The thing about those areas is that the feel changes from block to block. Soma felt a little sparse/rough to me, but there were definitely good pockets. I've got my fingers crossed that I'll be able to get into a place in the Mission, just southwest of 19th and Valencia.
Also: avoid citiapartments if at all possible. They're trying to run up prices for rathole apartments, and they are complete assholes about the whole process. I made the mistake of looking at several of their places on the first day I was out, and they were trying to tell me things like "out-of-state renters usually get passed over on the better deals and have to pay a premium" and "you have to jump on one of the first places you see, because everything gets snapped up in the first few hours of being open for showing".
Also: avoid citiapartments if at all possible. They're trying to run up prices for rathole apartments, and they are complete assholes about the whole process. I made the mistake of looking at several of their places on the first day I was out, and they were trying to tell me things like "out-of-state renters usually get passed over on the better deals and have to pay a premium" and "you have to jump on one of the first places you see, because everything gets snapped up in the first few hours of being open for showing".