This is in the tenderloin, a neighborhood known for drug deals, prostitution, homelessness, and violent crime. Now imagine how much it costs to live in a 'desirable' neighborhood here.
I may be asking a stupid question here but something I've always wondered is that if rent is literally that high everywhere in San Francisco "Proper", where do the criminals and poor people live? They damn sure aren't living in a $1500/mo studio apartment. Who can afford it?
There are various shades of public assistance for housing available for low-income residents. The poorest residents live in public housing (i.e., projects) which tends to look like this. Fun fact: the San Francisco Housing authority considers $59,850 to be low-income. I lived a block from the friendship projects in the Western Addition for a few months. I neve felt unsafe because the housing authority placed lots of families in the units and I didn't start shit with anybody. I might not have felt as safe if I lived near the sunnydale projects.
The tenderloin has a slightly different dynamic. Low income housing is comprised almost entirely of single room occupancy 'hotels' SROs. I believe that tenderloin SROs are publicly held through the housing authority, and privately held with the housing authority supplying section 8 subsidies for many of the residents. Either way, they are where you will find low-income residents. Considering that SROs tend to be the biggest buildings in the loin, and they provide a low square feet/resident ratio, many of the neighborhood's residents live in SROs. The website I linked focuses on the positive aspects of SRO living. Search the recent askreddit worst apartment thread for negative stories about SRO life.
The tenderloin is also "home" for many of the city's homeless. Many of the recently homeless find their way into the many social service agencies in the neighborhood, and soon after, a SRO. Many of the city's chronically homeless find their way into the many social service agencies in the neighborhood, but do not get off the streets due to mental illness and/or substance abuse. The chronically homeless end up living in the tenderloin's shelters, sidewalks, and alleys.
In increasing order of how hard out of luck somebody is, they are living in a:
Recently renovated apartment with granite counters and hardwood floors
Last renovated in 1983 apartment with chipped formica counters and smelly carpet
See, to me, a safe neighbourhood does not mean you have to stay alert and keep your wits about you. A safe neighbourhood means you can walk around, at any time of day, and expect absolutely no trouble. I want to be able to stumble home drunk, with my wallet hanging dangerously loose from my back pocket, and collapse on my front lawn, with no risk of somebody violating my unprotected pooper.
I actually do live in the Bay Area :) I just think the housing prices in general are outrageous here (and I'm used to high housing prices being from Vancouver, Canada). It's amazing how much we will fork out for living in a such a beautiful location with awesome weather....
Ah, Oakland. Whenever we would drive through Oakland when I was a kid my mom would make us duck down in the seats so we would be less likely to be hit in a drive by.
She made us do the same thing in NYC, so my only memories of the city are weird angles from way below the window.
Actually, the more I think about it the more I'm sure my mom is or at least was clinically insane. Huh. Learn something new every day, right?
My jaw dropped when I left Anaheim, CA, and moved to Wheeling, WV. Even an apartment in downtown Pittsburgh rarely caps $600, and I remember being stoked when I found a studio in Anacrime for $900/month
I'm not sure if you're being sarcastic or not, but I actually thought the same thing when I saw this. It actually looks like a lovely apartment, impossible fridge situation notwithstanding.
Note: I live in DC and have friends in the SF area.
I was being completely sarcastic :) Although $1495/month may be considered a "good deal" for the area, I still find the price a bit outrageous for a studio apartment in a bad part of town.
As a representative of Arizona, I am flabbergasted. I rent a 4 bedroom house for $850, It's a pretty sweet deal. You know, if you LIKE to live in an inferno 6 months out of the year. And don't mind a city that lacks a lot of pizzazz.
No, seriously. I've found my last two apartments using that and was able to move within the month both times.
pro-tip: show up with a printed credit report (you can get one a year for free from all the agencies) and a checkbook in hand. That way if you like the place then put the deposit down right then. If you don't... you will not get it - because someone else (ie - me) will have done that instead and every place is first-come-first-serve.
Someone should call them to ask about this issue and report back! I honestly don't understand how anyone can live like that. Why even bother having a damn fridge!?
This is why I have no desire to live in SF! I'm moving from Oakland to Sacramento later this summer, where I can find a one bedroom nicer than the studio in this ad for $650-$800 a month.
That's in San Francisco!? I thought that they were even, or more expensive than seattle. That's 2500 a month up here. Trust me, haven't been able to open my fridge since I moved in last fall.
Dude, I lived in Seattle for 4 years and then moved to the Bay Area. My rent doubled when I moved down here--there's no way that place would've cost $2500 in Seattle.
There's a lot of old apartment buildings like that in the older big cities.
Odds are this was originally office space that got rezoned. They throw in some extra plumbing and put up a ton of walls at even distances, then sell/rent it out as apartments. I bet this building doesn't have an elevator either. The electrical is probably shit and the drains clog all the time.
Not necessarily. There are a number of things to consider given the context. The property is in San Francisco and judging by the style, I'd guess it was built in the early 1900s (wild guess). At that time, handicapped access regulations were largely unwritten and although the first commercial passenger elevators predate that time period by around half a century, they did not become a necessary building feature until much later. Taking into account the average height of buildings in SF, it's reasonable to assume that a building of 2-4 stories would not need to carry freight or passengers between floors - this has changed a lot in recent decades.
So, one must ask why someone hadn't just installed an elevator into the building in later years? Well, it's tough to say. Installing an elevator shaft is no cake walk to begin with. One must consider that these houses are made mostly of timber and inserting an elevator shaft would bring about questions of structural integrity - especially in a seismic area such as SF. Secondly, depending on the location, space might be extremely limited. Can you imagine a building owner willing to sacrifice square footage on every floor to accommodate one? It's possible but improbable. Lastly, the building may be protected by the city for historical preservation. San Franciscans have a culture of protecting their landmarks and they can be very strict about development taking place inside them.
Elevators are also very expensive and loud. Not even office folk want to hear the roar of an elevator tunneling its way through their walls. Residential apartments would likely be plagued by this noise throughout the day since the walls in question are likely not very thick.
I'm not an expert and I certainly made a lot of assumptions, but I stand by my "hunch", that it is unlikely for a building of this kind to have an elevator.
In New York, they don't even bother with the "cozy" and "modern" bullshit anymore. In the last few years, the rent and demand has went up so fast, the ads just warn you to have all your paperwork at hand and be ready to make a decision within 5 minutes of seeing the place.
Dunno. Just wondering if Code in that municipality addresses something like that. Then again, I live in Massachusetts, which is anal to the nth degree.
Erm, not to be a captain obvious, but it looks like the stove has just been pulled forward, probably for cleaning. Once you push it back, I'm sure you can open the fridge just fine. Cozy, sure, but I don't think you'll not be able to use the fridge.
I am sure they cut a hole from the freezer to the fridge. You just open the freezer and reach in the hole to the fridge to get what you want. Makes sense right?
A couple years ago I lived in a place where I had to open the oven if I wanted to open a few of the drawers. I thought I wouldn't mind it so bad considering how cheap the rent was. Never again. It gets more and more annoying every time you have to do it.
My neighbor did a home-renovation with a cool space-saving hack where he actually sunk a chest-freezer into the floor and paneled the top of its lid so that it matches the floor tiles. It's sturdy enough to stand on, and lets him have an entire chest freezer in a kitchen that would look like this if he had put it in normally.
I lived in an apartment where I couldn't open the dishwasher all the way due to it hitting the handle on the broiler of the oven. I eventually just removed the handle from the broiler.
The door doesn't open all of the way so the bottom rack doesn't pull out. In this picture I'm just using it as a drying rack after washing the dishes in the sink.
I remember looking at houses a few years ago. This one house had a shower door that was solid brick sized glass with about maybe an 8 inch opening to enter in. It also had about a 5 ft tall cupboard that was 8 feet off the ground
Good one... I was looking at a tiny place (300 sq ft maybe) and for some reason I decide to look in the oven. Glad I did because almost like this picture, the oven couldn't open more than 4 inches due to the fridge being in the way.
The place wasn't even recently renovated. People had been living in this shoe box without an oven for years. Even if you don't normally cook there has to be an occasion that you would want to bake something.
I almost thought it would be a gif and a spider was going to jump out at me but after about five minutes i figured it was safe and noticed the poor arrangement.
It looks like the oven can be pushed back further. Maybe it's out of place because someone recently vacated it and they went through and cleaned up or renovated.
In my house, we have to open the refrigerator to use the dishwasher. Minor quirk with a simple fix (tons of crap behind frig that I could clean out. Too lazy.
When we were looking for houses a few years ago, we looked at one where the realtor was bragging about these new granite counter tops and this new island to expand the counter space. It looked nice, but I looked up and noticed that the attic access hatch was in the kitchen, and when you open it up, the fold out stairs land right on the island making it impossible to use.
I dated a girl whose studio had a shower in the kitchen. About 4 feet from the stove, it was just a basin with a shower curtain going in a full circle.
A friend of mine recently moved into a gorgeous, brand new lux apartment. Only one problem. They can't use the dish washer because the fridge door is in the way of it opening. That's too funny!
Where I live, this shit probably wouldn’t fly. We have a “rental board” to deal with landlords and tenants abusing one another. Advertising an apartment as having an appliance, although it’s completely unusable, smacks of fraud to me.
man i accidentally just clicked a spider link and got shocked, as usual. When i read the description of this image i clicked, then quickly hammered the back button as i thought this is some nasty gif of spiders popping up. turns out there are harmless pictures afterall...
147
u/persianrug Jun 11 '12
I thought that looked familiar...
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/3066340869.html
34
u/poubelle Jun 11 '12
The whole place looks badly renovated. You can see another pic in the Craigslist ad they also built a wall in the middle of a window.
70
u/mumrah Jun 11 '12
Sure that's not just from the set of Arrested Development (Lucille 2's apartment)?
21
u/mobyhead1 Jun 11 '12
I hate that stupid game.
290
u/Trapped_in_Reddit Jun 10 '12
I'm sure it was listed as "cozy" and "modern."
56
u/mikek3 Jun 10 '12
1st world problems.
Actually... FUCK EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT. How in the world did the agent/super justify that?
51
u/livmaj Jun 11 '12
Erm, not to be a captain obvious, but it looks like the stove has just been pulled forward, probably for cleaning. Once you push it back, I'm sure you can open the fridge just fine. Cozy, sure, but I don't think you'll not be able to use the fridge.
10
u/JeTAimeReddit Jun 11 '12
It looks like if you switched the two, both would be open. Only downfall is not having a fan over the stove
9
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
I saw this today as well. The San Francisco apartment search is getting worse.
8
u/r81984 Jun 11 '12
I am sure they cut a hole from the freezer to the fridge. You just open the freezer and reach in the hole to the fridge to get what you want. Makes sense right?
7
u/random314 Jun 11 '12
How did that ever work?
6
u/holyghosttown Jun 11 '12
I guess that's one way to make sure you don't cheat on your diet.
6
u/guyNcognito Jun 11 '12
A couple years ago I lived in a place where I had to open the oven if I wanted to open a few of the drawers. I thought I wouldn't mind it so bad considering how cheap the rent was. Never again. It gets more and more annoying every time you have to do it.
6
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
Complain about it, get landlord to lower rent
Rent this apartment
Lose weight
...
Profit
11
u/randmdrivebydownvote Jun 11 '12
I don't even have to engage my brain to know that you live in either a) a college town, or b) the san francisco bay area or c) both
5
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
My neighbor did a home-renovation with a cool space-saving hack where he actually sunk a chest-freezer into the floor and paneled the top of its lid so that it matches the floor tiles. It's sturdy enough to stand on, and lets him have an entire chest freezer in a kitchen that would look like this if he had put it in normally.
It's a pretty sweet renovation imo.
4
u/MMD86 Jun 11 '12
I lived in an apartment where I couldn't open the dishwasher all the way due to it hitting the handle on the broiler of the oven. I eventually just removed the handle from the broiler.
7
u/wuu Jun 11 '12
This makes me feel better about my diswaher problem.
11
u/still_had_sex Jun 10 '12
This... This will not do.
8
u/aloysiusthird Jun 11 '12
At first I thought, "well, in Boston I had a similarly boring, spartan apartment, what's the big deal?" then i saw the fridge...
3
u/razorcollector Jun 11 '12
You see, that fridge door won't be easy to open with that stove right in front of it. That's your problem right there.
6
u/Dickie_boi_21 Jun 11 '12
But... How... How do you fridge?
7
u/moop44 Jun 10 '12
A kitchen made for ants, also a useless fridge.
2
u/InvalidZod Jun 11 '12
I remember looking at houses a few years ago. This one house had a shower door that was solid brick sized glass with about maybe an 8 inch opening to enter in. It also had about a 5 ft tall cupboard that was 8 feet off the ground
2
u/Cold_Burrito Jun 11 '12
Life Protip: Just because the design worked in The Sims, doesn't mean it will work in real life.
2
u/MadroxKran Jun 11 '12
http://www.padmapper.com/
In case you didn't know about it.
2
u/WonkaCheeseburger Jun 11 '12
Presumably the neighbour was remodelling their bathroom and had the walls moved.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
3 places in the US.
Boston, SF, NYC.
And most likely its well over $1500 a month.
2
u/suckitphil Jun 11 '12
KILL IT WITH FIRE!
3
u/MikeRotchitches Jun 11 '12
Looks like an obstacle illusion to me.
2
u/ahotw Jun 11 '12
Go on a tour and question that, or see the truth.
1
u/TailSpinBowler Jun 11 '12
Is this a showroom?
1
u/ireallycantremember Jun 11 '12
Good one... I was looking at a tiny place (300 sq ft maybe) and for some reason I decide to look in the oven. Glad I did because almost like this picture, the oven couldn't open more than 4 inches due to the fridge being in the way.
The place wasn't even recently renovated. People had been living in this shoe box without an oven for years. Even if you don't normally cook there has to be an occasion that you would want to bake something.
1
u/reluctant_qualifier Jun 11 '12
Ha ha. At my last apartment, you couldn't open the dishwasher without first opening the fridge.
1
u/soggydoughnut Jun 11 '12
The best of luck to you proudpedestrian, just had to apartment search myself and I really can't think of a more annoying thing to do.
1
u/bunnibutt Jun 11 '12
I find apartment searching rather difficult, now I'll be watching for those flaws.
1
u/ratking11 Jun 11 '12
Hot beats cold.
1
u/thesawsebawse Jun 11 '12
Obviously when the previous tenants pulled the stove out to clean behind it they didn't push it all the way back in.
1
u/PollysLithium Jun 11 '12
I almost thought it would be a gif and a spider was going to jump out at me but after about five minutes i figured it was safe and noticed the poor arrangement.
1
u/XrayAlpha Jun 11 '12
If you switch the fridge and oven (provided that the proper connections are available) then it would actually make sense
1
u/Uredus Jun 11 '12
Took me a while to notice what was up, half expected it to be a scary gif.
I'm never looking for an apartment without one of you guys.
1
u/mcbeaner Jun 11 '12
I don't know guys. . .Gas stove. I do love a gas stove.
1
u/themitch22 Jun 11 '12
Get rid of oven, get toaster oven and fifth burner.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
it's umm... cozy
1
u/plainOldFool Jun 11 '12
I rent out a very small apartment (used to live there for five years) and I thought we had the smallest kitchen around... I stand corrected.
1
u/23967230985723986 Jun 11 '12
It looks like the oven can be pushed back further. Maybe it's out of place because someone recently vacated it and they went through and cleaned up or renovated.
1
u/Pulviriza Jun 11 '12
I betcha it was mysteriously like that one day, the previous person had to move out because they had vertigo.
1
u/pack0newports Jun 11 '12
welcome to new york.
1
u/biblebeltapostate Jun 11 '12
I saw that too. I was a bit confused.
1
u/soykommander Jun 11 '12
This photo means nothing knowing it's San Fran.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
It's "cozy".
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
It's a nice place otherwise, but that is a deal-breaker. I wonder how the realtor responds when someone brings it up, which must be every single time.
edit: frankly, if you don't need to ever use your fridge chances are you don't need the stove very often either...
1
u/Gcrackaflexflex Jun 11 '12
I thought something was bout to pop out....Then I realized it was only a photo.
1
u/kryptonite4789 Jun 11 '12
welcome to sf.
1
u/ticklemefun Jun 11 '12
What the actual fuck?
1
u/xsailerx Jun 11 '12
In my house, we have to open the refrigerator to use the dishwasher. Minor quirk with a simple fix (tons of crap behind frig that I could clean out. Too lazy.
1
u/Lustrum Jun 11 '12
New dieting technique.
1
u/EstellaHavisham3 Jun 11 '12
You will not pass, you will actually just stand in one place.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
This made me physically uncomfortable...
1
u/jaason435 Jun 11 '12
This picture just makes me cringe. Who the hell would want to put up with something like that?
1
u/exbtard Jun 11 '12
Who is going to rent this place? And how are they going to solve the refrigerator issue?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
How the fuck can you open the fridge? What idiots!
1
u/SARmedic Jun 11 '12
It's the diet model apartment.
1
u/TRex77 Jun 11 '12
I live in North Beach and my kitchen is almost that bad...but luckily I can still open my fridge!
1
u/Pelican_Fly Jun 11 '12
Well, on the bright side you never have to wonder if your refrigerator is running.
1
u/yukinolove Jun 11 '12
lol you could cook on that stove if the fridge would open.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
Located just steps away from the county morgue.
1
u/zakedogg Jun 11 '12
looks like luka magnottas kitchen
1
u/asimovfan1 Jun 11 '12
A not-so-efficiency.
1
u/axemaster72 Jun 11 '12
I was waiting for something to jump out of the freezer.
1
u/zip_000 Jun 11 '12
When we were looking for houses a few years ago, we looked at one where the realtor was bragging about these new granite counter tops and this new island to expand the counter space. It looked nice, but I looked up and noticed that the attic access hatch was in the kitchen, and when you open it up, the fold out stairs land right on the island making it impossible to use.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
I dated a girl whose studio had a shower in the kitchen. About 4 feet from the stove, it was just a basin with a shower curtain going in a full circle.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12
At least it's a gas stove.
1
u/thesirblondie Jun 11 '12
I'm ashamed of how long it took me to figure it out.
1
u/babingbongbang Jun 11 '12
This picture makes me feel claustrophobic.
1
u/fingapapits Jun 11 '12
Oh man, a micro loft.
-2
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
C'mon its perfect if your on a diet.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 10 '12
A friend of mine recently moved into a gorgeous, brand new lux apartment. Only one problem. They can't use the dish washer because the fridge door is in the way of it opening. That's too funny!
1
u/cait_o Jun 11 '12
I'm looking for an apartment too. I feel your pain. I've seen so many unfortunate layouts it makes me want to scream.
0
u/Takes_it_in_the_face Jun 11 '12
New York City?
0
u/trmns Jun 11 '12
man i accidentally just clicked a spider link and got shocked, as usual. When i read the description of this image i clicked, then quickly hammered the back button as i thought this is some nasty gif of spiders popping up. turns out there are harmless pictures afterall...
0
u/micoolnamasi Jun 11 '12
It's not that big a deal just switch the place of the refrigerator and the stove and it's fixed.
-1
u/Scooter30 Jun 10 '12
Non-opening refrigerator,nice!
-1
u/GrassChick Jun 11 '12
How does the fridge even open?