San Francisco Relocation Guide - Antevia

however. Prior to the late 1990s, smaller service businesses such as laundromats and
grocery stores dominated the Sunset's commercial character; while this still remains true
to a point in the Outer Sunset, a more gentrified and popular neighborhood character has
risen in parts of the Inner Sunset.
Demographics and subcultures
At least half of the Sunset's residents are Asian American (mostly Chinese American), a
result of a demographic shift that began in the late 1960s and accelerated from the 1980s
as Asian immigration to San Francisco increased dramatically and much of the original,
nearly exclusively white, heavily Irish American population of the Sunset moved to
outlying suburban areas. A major commercial area of the Sunset District, Irving Street
between 19th Avenue and 24th Avenue, is today lined with businesses catering to Asian
Americans, with additional commercial areas filled with Asian grocery stores and
restaurants in other parts of the Sunset District as well, such as on Taraval Street west of
19th Avenue. In addition, there is still a significant Irish American and Irish minority in
the neigborhood and there are several Irish pubs in the Sunset.
The strip near the Pacific Ocean has a notable population of surfers who take advantage
of the strong waves and currents of Ocean Beach.
The Outer Sunset — and especially Parkside — is regarded by the city's political
observers as being one of the most conservative communities in San Francisco. Often, the
area's residents have been more opposed to gay rights ordinances and rent control than
voters in other parts of the city, and more strongly in favor of stricter policies toward the
homeless.
The Avenues
The Sunset District and the neighboring Richmond District (on the north side of Golden
Gate Park) are often collectively known as The Avenues, because the majority of both
neighborhoods are spanned by numbered north-south avenues. The first numbered
Avenue is 2nd, starting one block west of Arguello Boulevard (which takes the place of
1st Avenue), and increasing incrementally to as high as 48th Avenue near Ocean Beach
(the last road before the beach being named Great Highway instead of 49th Avenue). The
only exception is that there is no 13th Avenue; instead, it is known as Funston Avenue
(named for Frederick Funston, a Spanish-American War general who was sent to the city
to direct its recovery from the 1906 earthquake). Most of the east-west streets in the
Richmond and Sunset Districts are named after Spanish explorers in ascending
alphabetical order in a southward direction. In the Richmond District, these streets are:
Anza, Balboa and Cabrillo. In the Sunset District, these streets are: Irving, Judah,
Kirkham, Lawton, Moraga, Noriega, Ortega, Pacheco, Quintara, Rivera, Santiago,
Taraval, Ulloa, Vicente, Wawona, and Yorba (Fulton Street, on the north side of Golden
Gate Park, and Lincoln Way on the south, taking the place of the streets which would