San Francisco is a city of neighborhoods - each like a small town, with a main street lined with restaurants, shops, and bank branches. There is a firehouse, a library, a couple of bars, a coffeehouse, some churches, and a Muni bus line.
The Portola is tucked away in the city's southeastern corner, between Bernal Heights and Sunnydale. Not only is it's in the sunny side of the city, but it's also centrally located. It is ~15 minutes drive to downtown and the airport. Also, it is just a couple minutes to get on the freeway, so it is super convenient regardless of which direction we need to go to.
Everything out here feels like a hidden gem, including McLaren Park, the 2nd biggest park, right behind the world-famous Golden Gate Park. The best part is that the park has a spectacular city view, just like our deck and it has multiple children playgroup and lakes and trails.
We like the feeling of community here. The district is part of the working-class rim of the city.
Some fun fact: the neighborhood has its own landmark, too - the aqua-blue La Grande water tank that towers over McLaren Park and a big 1927 movie palace called the Avenue - closed years ago, but much of the rest is still there.
Another history about the neighborhood: Like in any other place, things change. The neighborhood has changed so much since its start.
The first settlers were Jewish: there were two temples, and the Portola was sometimes called "Little Jerusalem." Kosher delis were on unpaved San Bruno Road and a settlement house run by the Council of Jewish Women.
Later, Italians moved into the Portola, Maltese, African Americans, and Asians. Now about half of the 13,000 or so people in the Portola are Asian.