I don't know about it being that difficult. It's stressful -- definitely. The thing I've noticed about San Francisco is the best apartments aren't available i

I don't know about it being that difficult. It's stressful -- definitely. The thing I've noticed about San Francisco is the best apartments aren't available in advance. They go on the market a week or so before they're ready to move in. The frustrating part here is that you have to put in your 30-day notice at your previous apartment before you have a new place -- super stressful (unless you're willing to pay double-rent for a bit, which is often times economical given the rent break you get in the new place). I've had pretty good luck with Craigslist, subscribing to feed(s) of the various neighborhood/price ranges I'm looking in and hounding that feed. A lot of places are only up on CL for a few hours before they're taken down or have a waiting list impossibly long. On a related note: it may be much easier if you don't look for studios. While San Francisco is an older city -- most of the older buildings you'd expect to find lofts/studios in burned/collapsed in previous decades. The result is most of the housing in the city comes from split up Victorian/Edwardian homes -- one bedroom apartments.