Apartments for Rent near Diamond Heights, San Francisco, CA

A diamond in the rough: Diamond Heights is a community designed by the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research Association. The intention? To use redevelopment to create land on the hills in the center of the city utilizing the topography of the hills themselves. Housing was designed for all walks of life, including the commercial center and parks.

The Diamond Heights neighborhood in San Francisco, California, is a product of community redevelopment, made possible through the Community Redevelopment Law passed in 1951. Conveniently situated near the middle of San Francisco, Diamond Heights is situated in the hilly center of the city, between Twin Peaks to the north, with Noe Valley and Castro to the east, and the community of Glen Park to the south.

If you want to live in this area of San Francisco's core, you need to be prepared for the fact that everyone else wants to live here, too! You'll want to leave yourself at least a month or two to find the right section of this community for you. Talk to people in the area, visit community businesses and see if this is the right spot for your new home. And when you do find places to live in Diamond Heights, San Francisco, make sure you've come equipped with all those things landlords love to see - ID, a credit report, references and pay stubs. You're moving to a real diamond of a spot, after all. Make yourself sparkle, too.

Diamond Heights is in itself a neighborhood in the city of San Francisco. It is bordered roughly by Diamond Heights Boulevard, Noe Valley and the lush green space of Glen Canyon Park. You'll love hiking, picnicking and exploring the park if you choose to live here.

The area is made up primarily of a mix of owned and rental properties, including the occasional pet-friendly apartments and luxury apartments. From studios to apartments to medium-size complexes and single-unit homes, most residences in the area were built between 1970 and 1999, although a few classic properties pre-date the redevelopment of the area and were built between 1940 and 1969.

Many residents take the bus, or MUNI, to work. Overall, public transportation is excellent here, just like it is throughout San Francisco, including the MUNI Metro System of buses with lines to Castro Street, West Portal and Forest Hill stations and connections to the Bay Area Rapid Transit system, or BART, via Glen Park Station.

Want to shop for the diamond in the not so rough? Try Diamond Heights Shopping Center, with many stores, restaurants and boutiques. The San Francisco Police Academy is located in this area and is often open for tours. Wanna play? Try the George Christopher Playground just behind the shopping center, or the Walter Haas Playground.

Naturally, there are community businesses, restaurants and nightlife within walking distance - you're in San Francisco, after all. And you're close to trendy Noe Valley with its plethora of galleries and artsy fartsy specialty shops.

Glen Canyon Park is a vast and intrinsic part of this neighborhood. Occupying a deep canyon of some 70 acres, there are a variety of terrains and activities available in this stunner of a city park. Adjacent to Glen Canyon and often considered a part of it is the O'Shaughnessy Hollow, which is undeveloped and rugged with 3.6 acres of woodsy land.

Glen Canyon includes the Islais Creek in its boundaries. Yes, there's a creek right in the heart of San Francisco. Along with its bucolic bubbling, you'll find great bird watching - think red-tailed hawks and great horned owls. It's not all pigeons and sparrows here. You'll also be able to explore a vast grassland meadow, climb startlingly shaped rock outcroppings and explore coastal plants. Steep walls rim the canyon, adding to an otherworldly feeling - you're in the city, but you're not. Very different from Golden Gate Park, it gives that well-known park a run for its money.

There are also a number of recreational opportunities in the park - it's not all hanging out with the natural flora and fauna. At the southern end of this great green space, there's a community center that offers sports and activities year-round. There are also ball fields for soccer and softball, playgrounds, a cool ropes course and tennis courts. The Silver Tree Day Camp and a cooperative community nursery also occupy space here.

You'll find rock climbers flocking to this area -- it's one of the best sites for bouldering around San Francisco, so expect to see some belaying going on.

How do you get to this pristine spot? Trails lead right into the canyon from Diamond Heights Shopping Center, so you can stop on your way in to pick up a pair of sneakers or hiking boots, or bring in a lunch. Either way, you will be surprised and delighted to leave an enclave of stores to find a beautiful slice of nature right at your door step.

If you like hiking, biking, exploring or just hanging out in nature, you'll love living in Diamond Heights, with this fantastic and relatively uncrowded park just outside your home.