Sharing this as a gifted article, so folks on the forum should be able to see this. In this piece, there’s a box where you can enter a ZIP code (a postal code) or city name and see how walkable an area is (or not). That might be useful for sitters checking out areas they’re unfamiliar with. (The site might ask you to create a free account. I’m not sure, because I read it via a paid subscription.)
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Generally I have been in neighborhoods that are walkable. Some more enjoyable than others. But walkable like trails and parks or walkable with restaurants and shops? Walkable because they have sidewalks?
I just saw a Youtube video of Berkeley. It was a place that I liked a lot 30 years ago. Now it seemed that all the restaurants and shops on Shattuck Ave had closed. There was almost nobody walking there anymore.
In the comments, it was suggested that many places had closed during covid.
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I’ve been to Berkeley since Covid and plenty of businesses are open. There are tons of people who live there, plus a large university. Those people continue to eat, shop, etc. Some small businesses might not have survived, but others have. Plus, new ones open.
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I lived in Berkeley for ten years until 2021. After the pandemic it really went downhill. A lot of businesses still are closed and Some forever. College ave though towards Rockridge has begun to thrive a bit. Even downtiwn San Francisco has yet to make a complete recovery.
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Upper Shattuck is okay, yet down further not so much. My chiropractor is over there and I was just there.
The WaPo article still asked me to sign in.
Here is a free site that gives scores on walkability, bikeability, and transit for the US and Canada. Walkability is determined by everyday errands not requiring a car.
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I was in San Fransisco (for a sit) and Berkeley (for a day trip) a couple of years ago. San Fransisco felt pretty normal. Crowded streets. Lots of restaurants. I noticed the situation with unhoused people and people clearly in need of services and help had gotten worse. But it was still San Fransisco and because people want to live there “new” neighborhoods like Dogpatch were emerging (or being gentrified depending on your viewpoint.). Berkeley which I hadn’t visited in years, was another matter. There was a lot open but the are near the university seemed shoddy in a way that I didn’t remember it being. I’d still happily take a San Fransisco catsit! As a US city it’s not only very walkable and wonderful exercise due to the hills, but there’s also a great bus system in addition to BART.
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Yes, I mentioned it might ask you to create a free account to read the article.
Yup, I did a sit in San Francisco last month and will return for a repeat toward the end of this month. The neighborhood where I’ll be sitting in has a bunch of restaurants — more than I can go to on a sit.
One of my hosts and I strolled around (the other was returning from travel later) and she pointed out other restaurants I mean to try during my next sit. She was kind enough to treat me to a delicious Korean dinner at a place that has been open for many years.
San Francisco is one of the few places where I’ll repeat sit, because I have lots of friends in the city, East Bay and South Bay. I used to live there and still miss its food. Even when ordering via DoorDash, the selection and quality are better by far than in various parts of the U.S.
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I’m from San Francisco and it definitely has changed over the years. Some neighborhoods yes are becoming more gentrified very different from 30 years ago. Some changes are okay, yet some not so okay. Yet overall the city is eclectic, diverse and something to satisfy every taste bud. You definitely get your exercise on the hills. For many years i lived in the outer Richmond near the beach and golden gate park still my favorite part of the city. The biggest downfall is it’s unaffordable rent wise and 100,000 is considered low income which is absurd. Now that I’m semi-retired i still have a base, yet spend part of the year in southeast Alaska working as a guide and then traveling and pet sitting. What district was your last sit in Sf?
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I spent part of childhood, college and working years in San Francisco, so I’ve probably known it over decades more than you have. I keep in mind that cities evolve. I see ghosts of businesses and people all over, but I don’t expect the city to stay the same. I’m in my 50s.
Otherwise, I’d expect cable car rides to still cost me 5 cents. 
My cousin and I used to hop on and hop off without paying, as a lark. We’d ride to see movies in Ghirardelli Square when we were feral kids and no one cared what we did all day. They used to run movies daylong and you could stay through repeat sittings without anyone kicking you out. I was in grade school then.
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We were in Dogpatch. I actually briefly attended SFSU many years ago, and have some familiairity from repeated trips, but that area as a neighborhood was new to me. We had our doubts! But we enjoyed it a lot as a neighborhood and found it a fun doable walk to downtown and fine in terms of grabbing a bus or streetcar to many other neighborhoods. We were probably the oldest “residents” during our 10 day stay as it seemed like there were so many younger singles and couples living in many small new apartments.
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Well I’m almost 70 and have lived here 40 year’s and have seen many thing’s as well.
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Then you must know that the tech bubble burst a few years ago as interest rates climbed, costing many job losses in the Bay Area.
Given how much of a multiplier effect those jobs used to create, along with people who didn’t return from pandemic-forced telecommuting, San Francisco logically wouldn’t come back like pre-pandemic. Without as many jobs and workers, there isn’t the same financial support for businesses, and it becomes riskier for new small businesses to open.
You mentioned the high cost of rents. Those were heavily driven by tech salaries and equity. Such job losses actually have helped slow real estate increases, including rents.
You can’t have a bustling economy and low rents. If tech had stayed healthy, the Bay Area’s cost of living would’ve climbed even faster. In tech, it was common for people to make six figures, even some new grads. Even now, tech still pays well, though it doesn’t employ nearly as many in the Bay Area. And some of those folks were able to move away as telecommuters.
Personally, I’ve lived in the Bay Area off and on. The most recent time, I bided my time and then pushed my company to let me move away and telecommute, before the pandemic. I enjoy visiting and have friends, parents, sibling and in-laws there — but hope to never live there again.
Dogpatch is especially popular with tech folks, who skew young. They get less space, but are close to many jobs and amenities.
Exactly. This describes the couple whose cats we sat. I’ll admit I was initially feeling slightly disappointed as there are other more traditional San Fransisco neighborhoods and building styles I would’ve prefered. But we really wound up enjoying the neighborhood a lot.
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I also think there are two kinds of walkable. There is a walkable area or neighborhood where you can find most of what you need without getting into a car or bus. Some small towns or even suburbs are designed that way. And then there are walkable cities where you can (if you want) travel miles on foot from one walkable area to another.
One problem in the US is there can be a perfectly walkable small city like Staunton VA, but there are outlying areas less than 2 miles from town that don’t have sidewalks and might require crossing major roads with no traffic lights, so good luck! (If that sounds specific, it’s because we sat in Staunton which is lovely and an architectual gem but walking home at night was a little terrifying.)
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Yeah, I wouldn’t consider an area walkable if there aren’t sidewalks and there’s say poor lighting, which might end up with someone getting run over.
I had a sit where people sped and there were no sidewalks, but there was a walkable neighborhood nearby. I drove my sit dog there and we walked, or drove elsewhere and walked. For me, it wasn’t a big deal, because I had my own car. Plus, my hosts offered their car.
Personally, I like urban center sits best. I avoid rural sits.
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My last 2 sits in TX were in new build neighborhoods, no sidewalks. Had to walk the dogs on the roads. Although it was 25 mph, people with expensive cars don’t always do that. They were very nice, safe neighborhoods but I didn’t think they were very walkable. Not for nature or shops and cafes. But great houses to sit.
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