potrero view

July 2010

Steady Flow of Newcomers Call Potrero Hill Home

By Jaemee Wenthe

My husband, Mat, and I moved to Potrero Hill earlier this year. “I knew we wanted to live on the east side of the City because it’s an easier commute to Mountain View,” Mat explained. He works as a search and rescue helicopter pilot for the California Air National Guard at Moffett Air Field. Scouting out potential neighborhoods by train, he arrived at Potrero Hill via the 22nd Street stop. “I just started walking up the hill and the views were amazing,” he recalled. Now we’re able to enjoy those views from our apartment’s roof deck, across the street from the Potrero Hill Recreation Center.

Potrero Hill’s convenient access to 280, 101, Caltrain and its proximity to the Bay Bridge made it an easy decision to live here.  This fall I begin graduate school for nursing anesthesia at Samuel Merritt University in Oakland.  Mat and I thought the Hill was a fair commuting compromise. I haven’t decided on my transportation strategy, but Mat is already tired of the drive to Mountain View. He often takes the train and enjoys it, but still relies on driving due to his schedule’s variability.

Potrero Hill’s location drew us in, but the people in the community convinced us to stay. We’ve happily met neighbors that have already become great friends.  We take turns BBQ-ing, dog-walking and apartment-sitting. We stroll down the street for coffee at Farley’s, dinner at Sunflower, or beer and live music at the Connecticut Yankee. “Potrero Hill is an ideal neighborhood,” Mat concluded.

Potrero Hill’s location was also a big draw for Chris and Amy Hansen. “We moved here in April of 2009. I previously worked in Silicon Valley, and I thought it was a fairly easy commute to jump on 280/101. Now I have a 10-minute walk to work.” explained Amy, who is corporate counsel for Topspin Media, located at 17th and De Haro streets. “The walk home up some of the steepest hills in the City keeps me in excellent shape for hiking in Marin!” she added enthusiastically.

Chris also enjoys his non-commute. He runs Bricks and Mortar Media, a South-of-Market start-up that produces and streams audio/video content of independent musicians (www.bamm.tv). A short drive down the road and he’s at work, doing what he loves.

 The Hansens, who live on Wisconsin Street by the firehouse, say that they’re staying on the Hill. “When we first moved here, we knew it was a hidden gem, with weather rivaled only by the views,” said Amy. “But Potrero Hill has deep roots, and having been here for a year, I feel like we’ve just scratched the surface.  When people move to the Hill, they plan to stick around and they usually do.  It shows, because people in this neighborhood are really invested in the community.  They take the long view on issues and advocate for them, unlike other neighborhoods that might be swayed by election-cycle issues.”

Neb and Una Sebovic live on Wisconsin, up the street from the Hansens. Proximity to Caltrain attracted the Serbian couple to Potrero, who both worked as software engineers in Mountain View when they bought their Hill home. But now Neb takes Muni to work everyday, “That was one of the big perks when I started working for Google,” explained Neb. “It’s an easy Muni trip to work everyday.”  Neb’s office is located on Embarcadero and Folsom.  The couple have a one year old daughter, Tara. “I love that the dog park is just down the street. Tara loves to be outside and I can walk the dog without worrying about a leash,” Una added.  A working couple with a toddler, they have little spare time, and appreciate that they don’t have to venture far to enjoy a nice dinner out. “If we get a sitter for a couple of hours, it’s so convenient to be able to walk down the hill to Chez Maman or Chez Papa to have a really nice dinner and be back in no time.”


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