This is so anecdotal but I remember taking a Lyft from Noe Valley to Taraval earlier this year and the ride went through (I'm zooming into Google Maps for the neighbourhood names) Miraloma and surrounding areas. Basically the neighbourhoods just north of Monterey Blvd. The area just looked and felt really nice, homey, and safe.
I've haven't driven past that area before nor after, but it really made me feel like long-term it would be a nice place to reside in SF away from the classic SF problems you've described.
There are two types of "bad" neighborhoods you don't want to live in: the ones where crime lives and the ones crime visits. Much of San Francisco falls victim to the latter which isn't always obvious on an Uber ride or casual walk.
These neighborhoods feel "dreamy" but living there is a different reality. You have to trek down a hill to buy things and when you do, you get the full SF doom loop experience. Most people pay a small fortune to DoorDash and Uber to avoid leaving their dreamy neighborhoods.
No, NW border of Excelsior is 280, so definitely not north of Monterrey Blvd. Broad strokes neighborhood is Twin Peaks area. That part of Twin Peaks is heavily influenced by historically affluent planned developments. Some of the more well known ones listed here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco_Residence_Parks.
I've haven't driven past that area before nor after, but it really made me feel like long-term it would be a nice place to reside in SF away from the classic SF problems you've described.