What a neighborhood to stumble into !!! … for me at least, as my husband grew up here, but since he has not lived here for 18 years, it is a discovery for him too. Had his family not owned a house here, I think we would have gone for something more like Park Slope in NYC, a well known stroller central such as Noe Valley. I am so glad, we did not.
It is quiet and gentle. I feel safe when my kids play in the back yard, that opens into an alley. Even on the sunniest weekends, the marvelous Sutro park a few blocks down the road offers a stunning view of the ocean (and the great view of the sunset) and not too many people (and most people there come with a dog, on leash and with poop collecting bags), enough place for a picnic too. It takes 10- 15 minutes to walk down to Ocean beach. Not For Tourists (NTF) Guide to SF, describes the area we live as “residential and mellow, the periphery of this area is home to some of the city’s most regal spots.” (page 79)
There are no (except for a Walgreen where the old neighborhood store used to be) shops anywhere in sight (but thankfully, there are several great ones just across the park on the Sunset side, such as the gentle worker owned “Other avenues” with a lot of bulk options and almost exclusively organic food.) Then there is an old fashioned cinema Balboa Theater, built it 1926 with two movie halls and still operational!!! Can you believe it? We watched “The Artist” there on Monday. And apparently it will be there for at least the next 15 years! I love the Purusha yoga studio too, and I love the proximity of the parks, the bison and even the raccoons who walk around the streets here. And the trail at Land’s End, from which one can see the ocean and have a great walk too. There are some stairs there, so a bit difficult with a stroller.
I attended a birth massage training (there is a tiny call in the universe for me to be doing birth related douling) this week at Natural Resources (it was great btw) and met two other women from the Outer Richmond, which was surprising, as I had thought that mostly retired people (both of our neighbors on both sides are the same people, and they already were adults when Sherwin was a kid!!!). They both love the neighborhood. A young (er than me) guy whose telephone was snatched away on a Friday night on Geary 38 bus, and who lived around the 30th ave in Richmond, also loved it (which he told me after he got over the loss of his I-Phone and called his dad from my phone to block it).
I would go on and on, but my daughter is no longer satisfied with the porridge I offered (and she demanded) as a distraction.