Welcome to Curbed Comparisons, a regular column exploring what you can rent for a set dollar amount in different neighborhoods. Is one person's studio another person's townhouse? Let's find out. Today's price: $2,350.
↑ We’ll start in the Castro (because it’s almost a tradition now), which offers a studio at 19th and Noe for $2,350/month. The neutral stucco exterior of this building is remarkably unexciting, although that does make the presence of the curbside mural all the more surprising. No dogs allowed, but cats are okay—the Castro is arguably as much a neighborhood for cats as people, after all.
↑ Any combination of the phrases "Pacific Heights" and "Victorian" are bound to jump out at you, although note that in this case it’s of course a studio rather than the entire place. (It’s all studios at this price point today, in fact.) We might argue that the building looks a little more Edwardian, but it dates to 1880, so it’s got the credentials. The price here is $2,340/month; don’t spend the extra $10 all in one place.
↑ And now for something as un-Victorian as it gets: Cubix, the SoMa condo building that never fails to put the "Tetris" theme in our heads. The formula here has always been the same: Relatively cheap homes (by modern SoMa standards, which these days means $2,300/month) but with only a little bit of space. In this case, 350 feet. No pets (grrr), although it does boast a few clubby amenities.
↑ If you’re still feeling the classics over the Cubixes, an apartment in Lower Nob Hill (near Bush and Powell, so a rare case of not trying to pass off the Tenderloin as Lower Nob—not that there’s anything wrong with living in the Tenderloin) in a 1912 building with one of those drop-dead lobbies is $2,275/month, the most affordable of the five options. It’s another cat-friendly building that puts the dogs out; rough day for the ruff set.
↑ And we finish out our studio tour in North Beach, in a building tucked away in Vaderwater Street that wants $2,345/month for a place. The ad mentions vaulted ceilings and wall-sized windows, but neither appear here. The boxy old brick fireplace does manifest to add a bit of charm to the little place, though.