NEWMARKET SERVICES ublisher of 95 U.S. and 32 International Relocation Guides, NewMarket PServices, Inc., is proud to introduce our online version. Now you may easily access the same information you find in each one of our 127 Relocation Guides at www.NewMarketServices.com. In addition to the content of our 127 professional written City Relocation Guides, the NewMarket Web Site allows us to assist movers in more than 20 countries by encouraging you and your family to share your moving experiences in our NewMarket Web Site Forums. You may share numerous moving tips and information of interest to help others settle into their new location and ease the entire transition www.NewMarketServices.com process. We invite everyone to visit and add helpful information through our many available forums. Share with others your knowledge of your new location or perhaps your former location. If you ever need to research a city for any reason, from considering a move to just checking where somebody you know is staying, this is the site for you. NewMarket Services looks forward to cooperating with everyone to continually add to our base of City Specific Information along with our various moving topics to help many of the 40 million people who have the opportunity to relocate each year. Please do not hesitate to contact our customer service department to speak to a live representative if we can provide any assistance. Our toll free number is (866) 595-3792. San Francisco Information Guide [ 5 HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE The NewMarket Services Information Guide is designed as a valuable resource tool for you, the newcomer to San Francisco. It is our intent in producing this publication to standardize important and helpful information on your new community in a format that is most useful to you. Stores and services are listed by category in the business directory. San Francisco Important telephone numbers, packing and Welcomes You! moving suggestions, and much, much more useful information is found throughout the Guide pages. Selected area businesses, many offering significant savings are found in the Business Directory Section, sorted by category. The Guide can save you both time and money while providing you a continuous resource tool as you become more familiar with the metroplex. We do hope you find our Relocation Guide to be of assistance to you. If you do not find something you need, or if you have any suggestions for future issues of the Guide, please give us a call. We will be happy to assist in any way. (866) 595-3792 Toll Free From everyone at NewMarket Services Welcome to San Francisco! 6 ] San Francisco Information Guide www.newmarketservices.com San Francisco Information Guide [ Volume 10 [ Number 6 LOCAL INFORMATION The State of California 8 Area Codes, Important Phone Numbers 13 Travel Information 14-15 Automobile Registration, Driver’s License & Parking 16 About San Francisco 9-10 Weather 10 San Francisco Communities/Areas 11,17-18 Publisher: NewMarket Services, Inc. Historical Background 18-19 President: Patrick Morgan Where to Stay 20 Dining and Nightlife 21-22 Managing Editor: Rebecca Wallace Entertainment 23 Executive Editor: Jason Gerali Recommended Tours 26-28 Contributing Writer: Amy Tennant Media 29 Executive VP Sales & Marketing: Robert Fischer MOVING Regional Sales Manager: Beth Hurley Smooth Transitions 31-32 Art Department: Sprague Design Choosing a Moving Company 31 Packing Tips 31-32 Graphic Designer: Dean Sprague Staying Organized 32 NewMarket On-Line: Total Web Design, Inc. Settling Into Your New Home 32 IT and Web Development: Larry Bongiovi Pre-Move Checklist 34-35 What’s All the Talk About 36 Research Assistant: Stephanie Cooper, Lora Price Circulation: Little Drummer Boy Dist., Inc. MOVING WITH CHILDREN & PETS Phoenix Office: Reinforce the Positives 38-39 Choosing a School 38-39 PO Box 30534 Selecting Child Care 39-40 Phoenix, AZ 85046-0534 Education 41-42 Phone: (602) 923-3415 Relocating Your Pet 43 Fax: (602) 923-0774 Toll Free: (866) 595-3791 FITNESS & HEALTH Chicago Office: In the Kitchen 45 902 North Ashland Physical and Mental Well Being 46-48 Chicago, IL 60622 Volunteering 49 Phone: (312) 226-6288 Fax: (312) 226-6290 HOUSING Toll Free: (866) 595-3792 Making the Right Choice 51-52 Choosing the Right Home 53 NewMarket currently publishes Information Guides for 95 North American and 32 Housing Options For Growing Active Adults Demographics 54-55 International Markets. To order your Home Inspection Checklist 56 NewMarket Information Guides for $3.50 Homecare Basics for New Homeowners 57 each, please contact NewMarket Services Security 58 toll free at (866) 595-3792. Take Control of Your Energy Costs 59 In preparing this publication, every effort Home Buyer’s Glossary 60-61 has been made to assure the accuracy of Who’s Who in Building 62 the information contained herein, but Selecting a Builder 63 authenticity cannot be guaranteed. Listings are subject to omission, error or change Selecting a Contractor 64 without notice. Banking & Mortgage Information 65-68 All material in this publication is copyright BUSINESS DIRECTORY protected and can only be reprinted with permission of the publisher. Business Directory Listings 69-76 San Francisco Information Guide [ 7 THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA European explorers first began contacting the region in the 16th century; the area was inhabited by a variety of Native American tribes. The coastal areas of the state were colonized by Spain beginning in 1769, but became a part of the Mexico in 1821 because of the Mexican War of Independence. It was part of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, and then was ceded to the United States in the Mexican-American War, which ended in 1848. The California Gold Rush of 1848-1849 brought about 90,000 Reno Sacramento additional U.S. migrants to the state, and California became the Oakland 31st state of the Union in 1850. Stockton San Francisco NV The state’s major predominant industries include agriculture, Modesto entertainment, light manufacturing, and tourism. California is also Silicon Valley the home of several significant economic regions such as Salinas Monterey Fresno Hollywood (entertainment), the California Central Valley (agriculture), Silicon Valley (computers and high tech), and the Wine Country (wine). California’s economy is the largest in the United States, and CA at $1.55 trillion, is larger than all but 7 countries. Per capita personal income was $33,403 as of 2003, ranking it 12th in the nation. San Luis Obispo Las Vegas Most of the state has a Mediterranean climate, with rainy winters Bakersfield and dry summers. The climate along the coast is mild; cooler along Santa Barbara the central and northern coast. Southeastern California is arid Ventura County desert. Along the cost, the rainy season runs from October to April Los Angeles AZ San Bernardino in the north and from November to March or April in the south. Pacific Ocean Record temperaturs of a high 134 °F (56.6 °C at Death Valley on Orange County Riverside July 10, 1913 and a record low of -45° at Boca on January 20, 1937. Average yearly precipitation ranges from under 5 inches in south-east to 120+ in parts of the north-west. San Diego California levies a 9.3% maximum variable rate income tax, with Mexico 6 tax brackets and a 7.25% sales tax. he State of California covers the southern portion of the United States’ west coast. With a population of 37 million Tand an area of 158,402 square miles, California is the largest U.S. state in population and the third largest in area. Fast Facts ESTIMATED POPULATION: 37,172,015 California borders the Pacific Ocean to the west, Oregon to the : 158,302 sq mi north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and the Mexican state of LAND AREA Baja California to the south. The state has incredible geographic COASTLINE: 840 miles diversity. It has both the highest and lowest elevations in the CAPITAL: Sacramento Continental US (within 100 miles of each other), an expansive Eureka central valley, tall mountains, arid deserts, and hundreds of miles of STATE MOTTO: coastline. Most major cities are at or near the Pacific coastline, STATE NICKNAME: The Golden State notably Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Santa LARGEST CITIES: Los Angeles, San Diego, and San Jose Ana/Orange County, Riverside/Moreno Valley, San Bernardino and STATE SALES TAX: 7.25% San Diego. However, the capital, Sacramento, is in the Central Valley, and there are other significant cities on the interior. 8 ] San Francisco Information Guide ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO OVERVIEW he San Francisco Bay Area, sometimes referred to as The Bay Area or The Bay, is a metropolitan area that lies along the San Francisco Bay. It is a collection of a series Tof cities, towns, villages, military bases, airports, regional, state, and national parks sprawled over 9 counties and are connected by a massive network of roads, highways, rail, and commuter rail. The city of San Francisco serves as the traditional focal point and the cultural, economic, transportation nerve center of the region. Unlike other major metropolitan areas, the urban areas here are completely independent entities with their own completely independent governments and public services and city borders instead of one huge city. Because San Francisco was the largest city in the region (until recently surpassed by San Jose) and remains the traditional and cultural center, the region was referred to and is generally confused as the city of San Francisco proper. The region north of the Golden Gate Bridge is known as the North Bay. This area consists of Marin County and extends northward into Napa and Sonoma counties and eastward to Solano County.