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Noe Valley is a neighborhood
of contradictions. It's home
to both liberals and
conservatives, it has
attracted the working class,
dot.com millionaires,
Hollywood film crews
("Sister Act," "Nash
Bridges"), and, in the
1970s, followers of
controversial Indian guru
Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh.
Recent problems with
storefront vandalism stand
in sharp contrast to Noe's
clean-cut image and the fact
that it's chock full of
upscale restaurants,
home-decor boutiques, and
chic clothing shops. Since
the dot.com boom began
waning, housing prices have
dipped slightly and there
has been some turnover on
the main shopping drag, but
it remains a prosperous,
shopper-friendly
neighborhood whose bistros,
coffee shops, and bookstores
are always lively, and where
parking is always at a
premium. Noe Valley Coffee
Shop
The hills that surround Noe
Valley give it an air of
remoteness and removal from
the city which, along with
the plethora of pretty,
long-standing Victorians, is
what attracts families with
kids, dogs and strollers to
the neighborhood. This, in
turn, has attracted
merchants who cater to those
looking for handmade
Guatemalan textile products,
upscale beauty products, or
Eileen Fisher ensembles.
Some residents have grumbled
that Noe Valley has become a
great place to have coffee
and a bagel but a terrible
place to buy what you
actually need if you're
lucky enough to live there.
Others joke about Noe
Valley's mammoth stroller
population and bourgeois
sensibilities; columnist
Debby Morse once quipped in
the Examiner, "Many Noe
Valley walkers push babies
in strollers, often using
them as battering rams in
crowded situations."
One thing's for sure -- Noe
Valleyans enjoy their
neighborhood -- especially
on weekends, if the dense
foot traffic on 24th Street
is any indication.
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