I'm moving to the Bay Area, where should I live?

I just accepted a job in Palo Alto as a software engineer and will be moving to the Bay Area. I'm more of a city person and think I would like to live in San Francisco. With the rental market being so crazy in the area, finding a place has been daunting. I have a few questions and was hoping some local hackers could answer.

What are the best places to live without a car?

Any great local resources for finding a place to live that I should know about (besides Craigslist)?

Any other gems that fellow hackers can offer?