DISTRICT 2

• Golden Gate Heights rises above the vast, relatively flat terrain of the Sunset and offers stunning, panoramic views of the city. Pastoral, foggy, and remote, Golden Gate Heights Park is worth the uphill climb for a quiet game of tennis or an afternoon at the playground for the kids. Parking is plentiful and the workday commute to downtown is a breeze. For more information about this neighborhood, check out the Golden Gate Heights Neighborhood Association website at www.bjharding.com/gghna/index.html. An interesting mix of families, retirees and students from San Francisco State University resides in the row houses of the Parkside neighborhoods. The Stonestown Galleria mall is a stone's throw away.
• The Outer, Central and Inner Sunset areas constitute a suburb within the City with their tidy streets, excellent schools, and family-owned businesses. The Inner Sunset, with a population of about 40,000 students, young professionals, and middle-class families, maintains a low profile with its mellow atmosphere and somewhat-exaggerated reputation for fogginess. Lively crowds can always be found, however, at the corner of Ninth and Irving, dining at one of the area's popular restaurants or discussing local politics. The Outer Sunset, home to an additional 65,000 residents, is a great place to have a drink in one of many cozy Irish pubs filled with neighborhood regulars or to watch the local surfers catching the waves at Ocean Beach. Plentiful shopping can be found on Noriega Street from 19th Avenue to the beach and on Taraval Street from Forest Hills to the beach, as well as on Judah and Irving streets. And life in the Sunset -- or the Bay Area in general -- just isn't complete without at least one family outing to a free summertime concert at beautiful Stern Grove, a natural amphitheater in the midst of a 33-acre public park.