Renting a home is a common practice, especially in big cities such as San Francisco. Whether you are a student, intern, or worker in the city, sometimes it is the best choice to rent a place while you are here. Luckily, Urbanests offers the most affordable San Francisco rentals that are located in the best parts of the city. That only that, we also want to make sure you have the best experience possible while you are with us. Here are some of our favorite room decorating tips to make your temporary room rental in San Francisco feel more like home!
Adding or Changing the Lighting
Don’t have enough lighting or want to change the mood of your home with different colored lights? Add your own personal lamps, plug-ins, string lights, or anything that suits your taste to spice up the lighting of your living space! These lights can easily be purchased at places such as Home Depot, Target, or basically any department store you can imagine. Go and brighten up your room with your favorite lights!
Temporary Wallpapers
If you really want to make your room feel more personal, try adding a removable wallpaper to it! Many people dream of painting their rooms with the favorite decorations or patterns, but can’t do so because they are renting a place. That’s where removable wallpapers come in handy, and with just a little extra bit of effort, you can have your walls covered with beautiful patterns that are catered to your own liking! Just make sure to clean up after yourself when it’s move-out time!
Hang things up with removable hooks
Sometimes renting a place might make you feel like you are not getting enough space to put all your belongings. If that’s the case, maybe it’s time to start thinking vertical and hanging things up with hangers or floating shelves that can be placed right on your walls! Not only is it awesome for organization and creating new space in your room, you can also show off your decoration skills by placing the hooks or shelves on places that you think will look the best. You can also hang up your favorite pictures or memories to tell a story and make your room feel more comfortable.
Decorate your floors with rugs
Not that into the color, condition, or style of your rental flooring? Invest in a colorful decorative rug to add some spice to your floor! Here’s a secret, just because you already have carpet doesn’t mean you can’t add more to it! In fact, we’ve seen many great results with layering beautiful mats on top of carpeted floors, so here’s your chance to show off your home-decorating skills!
Add some life to your home
Bring nature home with you and add some greens to your San Francisco room! You don’t always need to have a backyard to satisfy your gardening needs when you can bring some planters and window boxes home with you. Place these indoor plants next to the window for some natural lighting and watch your room come to life!
We hope these ideas helped you make your space feel more like home.
If you liked this blog and want to learn more about room decorating tips, check out our other blog here!
If you are still looking for that perfect room to put these decorating tips into action, Urbanests is your go-to place! Check out our available properties on our website!
The Main TransitsBart: No we aren’t talking about the troublesome Simpson’s character, BART is a lot more than a cool acronym. Bay Area Rapid Transit ranges from SFO through the city all the way out to the East Bay. At times over crowded and a little bit smelly (as most public transit in big cities are), it is still the best way to avoid the horrendous traffic on the Bay Bridge on the way to work. And although you can hear a Bart train screeching to a stop from a mile away it is inexpensive and reliable.
TIP: late flight or partying all night in the city? Don’t rely on Bart because it unfortunately stops running at midnight.
Caltrain: Your safest and cheapest bet for reliable transport may just be Caltrain. Perfect for getting anywhere on the Peninsula, the train runs from downtown San Francisco to San Jose and beyond! Out of all Bay Area transportation Caltrains has the highest and best reviews. Nothing much more to be said.
TIP: it gets very bright on these trains so sit on the west side in the morning and the east side for the evening.
Muni: Looking to get around the traffic-filled streets of San Francisco? Muni has got your back. This historic transit system not only has the best logo in the Bay, but also offers travel by the always-classic Street Cars, Cable Cars, and busses.
TIP: try not to rely on Muni if you are on a time crunch as it can be crowded and sometimes requires waiting for the next cable car, bus, etc.
Ridesharing: We all know how easy Uber and Lyft are, but compared to other public transit the city offers, it is a more expensive alternative.
TIP: if you select a pool ride on each app, it offers a cheaper (but sometimes longer) trip.
VTA: If you are heading out to a 49ers game at Levis Stadium or going for a day of rollercoaster rides at Great America the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) is the perfect option.
TIP: visit the 49ers Museum at Levis Stadium, it is opened Fri – Sun, 10:00AM – 4:00PM.
Ferry: Perhaps the most enjoyable transportation system, the SF Ferry Building can take you to Oakland, Angel Island, Alcatraz, and Sausalito to name a few places. Prices range differently depending on where you are going (Alcatraz is more expensive than a trip to Sausalito).
TIP: for the cheapest boat ride in the city, take the “short hop”, it takes about 10 minutes and runs from Pier 41 to the Ferry Building and back. $1.60 for adults/youths, $0.80 for seniors.
Scooters: To limit the reckless scooter riders, the abandoned scooters, and the endless complaints, San Francisco has allowed only Scoot (now owned by Bird) and Skip (both Bay Area startups) to rent scooters. A scooter ride offers a fun and quick way to make shorter travel distance a lot easier. They are also perfect for a cheap way to go sight-seeing in such a wondrous city.
TIP: in CA you can NOT ride your scooter on the sidewalk. Stick to the bike lanes and the roads.
Taxi: Tax? I? Never heard of one
Car: The reason this article needed to be written
Payment
Clipper Card, Clipper Card, Clipper Card. That’s all you need to know. Every transit system in the region accepts Clipper Card for payment. All you need to do is load money or select a monthly pass on your card and press against the card reader as you hop on.
And of course, you can always use cash or card to buy a single ticket, but who wants to go through all that hassle? Not me
Leaving Town?
The International Airports in Oakland and San Francisco are easily accessible from Bart and make the traveling process a lot less stressful. Additionally, if you are heading down to SoCal, the Megabus can get you there and has frequent stops in SF, San Jose, and Oakland. Lastly, for all those powder shredders, the Bay Area Ski Bus will take you straight to the slopes in Tahoe and also offers discounted lift tickets!
Hello June! In the blink of an eye, Summer is already upon us. The rainy weeks are over and the weather is starting to warm up, which means it is time to get out there and have some fun in sunny San Francisco! Lucky for you, you are living in one of the best cities when it comes down to the amount of diverse activities around the area. San Francisco is also the center for co-living or community housing, which means that if you choose to live in our affordable San Francisco rooms, you are sure to meet new friends and buddies that are happy to go on some Summer adventures with you! Without further ado, here are some of our hand-picked activities that are going to be happening in San Francisco this Summer!
Music Festivals
San Francisco is known for its diverse population and therefore has a wide variety of music all around the city. If you are a Jazz lover, the Fillmore Jazz Festival will be taking place on July 6th and July 7th this year covering twelve blocks in the Pacific Heights district. If you are an opera fan, the famous SF Opera will be having several shows both in June and July at the War Memorial Opera House. This year, there will be performances including Don Giovanni, Rigoletto, and many more!
There will also be several live music festivals featuring bands, singers, and more throughout the summer. One of the festivals is the Stern Grove Festival at the Stern Grove Park. These concerts will be happening every week starting in the middle of June all the way to August, and will have many popular singers and a different theme every single week! Best of all, admission is completely free! Another one of the biggest San Francisco music festivals is the Outside Lands Music Festival that will be happening during August 9th to August 11th. There will be over 70 bands performing for 3 days, including Twenty One Pilots, Childish Gambino, and blink-182!
Street Festivals
When we talk about festivals, we can’t forget about all the amazing street festivals that San Francisco has that features all different kinds of food and entertainment. The North Beach Festival is one of the biggest street fairs that has been taking place taking place for more than sixty years. This year, it will be happening on June 15th-16th and will have more than 20 food vendors, over 100 arts and crafts vendors, a kid’s chalk area, and Italian street painting. There will also be live music and entertainment at four different stages at the festival.
If you fall in love with North Beach and would like to have a place to stay, don’t forget we have many single rooms and double co-living rooms available in North Beach today, and you can check them out on our website!
371 Columbus Residences at North Beach -provided by Urbanests
524 Columbus Residences of North Beach -provided by Urbanests
If you are more of a fan of Union City, then head over to Union Square Live, which is happening now until October! The diverse street fair will be featuring free dance, theater, music, and other performances and entertainments in San Francisco’s Union Square Plaza every Wednesday at 6pm and Sunday at 2pm. Since this part of the city is close to all public transit, the fair is only a bus or BART ride away! Urbanests also has many housing options available near Union Square, check out these rooms!
1010 Bust St, walking distance to Union Square -provided by Urbanests
Pyramid Residences, walking distance to Union Square -provided by Urbanests
Another fun and diverse festival is the Haight Street Fair of San Francisco! This year marks the 41st Anniversary of a festival that celebrates the diversity and history of the Haight-Ashbury District and will be happening on June 9th. There will be more than 200 booths with food and crafts for sale as well as live music for everyone to enjoy while at the fair.
Fill you Summer with fun from all around San Francisco this year by checking out some of these amazing fairs and festivals! Whether you want to go somewhere with live music, food vendors, or just a place to hang out with your friends, San Francisco definitely has it all!
Co-living, especially in the San Francisco area, has been a trend that has been gaining lots of popularity recently in the housing industry. The recent rise in co-living has been of great help to students, interns, and tech-workers in the bay area and many more individuals are choosing this option when coming into the city.
So what exactly is co-living and why is it so prominent in large cities?
Co-living is actually a term that is short for communal living, where individuals such as entrepreneurs or interns are offered short-term housing when coming into a new city to work. It is especially common in cities such as San Francisco, the center of technology and innovation. The concept offers an opportunity to live in apartments and residences at a very affordable price, a fraction of what you might have paid for otherwise!
Apart from saving you money, choosing a shared community housing within San Francisco also offers you a chance to meet new friends and people with the same interests as you. Students, interns, and young professionals from all over the world choose our San Francisco shared rooms, offered at affordable prices, where they can participate in fun socials, events, and hangouts with all different kinds of friendly people.
Resident managers also live on-site and often organize fun social events such as pizza parties, game nights, and other opportunities for tenants to gather and meet other people living in the residence! If you haven’t already, be sure to check out our blog on one of the social events offered at our property by clicking here!
Not only does co-living directly benefit the tenants living in our affordable San Francisco rentals, it also helps the city of San Francisco in terms of its housing problems. As many people already know, housing shortages in the bay area are causing prices to rise tremendously, and finding short-term rentals can be difficult. Young professionals coming to work in the Silicon Valley are sometimes put in unexpected and stressful situations because of the high price of housing here. We at Urbanests completely understand these circumstances, and thankfully with the rise of co-living, housing costs are brought to a minimum and people like students and interns can live in the city for just a percentage of the price of what other people pay.
Not enough to convince you? How about imagining living in one of the biggest and most innovative tech-industries in the world, where all your necessities are just right around the corner! We have properties all around San Francisco, including SOMA, Union Square, Chinatown, and the Financial District so you will be sure to be located in a community of your choice. Additionally, all of our residences are within walking distance to stores, restaurants, cafes and public transportation such as Muni, BART and even cable cars.
Co-living is a concept that is fast-growing and will continue to grow in large cities such as San Francisco. Individuals are presented with luxury living at a fraction of the price while being able to meet other people in the residence with similar interests as them. Apart from offering students and professionals an affordable and realistic housing price, co-living also tackles San Francisco’s housing problems head on and offer a better community for everyone in the city. Urbanests is committed to providing every single tenant an experience that is hard to forget, and offers many different options/locations to satisfy all your housing needs!
Don’t let unrealistic prices of housing in San Francisco stop you from living here, check out our affordable co-living communities that are available today on our website, and take a step closer to living in your dream home!
Ready to move into your new home? Contact us for more information on the property of your choice at reservations@urbanests.com
December is here and San Francisco streets are lighting up with beautiful and festive Holiday scenery. There’s no doubt that Christmas season is almost upon us, and although it’s only the first week of December, it’s hard to contain the excitement of the season! This year, our holiday spotlight is on the famous buzzing plaza at the heart of San Francisco… Union Square!
Every year, Union Square hosts a month-long event called Winter Walk where the famous plaza is festively decorated with scenery including 17,000 square feet of green space, food trucks, beer and wine gardens, and many different performances and events. Visitors come out from all over the Bay area to enjoy treats and take Instagramable pictures at the mobile photo stations with their friends and family to spread the Christmas joy.
Apart from the many food trucks offering delicious treats and meals, Winter Walk also has scheduled performances throughout the month of December that will definitely immerse you in the Holiday spirit! Here is a list of upcoming events found on the event website, including themed performances, carols, and even disco-parties.
December 6: Dickens Fair Choir from 11:30 am-12:30 pm
December 6: “Mean Girls” themed drag performance by local drag queen Tye and friends at 6:30 pm, 7:00 pm & 7:30 pm
December 7: Performance by the Salvation Army Children’s Choir
December 9: Urban Flowers – Wreath & Centerpiece Demos from 11:00 am-2:00 pm
December 13 and 21: Pop-up appearances by the Bay Area’s beloved Dickens Fair
December 13: Silent Disco presented by HUSHconcerts from 5:00 pm-9:00 pm
December 15: Core Power Yoga from 11:00-11:30 am
December 16: Urban Flowers – Wreath & Centerpiece Demos from 11:00 am-2:00 pm
December 21: Special Winter Solstice performance by Luminescent Grand (the world’s first synesthesia piano)
December 23: Museum of Craft & Holiday Craft Station from 11:00 am-2:00 pm
Another Holiday-highlight from Union Square is their famous outdoor Ice Rink located at the center of the plaza. Every Christmas season, the rink opens and is surrounded by holiday decorations such as the massive Macys Christmas tree, lights, and more. There are also special themed events and parties happening during the month of December, including free ice-skating lessons if you are a beginner. You can check out their full list of events on their calendar!
It may not snow in San Francisco, but that shouldn’t stop you from all the Holiday fun happening in the city.
If you want to stay on top of all the Holiday events this year, make sure to subscribe to our newsletter by clicking the link below and know about all that’s happening in the city of San Francisco!
