city but observation, experience and common sense tell me it’s not a good or safe place to take family or friends. One last thing, , driving around in SF when you are not familiar with it, repeat when you are not familiar with it, is a major pain in the ass, is a horrible experience even with gps.
So I still say the OP would be much better off if his brother came to some out lying town to spend the day rather than the OP travel into SF.

 

South San Francisco resident of 9 yrs here. SF and Oakland/Berkeley resident for many years before that.

SSF, Daley City, Colma, Brisbane, Pacifica- all these towns are fine for parking a Tacoma. Even on the street.
Your truck will not look special or stand out to thieves/vandals/miscreants., unless you really try. The Bay Area auto fleet probably averages less than 5 years old. Every car is new, and half of them are teslas, lol.
Even SF proper is not so bad, when you consider the odds. Tens of thousands of cars park on the streets of SF every night and don't get burgled.
I park every week in Golden Gate Park with nary an incident.

I concede that street crime is up in SF, but I also detect a note of 'Snowflake-Hyperbole'.
Yes, it sucks (but mostly sad). And also yes, it's very popular to bash the City and cry about it right now.
If you were around to have taken a stroll down mid-Market back in the 80's, you'd probably be a bit more circumspect about the current 'crisis'. And get off my lawn too, dammit.

One will easily spend over an hour driving (one way, plus traffic) if you are crossing any kind of bridge (looking at you Hayward/Pleasanton). Public transportation will take even longer.
So unless that type of commuting was the experience you came looking for, you might consider something close by and convenient. Basically just clear out or stash everything inside the truck out of view. Before you park!

 

Probably too late for OP. No matter where you park in the Bay Area, unless deep residential, you are always going to be at risk for break ins if you are leaving items in the car either covered or in plain sight. Take extra precaution to not leave anything in the car that doesn't need to be in there. If I had my choice, I would stay out of SF, Oakland altogether. But sometimes, you don't have a choice. I was at Land's End back in October. I parked at the upper ridgeline overlooking the main parking lot. Believe me, I was nervous. But I left no reason for anyone to break in. I would avoid parking in the city overnight unless it was a hotel parking garage. And they will charge a hefty fee for that. But you pay for some piece of mind. If you're driving around looking for somewhere to park, look at the curb and check for broken glass. That will tell a story right there. It's not to say don't park there, but be smart about it. Do not leave anything in your car, do not leave it there overnight.

It sucks that you have to exercise extreme precaution nowadays, but that's how these big cities in Cali are run now. Almost everything is decriminalized, so there is no more accountability.

 

We were doing the oregon coast and randomly decided to go to SF on a whim.

I gave my then GF the power to find us a decent hotel in SF.

As we got closer I was wondering why weren't crossing any bridges, but rather stuck mega highways. So I pulled over.

She booked Oakland.

"Whats the issue?" Uhhhhhhh

We ended up only having one issue, after leaving the BART from a SF visit, we were 100% followed off the train to our car, I used my instinct and decided not to walk to it but rather to the main street and pretend we have no car. We got chirped at by them for acting lost in their neighborhood but I wasn't taking any freaking chances.

 

Stay at the Intercontinental, park in the garage. You can park 7-9 lifted armored vehicles with large antennas on them in their garage. Problem Solved. I park my vehicles there without incident. The brunch is worth it and included in your room
The kinda Russian girl who works evenings early in the week is not. Your mileage may vary.

Most hotels with a parking garage are fairly safe in SF. Stay out of Contra Costa (exempt San Ramon), Alameda (other than Livermore and Dublin, maybe Fremont), Stay out of San Mateo (expensive) county except for dining (Wonderful, in Millbrae).

Really, street crime is somewhat sporadic outside of the tourist spots. Yes, vehicle burglaries happen everywhere (in Hayward too). Yes, many of the moderate hotels (comfort inn, Embassy Suites, Good Nite Inn) are on par generally with the Extended Stay places you see - decent crowd, some trashy folks but no hard druggies.

Some of the Motel 6's are shady (Gilroy, 3rd floor has pounds of weed or a grow op) some are icky (North Fremont).

Avoid BART unless you want to use your CCW. That is not an exaggeration, reference sh10151's post, #40.

 

CCW. In CA. Lol.

 

Burlingame is supposed to be nice. My daughter and family moved there after escaping S.F. proper.

 

Whenever i go to visit my brothers up north, I go around Frisco, don't even stop. I stay to the north, not because of the crime, but because of the traffic. Some of the freeways are like being on the 405 in LA. i vote somewhere in Marin.

 

Hotel Carlton on Sutter and Larkin is nice. Oversized indoor vehicle parking right across the street with security.
Regency Hotel on Sutter and Kearny is closer (walking distance) to Chinatown and North Beach. Also shopping in Union Square and Maiden Lane. Oversized parking is a block down on the right. They may even valet it for you if you aren't too tall. That is indoor and has security as well.

 

Are you a prohibited person, or just ignorant of the fact CA is a Shall Issue state?

 

Ha. I baited you.

Well aware of how it works in CA.

 

Are you talking about the Motel 6 off Alvarado Blvd in Fremont? I think they busted a human trafficking ring there a few years back. Fremont of all cities.

 

Yep, Fremont has far more crime than the grandmas and their HOAs want you to know. One of the sergeants I work with came from Fremont and he's a never ending stream of great stories from the sprawling suburb.
Newark has some notable crime as well but their cops are on it.

 

Yeah, it's not so much violent crimes but property crime are off the charts.

 

0.o violent crime happens daily, mostly DV stuff. Much more than when I worked the area a decade ago.

 

0.o violent crime happens daily, mostly DV stuff. Much more than when I worked the area a decade ago.