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One of San Francisco's most eclectic and creative areas, the Central East District offers both urban living and bucolic splendor. A number of renovation projects have revitalized the urban neighborhoods, while the suburban neighborhoods offer the charm of a small town. This is the district where you either can live in the heart of the city or have a great view of it from a hilltop. The neighborhoods in this district include:

• Bernal Heights
• Potrero Hill
• South of Market (SOMA)
• South Beach

View healthcare facilities in this district

Bernal Heights
With its well-tended lawns, quiet streets, and neighborhood restaurants, Bernal Heights has the feel of a small Midwestern town. Housing here—an interesting mix of Victorian and Edwardian houses, modernistic stucco flats, Queen Anne cottages, and apartments—is among the city's most affordable, and many homes have views of downtown San Francisco and the Bay. The residents are just as likely to be artists or blue collar workers as urban professionals, but regardless of their diversity, everyone here shares an optimistic community spirit. The neighborhood is particulatly attractive to young families and dog owners because Bernal Heights has two wonderful neighborhood parks, one of which (Bernal Park) offers an off-leash area for dogs.

The boundaries of the Bernal Heights neighborhood are Cesar Chavez Drive and Crescent Avenue to the north and south; Bayshore Boulevard and Mission Street to the east and west. Cortland Avenue is the neighborhood shopping area. It's there you'll find corner groceries and drugstores, as well as music stores, and arts and crafts shops. The Saturday Farmer's Market on Crescent Street is the oldest Farmer's Market in San Francisco.

Potrero Hill
If you want a great view of downtown San Francisco and the Bay Bridge, as well as experiencing some of the sunniest weather in the city, go to Potrero Hill. Until recently, Potrero Hill has been a best-kept secret among its residents. Now, however, this once-quiet neighborhood has become popular with up-and-comers who seek to "gentrify" it. The residents pride themselves on their close-knit community, but the area is seeing a lot of changes—Victorian restorations, condominium conversions, and loft construction—so real estate prices and rents, previously very affordable, are soaring.

Bounded roughly by 16th Street to the north, Third Street to the east, Cesar Chavez Street to the south, and Potrero Avenue to the north, Potrero Hill has several parks and playgrounds, a dog-walking path in McKinley Square, and a neighborhood recreation center. The commercial area, primarily along 18th Street, has a bakery, a health food store, antique shops, furniture stores, restaurants, and cafés.

South of Market (SOMA)
Once an industrial zone of warehouses south of the city's commercial district, the South of Market neighborhood (commonly known as SOMA) has been transformed into an area best described as "cutting edge." The warehouses have been converted into lofts—a living and working space favored by the artists, film makers, designers, and multi-media developers who populate the area—and the neighborhood has become well known for its active nightlife. There are a vast number of bars, live-music venues, and dance clubs—SoMa has the highest concentration of nightclubs in San Francisco—as well as excellent restaurants that cater to late-night revelers.

SOMA is a two-square-mile grid of one-way streets and narrow alleys bounded by Market Street to the north, China Basin and 17th Street to the south, the Embarcadero to the east, and 10th and Division Streets to the west. Housing, in addition to the popular lofts, is primarily townhouses, flat-style condos, and multi-unit apartment buildings. The neighborhood also is home to the Museum of Modern Art and the Yerba Buena Center (which includes a children's museum and ice-skating rink), a 15-screen cinema with an IMAX theater, and lots of boutiques and specialty stores.

South Beach
Although it's still primarily a commercial and industrial area, the South Beach neighborhood is quickly becoming ultra-hip. It's most popular with the twenty-something crowd—childless couples and single, young professionals—who enjoy living "on the edge." Rents here are at the high end of the scale, and available housing is primarily in large apartment complexes. Most of the residential developments have security systems in the buildings and secured parking.

This small neighborhood is bounded by Market Street to the north and west, 16th Street to the south, and the Embarcadero and San Francisco Bay to the east. The neighborhood was developed after the 1989 earthquake and the demolition of the Embarcadero Freeway, and housing has been at a premium since developers first began constructing it. South Beach encompasses Pacific Bell Park (home to the San Francisco Giants) and the Embarcadero Center, an upscale shopping complex.

South Park is part of the South Beach neighborhood. Designed to resemble a London Square, South Park is home to technology companies, cafés, and chic restaurants, as well as the popular loft spaces.

Healthcare facilities in the Central East District:

• San Francisco General Hospital