Mission Terrace, San Francisco

Alright, you shouldn’t really think of Mission Terrace as anything like the Mission. In fact, I think that it doesn’t actually even border the Mission District, being separated by part of Bernal Heights. This neighborhood is not exactly beautiful, but it does have a certain quality to it that some might find attractive. It is made up of Spanish Revival style bungalows. They are fairly nicely kept and judging by the luxury cars parked outside, this neighborhood must have some high end sections.

So what should we make of this neighborhood?

Rents—The rents are fairly varied in this neighborhood—which is a little strange because from the outside the small lots and Mission style can look fairly homogenous. Most homes however go for about $850/mo. You can definitely find some for twice that amount.

Crime—Crime is only moderate here and there were no murders here last year.
Parks and Recreation—One of the nice things about this neighborhood is the presence of Balboa Park.

Education—The neighborhood is also to the east of City College of San Francisco, perhaps the best community college in the Bay Area. The local school, Balboa High is actually considered a fairly strong school although when you look at their scores on standardized tests they are strangely all over the board with some areas coming in the bottom quarter while others reach up into the top (and a fair number in between as well).

Restaurants—Like with its neighbor, the Excelsior District, restaurants are mostly along Mission and are mostly un-impressive. These are the kind of places you go to when you are too lazy or tired to go anywhere else.

Bars—The bars are a lot better. There are about a half dozen dives worth dropping in on—all on Mission. (Mission Street here, like in many parts of the actual Mission, has sort of slightly run down look to it, but definitely feels authentic.)

Some of the lower rent prices in this neighborhood can be explained by the nearby college, though I don’t think it is very common for students to move near community colleges in the same way they do for UCs or private universities like Stanford.

Overall, a little boring but definitely worth a look if you want to keep rents low or are a student in the area.

Mission Terrace lies close to the San Francisco-Daly City border line. There isn’t anything really special about Mission Terrace, there are only homes and more homes in this neighborhood. For one, transportation may be relatively simple because there are several entrances and exits to the 280 freeway. But living right next to that brings disadvantages to living here. The noise is one, living here you will never be able to escape the buzz that comes from the 280 freeway, it’s like what you see in movies when people live right next to train tracks, there will always be the expectation of loud annoying noises. I’m also quite sure that living next to the 280 freeway will also bring traffic jams every now and then. Many freeways and highways in San Francisco tend to jam up during rush hours in the morning and at night. MUNI transportation isn’t that bad, there are several stops within Mission Terrace. There is also the Balboa Park BART station nearby. Mission Terrace is also surrounded by a plethora of schools, you have three high schools near the Balboa Park BART station; they are Lick Wilmerding High School, Leadership High School, and Balboa High School. There is also the City College of San Francisco on the other side of the 280 freeway. Residents of this neighborhood should expect a plethora of students and cars going through during the mornings and during after school times.

Mission Terrace is a great place to be if you want to both get into the heart of the city quickly and also have somewhat of a suburban feel in your world. On the west side, there's also easy access to BART at the Balboa Park Station.

Mission Terrace is also situations close to the ALC Lifecycle kick off route along Geneva coming up from the Cow Palace. It certainly is a cultural wonder to experience the energy of the ALC ride kickoff, and I highly recommend it -- you'll have to look up the date and time for this year at AidsLifecycle.org. As a rider, I can only say the traffic jam we bicyclists created was a thrill, but the cheers from the side of the road was and even more impressive as an expression of supportive.

Much of the Mission district survived the 1906 earthquake and fire, and refugees, primarily Italians and Irish, flooded in from across the city. They were joined by Mexican immigrants from the 1910 Mexican Revolution and Central Americans fleeing political oppression. Wave after wave of primarily Latino immigrants arrived in the ensuing years, melding the area into a rich and vibrant cultural community. It is with this history that we have Mission Terrace.

There are rich neighborhood murals in Balmy Alley, the Cesar Chavez School, the 24th Street Bart Station and numerous other locations. Working class social causes, art and music thrive in the Mission area today.

The latest wave of immigrants to Mission Terrace are the young, affluent, high-tech set, and easily lured by burritos and bungalows with potential. This new scene is creating quite a stir in the community and the gentrification debate roars on.