Housing

Finding an apartment in San Francisco is genuinely hard, so give yourself a head start and don't get discouraged. Landlords mostly want to be sure you can pay.

Finding a place

• It is extremely difficult to find an apartment, so start early.
• No credit score yet? Provide proof of monthly income, or ask your bank at home for a statement showing your savings. Landlords mainly want to know you can pay.
• If you are struggling to get selected, offer to pay a couple of months upfront.
• Arthur, a fellow Belgian, made a helpful site: apartmenthunter3000.com.
• Useful sites: Zillow, apartments.com and Craigslist. Watch out for scams. You can also ask in WhatsApp or Facebook groups about taking over someone's lease.
• Prices are rising fast.

Neighborhood	1 bedroom	2 bedroom
Mission Bay	$4,000 to $4,500	$5,500 to $6,500
Marina	$4,200 to $4,700	$6,000 to $6,800
North Beach	$4,000 to $4,300	around $5,400
Hayes Valley	$4,000 to $4,300	$5,300 to $5,700
Citywide average	around $3,800	around $4,970

Neighborhoods and areas to avoid

• Tenderloin.
• Market Street (from 5th to 9th).
• The BART station surroundings at Civic Center and 16th Street Mission.
• Tip: conditions are extremely block by block in SF. A street can change character within a single block, so the real advice is to walk the exact address at different times of day, including after dark, before signing a lease.

What to check when visiting an apartment

• Heat. The sun is strong and many places have no air conditioning. You often don't need AC, but a unit with lots of windows can get very hot.
• Noise from cars and highways. Landlords sometimes add water fountains or fake bird sounds to mask this during a viewing, so listen carefully.
• Trash collection. It is often scheduled per area, once a week on each side of the street and it can be loud if you have single pane windows.
• The Muni tram. It can be very loud if you live close to it, especially where it rings at busy crossroads.

After you sign

• Utilities: PG&E handles gas and electricity.
• Home internet: common options are Xfinity and AT&T, with Sonic a popular local provider.
• Renters insurance: landlords often require it and it is cheap. A popular one: https://www.lemonade.com/
• Electronics: Belgium runs on 230V, the US on about 120V and the plug shape differs too. A plug adapter (like a Skross) changes only the shape, not the voltage. Most modern electronics are dual voltage, so bring them: check the charger for "INPUT 100 to 240V" and if it is there, a plug adapter is all you need. Chargers for phones and laptops, cameras, tablets and electric toothbrushes almost always qualify. What to leave behind and rebuy here are high power heating appliances like hair dryers, straighteners and curling irons, which are usually 230V only and will not work properly even with an adapter.