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: $1,700.
↑ Why $1,700? Because (roughly, depending on which rubric you use) that's half of the median rent in San Francisco right now. And since we all know not everyone can afford market rates, let's see what's on tap for less than that. Down in Excelsior (in such a remote block that it's 15 minutes to the nearest bus stop) there's a 400 foot in-law renting for $1,695/month. Well, at least the remoteness leaves you literally a few feet from the natural splendor of San Bruno mountain's hiking trails, and the view from the deck isn't half bad. No pets allowed, though.
↑ If you can't abide being so far away from the central channels, this studio on Nob Hill offers for $1,650/month. The ad even specifies Nob Hill "not Tendernob," and that's true, although it's actually bleeding a little into the edges of Chinatown rather than the Tenderloin. The old Powell Street building here is rather classy, and the cable car passes right by the front door. No mention of pets, sadly. (They're trying to just sneak it by us more and more often.)
↑ Then again, some people may take that "not Tendernob" crack a little personally. There's nothing wrong with turning to the Tenderloin (and/or Nob, as this particular studio prefers to bill itself) when looking for a place to hang your hat, and in fact this building at 550 Leavenworth even outdoes its uphill neighbor in curb appeal. There interior is a bit less claustrophobic than many Tenderloin studios (must be the bay windows), and it's yours for $1,595/month.
↑ Speaking of in-laws far from the hub of downtown, that's something of a specialty in the Sunset. This downstairs unit on 41st Street is about as modest as they can get, but at least it's private, has a yard, sits a few blocks from the beach, and at $1,500/month is tied for the least expensive of today's half-priced offerings. (No word on pets either. They think we're not going to notice, but we always do.)
↑ Finally, we have a "built basement" (presumably another in-law), this time a one bedroom spot down in Little Hollywood of all places, possibly the first time we've ever spotted a Comparisons pick in that corner of the city. At $1,500/month, it's only 200 feet, scraping the limits of what can legally be called an individual unit of housing. But a home is a home.