Living in San Francisco means hearing your neighbors fuck.
The noise comes through the walls, through the ceiling, through the floor. The sound of muffled moans and love murmurs in Spanish, in Cantonese, in Tagalog, in English, in Arabic, in French, in…
Living in San Francisco means having worked at a start-up, made lattes, mixed Bloody Marys, sold shitty clothing, waited on morons, and invested your heart, your soul, and all your energy into a nonprofit. It means still walking dogs, still trimming weed, still babysitting, still doing random gigs from Craigslist, still participating in clinical test studies at UCSF, still doing whatever the fuck it takes to pay rent in this city. It means thinking that half a million dollars for a one-bedroom condo is totally normal.
Living in San Francisco means having an ex-girlfriend who is dating your other ex-girlfriend.
It means having a crush on a girl at Tartine. Having a crush on a bartender with a fancy mustache. Having a crush on a dancer at AsiaSF even though you don’t know if she still has a penis.
It means having fucked your ex-roommate, which is exactly why they’re an “ex” roommate. It means walking into a party and encountering at least three people who’ve seen you naked. It means falling in love with someone you met at a free concert in Golden Gate Park.
Living in San Francisco means moving to the Mission and complaining that it's getting gentrified.
It means knowing the Marina actually isn’t that bad after all. Knowing that Nopa is a restaurant and that the neighborhood is called the Western Addition. Knowing that Upper Haight is always about five degrees colder than Lower Haight. That 6th and Mission is both sad and shady. That the Outer Sunset and Outer Richmond are more than just fog-engulfed neighborhoods with fine ethnic food. That there’s a certain magic in North Beach, as long as you don’t go there on the weekends. That the Financial District is full of suits, Noe Valley is full of babies, SOMA is full of condos, and the Castro is full of gays. Actually, every neighborhood is full of gays.
Living in San Francisco means continually dealing with impermanence.
It means having places you love close up forever. It means having friends get married and move to Oakland. Friends who leave to join the Peace Corps. Friends who go to rehab. Friends who lose their minds. Friends who move back to wherever the fuck they’re from. Friends who OD and never move again. It means dreading the inevitable earthquake that will ultimately wash this city into the sea.
Living in San Francisco means never leaving the house without wearing layers. Having just one wardrobe. Owning lots of hoodies. Owning lots of scarves. Owning lots of hoodies and scarves for your dog. It means having pale legs that get sunburned every time it’s warm out. Calling in sick to work because, for once, it’s 80 degrees and you want to drink a 40 in the park. Enduring the cold summer months and savoring the warmth and festivities of Indian Summer. It means being worried that the term “Indian Summer” may not be politically correct.
Living in San Francisco means embracing any cause for celebration.
It means having a costume box for events like Bay to Breakers, the Love Parade, Burning Man, Halloween, Decompression, the How Weird Street Faire, or whatever new dress-up holiday gets added to the calendar this year. It means accidentally buying blow in the Beauty Bar. Having a medical marijuana card. Getting 86’d from Zeitgeist for doing something stupid. Getting 86’d from Zeitgeist for no good reason at all. Drinking with 75-year-old Beat poets at Specs. Dancing in the streets when Obama won. Dancing in the streets when the Giants won. Dancing till 4 a.m. at The Endup, at Club Six, at 1015 Folsom, at some underground warehouse in the Bayview where the directions weren’t even sent to you until 10 that night.
Living in San Francisco means having friends who are sex workers. Friends who have PhDs. Friends who have PhDs who are studying sex workers. It means having gay friends, straight friends, and friends who are somewhere in between. It means being open-minded about people – unless, of course, they’re Republicans.
Living in San Francisco means waiting an hour for a cab if there's the slightest bit of rain.
It means riding the Night Owl and thinking you’re gonna get mugged by the teenagers in the back. Taking the 22 from the Marina to the Dogpatch and observing the city’s vast spectrum of existence. Sitting on BART and trying not to think about what lives inside those cushions. Riding Muni and seeing feats both beautiful and wretched within seconds of each other. It means walking these streets and witnessing broken beings weeping, sleeping, peeing, drinking, shitting, fighting, smoking crack, shooting up, screaming, bellowing, raging against some hellish torment that only they are privy to. It means having a local bum you kinda look out for, slipping her a buck or two, even though it’s been her “40th birthday” every day for the past five years.
Living in San Francisco means coming over the Bay Bridge and having your heart race a little when you see the city's skyline.
Crossing the Golden Gate and smiling at the way the fog sits right on top of it. Snaking up the 101 and Candlestick Park being the greeting that tells you you’re almost home. It means visiting Middle America and being thought of as some kind of socialist gay hippie. It means traveling Europe and being considered one of the enlightened Americans. It means missing burritos, missing pho, missing Tapatio. It means missing Dolores Park, missing farmers’ markets, missing the ability to walk wherever you need to go. It means flying back from two and a half months in South America and getting a little teary-eyed watching Doctor Doolittle , just because it’s set in San Francisco.
Living in San Francisco means the midday smell of pot.
Cold winter winds that cut right through you. Sweet summer strawberries grown not too far away. Crisp salty air by the ocean. The occasional sound of gunshots. Being able to actually count the number of stars visible in the sky. Warm whiskey and late-night chatter on a new friend’s rooftop. It means walking by bodily waste and unfortunately being able to tell that it’s from a human, just by the way it smells. It means feeling the hum of the city as it gets revved up for another Saturday night.
Living in San Francisco means loving this city for all its fantasies, its freedoms, its fuckery, and its follies, and being excited to read something that begins: Living in San Francisco means...
For more fun visit: Broke-Ass Stuart's Goddamn Website.
What does living in San Francisco mean to you? Tell us in the comments section below.
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theTsaritsa
I'm always so happy to come back to San Francisco after visiting my family back home in Philly. SF feels like my new home. And that strange unknown substance is just about everywhere in this city, not just on 6th and Market!
jaylikewise
this sucks. you are clearly not from SF.
loghia
ugh. i miss all of these things. i love san diego now, but it can never compare in so many ways.
JLMoskowitz
Living in SF means... eating an affordable, gourmet, vegetarian lunch off of a truck and LOVING it. :-)
sifubevan
Perhaps print these up as shirts and you won't be broke-ass anymore.
AshK t
I only understand about 2/3rds of these words, but you are a very funny man! That being said, my bunny understood English fluently, and committed suicide. What does this mean?
Emm_CA
Nice read -- except you left out "frequently horror-filled" about 6th and Mission. Also, living in SF means that when your (now ex-) boyfriend leaves you in the Tenderloin at 2am because he's pulling some kind of Wild One crap, a cabbie will randomly pull over and offer you a free ride because he can tell you're still a little clueless and he doesn't want you to get hurt!
dirtbag
ah , how fitting. this sf blog shows more: http://turdonthestreets.blogspot.com
thesubjective
Living in SF means....you are in the worlds most cosmopolitan city where all great social movements are born in close proximity to some of the world's most stunning raw nature. Redwood tree's grow in a circle from out of a past tree, intertwining both roots and branches to support each other from the wind, protect the bacteria that lives beneath and helps them process nutrients from the soil. Where to fog flows, the redwood grows.
Kinghenry8
Living in SF means...wanting to get out of this fake ass, vegan eating, Prius driving, hipster gimp and crackhead inhabited, over-expensive nightmare of a city! Who said its the most cosmopolitan city in the world, what bollox, London is!
Loveofmystery
Well done, the illustrations are awesome and it's entertaining. Much of it is true for everyone but also a bit of homogenization, don't ya think? The face of San Francisco is far more then young, white, and "this" age group.
clocklear
Hey, Broke-Ass Stuart! Thanks for writing a witty, trenchant post on the state of our lifestyles in the Bay. I wanna buy you an overpriced but delicious drink at Bar Agricole as a small way to say thank you for making me smile widely today. Hit me @clocklear
biggerguy_sf
I am always suspect about articles like this, but you freakin' nailed it. My only two cents to add is "Living in SF means that you will spend 10 years or so unwilling to call it 'home' but then finally throw in the towel when you realize that you have lived here longer than anyone else you know!"
thesubjective
London = where trite, racist stand in line for the loo to do shitty coke sneering at each obsessed about class. At least in NYC they actually do something. Access to a trust fund does not make a city cosmopolitan dearest little King. Please leave.
REDONE415
You know I was gonna rip this blog a new arsehole,but then I figured it out...this isn't about Being from SF ,but living here. The city has alot more to offer than these hipster trends listed in this blog. As a matter of fact I was born at St. Marys Grew up in the Fillmore and have spent more time in my city's most run down areas than I care to admit. All I am trying to say is although this is a funny blog it does not represent My San Francisco very well and since I am a native I wonder how many people feel the exact same way ?
Z-son
...it's cold when you say it's "nice" out and too hot when visitors say "It's so nice out."
Kinghenry8
@thesubjective Who mentioned NYC? If it wasn't for little old England big fat old USA wouldn't even exist! You are obviously exactly the kind of person native San Franciscans hate and i think it is you that should leave. My wife is SF born and bread and she has exactly the same opinion as me. She actually lived in NYC for ten years and that is where we are moving back too in 8 weeks time. As for trust funds, having worked every day since i was 12 years old (im now 42) i really havnt a clue what you mean? If you are saying the London working classes have trust funds you obviously know as little about the London as you do about SF you stupid ill educated dickhead.
thesubjective
@redone415 I hear ya. Went to Parkside pre-school on 19th in '79 etc. So much not captured here...and clearly written by someone who has been here 12 years tops...more likely less than 8. That said, it captures a pretty common experience shared amongst your neighbors....if only for the Tartine crush....I mean seriously...I fall in love every time. But you and I both know 40's aren't only for warm days in October ;)
Jon5on1
Living in California means putting up with fucking tourists like all of these hipsters. Can't the next trend be refurbishing lofts in Cleveland? That place is a real shithole, so you know it's authentic. Then maybe we can clean house from all of these poseur assholes. These dipshits who voted for Obama think they're such humanitarians. Well I've got news for you, Jack: Obama got elected because of Wall Street money, not the $20 you PayPalled to his campaign. In 1992, he could have been Bob Dole's running-mate. The fact that he represents the "liberal" wing of our political spectrum shows how thoroughly we are controlled by corporate propaganda. He's a center-right corporatist, you jackoffs. And all the people who made San Francisco, and California, what it is today did so by a) living here for more than 3 years and b) actually putting their asses on the line. They went out and demonstrated for things they believed in. They risked their jobs, their bodies against the police. These hipsters sign a petition online and think they're fucking Mother Teresa. Ugh. Everything about this makes me want to take a dump in public as an act of protest. Essentially the point of this essay is that, if you live in San Francisco, you're a brain-dead automaton who reflexively blows with the prevailing social wind. California is about being yourself, whatever that may be. The unfortunate corollary is that many people are mindless drones, incapable of creating new meaning or an individual identity.
REDONE415
@Jon5on1 I second the refurbishing of lofts in Cleveland...it really is a shithole !
SFSUCKS
dear subjective, you are what is so very wrong about this city! Please get in your prius & go back to where you are from! "And you are in the worlds most cosmopolitan city where all great social movements are born" Sorry babe, it's all been done before, in London, and Paris and NYC! You are not leading the trend, merely following it! And yes redone415, I too am a native and this is not the SF we know!
Kinghenry8
@SFSUCKS Thank you, spoken like a true local!
Slugirl
Living in San Francisco means queuing for food, even though there is something delicious around the corner, because you read about this place and you just have to eat there!
suckafree
Clearly, there is a difference between "Living in SF" and "Being from SF". I really cannot relate to this article but great to see it from a transplant's perspective.
teamy
Living in SF means walking on dog shit everyday. And seeing homeless people doing it at BART stops.
thesubjective
@SFSUCKS you claim you are from here? OK, where did you go to pre-school? My guess is that you are actually from Walnut Creek or some shit. Please tell me where the Free Speech movement, Gay Rights, Systems Theory or the Peace movement was done before @Kinghenry8 good riddance. You and your wife are clearly sad people full of spite. But when in NYC eat at Peasant on Elizabeth, great rustic Italian :)
SunDevil
When are all you bitter natives going to just accept the fact that this city is, forever was, and always will be a city of transplants? Get over it already.
REDONE415
PRESCHOOL @ JOHN ADAMS 1980 HAYES@MASONIC
indigofizz
If SF sucks so bad, stop your whining and get your asses down to the Coachella Valley where there are plenty of grays, illegals, escapist gays, gated golf communities, LA elitists with boob and lip jobs driving Hummers next to impoverished landscapers driving beat up old trucks, and no jobs except for mowing grass, selling tacky resort wear or waiting tables (seasonally of course). All fuzzed out by a blistering sun and 110 degree temps. SF doesn't suck really, doesn't it? So one of you luckies should give me a marketing job so I can please oh please come back to SF!
btn
LOL. I thought the morning bun was poop & read impermanence as incontinence.
REDONE415
@ SunDevil Bitter is one thing I am not...I don't care for or about any of the trendy things you do, say or the places you hang out at. When I was younger I would frequent certain spots and when they became too gentrified I would move on to another local dive then as time went on I would occasionally punch a trendy hipster in his mouth for spewing garbage out of it (mind you this was before the term trendy hipster even really existed) Now that I am a family man Born and raised in my great city coupled with a wonderful beautiful woman who was also born and raised in the city I have come to realize that there are just certain place to avoid. For instance. We will not be going anywhere near Noe Valley to let our kids play unless it is at there grandmothers house. We don't go to eat in SOMA and obviously no more partying in the twin peaks parking lot. I still push my way through the hipsters in The Western Addition, But that's because it was part of my original stomping grounds and I refuse to let a produce market stop me from making my way. I don't shop at Falettis because I prefered it as the worlds largest parking lot a bank had ever seen. Whole Foods is a no no too. Other than that I don't even run into the hipsters anymore, because I frequent places that only real San Franciscans frequent. So you can have all those trendy overpriced places to yourself ,dress your kids up in funny hairy sweaters and adorn them with trendy bowl haircuts and enjoy life as I do. It's the only way to live.
Mutie
Whoa... what's with the hate-itude, people? I'm not a native. I'm a transplant. I love this town. I can't imagine living anywhere else. (Although, I do wish it was warmer...) I've met plenty of great people for whom SF is not for them. Great. Please move to where you're happy. Personally, other cities that that are on my short list include NYC, London, Berlin, Beijing. I love these places, but ultimately, being an American, I need to settle long term in America. I'd like to live in those other cities for a year or two, though. NYC is the other American town I considered, and unfortunately, the weather and the neuroticism of NYC wear me out. So, I've found my place. I love the optimism and playfulness. I love the techie vibe and the burner vibe. I love how post-gay and post-asian it is. I love the physical and natural beauty. I love it, I love it, I love it. My only suggestion is that it could be warmer, but no one is going to feel sorry for us because of our weather...
CaseyJane
Just.... brilliant! :)
daver
Good summary of life in SF for a certain demographic. Well done. I'm not sure why all the hate. I like SF. Safe enough, nice weather, pretty houses, nice views with all the hills and water, and nice people. Kinda expensive but otherwise a very nice place to live.
aaronb
I'm a 3rd generation San Franciscan and found this article awesome. Granted, it's definitely describing the life of a very narrow demographic that I overlap heavily with. Surprisingly, there are a lot of native San Franciscans that are jerks. Just like anywhere else.
SFSUCKS
@thesubjective - born at Children's Hospital on California, went to FAIS age 4-17. Grew up in the Richmond. In fact, I am third generation SF born and raised...And all that other stuff, um...happened in a lot of other cities as well, ever heard of Stonewall?? Get your self important, probably long-haired, head out your ass...And never been to Walnut Creek.
SFSUCKS
oh and do you need to know where all my family went to school too?? How about my blood type, bra size, where we bought milk, our local voter poll location...what else?? Real natives do not feel the need to PROVE they are from here.
iagree
All I am trying to say is although this is a funny blog it does not represent My San Francisco very well and since I am a native I wonder how many people feel the exact same way ?
Kinghenry8
@Mutie What is post Asian and post gay? Are you post human living in a post world? Do you live on Post street? You wouldn't survive in NYC, Berlin or London because they are too real and honest. If the whole burner thing rings your bell reality is defiantly somewhere you will never find happiness. I wish you post good luck!
iagree
* I FEEL THE SAME WAY - NATIVE!
jennyegee
Well said Stu! Super proud to live here and couldn't agree more. And for all the haters...get outta our city!
Kinghenry8
I think this sums what living in SF means more than any words i can write - http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/104282/smuggy-san-francisco-town Come on, which one of you "implants" smells their own farts?
Kinghenry8
Since when were immigrants called transplants?? Hahaha! Thats hilarious! Who made that one up, guilt ridden middle class pseudo hippies who see the word immigrant as "patronising" and "oppressive" Yet again one word can describe all thats wrong about living in this City! The Tenderloin, are all the black crack head and smack heads standing in little groups smoking pipes 2 blocks away from the main tourist area "transplants" lol! Jeez, its like living in some parallel dimension! Transplants, now thats a corker! lol!
timwux
@Kinghenry8 The term "transplant" is often used to describe the nice folks that come from other US states (like myself). An immigrant would usually be defined as someone coming from another country.
flyingfabu
(The Terms of Service were very long. I didn't read them.)
This article was really funny because it's true. You forgot to mention that if you've lived long enough in the city, you will find that you have inevitably dated someone in every neighborhood. (True story)
AshK t
Whoa! Did all the comments make themselves disappear?
Nicole G
You guys broke it! Jk. Sorry for the technical difficulties... we are working to get everyone's comments back up on the story.
uk2bay
living online means...
you can post anything anywhere... even a charming, funny, reflection on lifestyle written with love and a bit of self mockery... and if its got a comment section some 'mouthy' ass-hats will find a way to turn it into a spit filled pissing match over some arbitrary subjective shit.
toddnarruhn
As a native, I must say you hit my city on the spot. San Francisco is the ex you want to leave , but find yourself coming back to every time.
REDONE415
Sorry we broke the feed, but you have to admit it was interesting.
JaseTheAce
Living in this city means understanding what "Buds and Doses" are very quickly
hannah117
dang, everybody in san francisco is white?
gubon13
Living in SF means...
...scoffing at the intellectual neophytes of Los Angeles as aesthetic elitist consumers all while ignoring the fact that you're an intellectual elitist consumer...
...having a strong opinion one way or the other about which platform is better - Apple or Android...
...even if it's 45 degrees and raining today, it might be 75 and sunny tomorrow...
ciamaria
Oh, come on. This should be called "Living in the Mission means..." and you know it.
Shannon M
why does everyone here have such a proprietary attitude toward san francisco? doesn't the fact that we all love the city bond us more than it divides us? otherwise we would live someplace cheaper.
my favorite san francisco truism (which i believe applies across cultures, sub-cultures, and counter-cultures) is that living in san francisco means that there is only a fifteen degree range of acceptable temperature. if it's above 78 or below 63 no one can talk about anything else.
berlin_baby
Hahaha, I *totally* had a crush on a girl at Tartine! :) Thank you for knowing it's "the Western Addition" and not frickin NOPA (I used to do my laundry there, by the by....)
PriscillaMalarky
As a born-and-raised San Franciscan for who will always consider SF to be my original home even though I cannot live there because it makes me completely crazy, I agree with a lot of this, but feel some important things were missed. For one, for those San Franciscans who do drive occasionally, living in San Francisco means paying through the nose at parking meters and encountering very aggressive parking enforcers who will wait by your car for the last two minutes until your meter expires hoping you won't come back to move your car. Also driving related: horrible, horrible drivers who don't know how to use a passing lane (though, that's more an issue when you want to drive on the highway right outside of the city--101 North just above the GG Bridge is a NIGHTMARE for this reason--but Lombard and 19th ave can get infuriatingly backed up because of this, too); who feel that using turn signals is unnecessary; who will cut you off without considering that they're actually moving a lot more slowly than you were; and basically, for all of these reasons, having to fight not to develop some extremely severe road rage. Also, it means being able to take unbelievably delicious and fresh and wonderful produce (and reasonably priced sushi) for granted (this is really, really not available everywhere. Even nice grocery stores in New York do not offer fruit like you can find basically all year 'round in CA). It also means getting into disagreements with people who think they're extremely well-informed and are convinced they're right, but who later reveal they've actually not picked up a news publication in four months. However, it also means living in a city with some of the nicest, friendliest people in any major US city.
Finally, this piece touched on this, but I want to say that I loved "being open-minded about people--unless, of course, they're Republicans." I've found this to be extremely true: that is, people are open-minded...as long as you agree with them. There is a really unfortunate tendency among San Francisco to write off people simply because of right-of-far-left political views. I, someone most New Yorkers would call extremely liberal, have been called a "fascist" in San Francisco.
Still, it's home. I love it and I love that I grew up there. But as you can all see, actually living there would make me a little crazy.
CattyC
I'm a native and think this is hilarious. I love this city with all of its craziness, just like my parents did. I will probably never move, its my home. And if you don't like SF? Please move the f&*k away!! Theres nothing worse than listening to someone bitch about it.
coreytodds
I love it when 'San Franciscans' vehemently complain that my neighborhood has recently been dubbed 'the North Panhandle' (or NoPa) instead of its traditional name 'Western Addition', which covers a HUGE chunk of the city. They basically accuse you of some nefarious gentrification plan, and that people who call it NoPa are somehow 'ashamed' of the neighborhood's Western Addition roots.
Newsflash: Neighborhood names evolve. You think SoHo in NYC has always been called SoHo? Tribeca? SoMa?
If you are comfortable calling other sub-sections of the Western Addition 'Lower Pac Heights', Japantown, Hayes Valley or Alamo Square... and unless you want to start calling all those other sub-sections 'Western Addition'... then, give it a rest, hipster/poseur... the neighborhood is now logically called "The North Panhandle". Deal with it.
scottsalot
Living in SF means riding the coattails of generations before that gave this place a name. Breathing in deeply that sense of liberal entitlement while you drink beer in a park and micro-blog about your dissatisfaction with the world and thinking that that's doing something.
ithinktoomuch
To all the SF haters. Thank you! Please don't move here, or if you do, move away like Kinghenry8. So many people want to live here that it jacks up everyone's rent. So glad this place isn't everyone's cup of tea.
gooddogs
As an alien from fly over land, I enjoy reading the discourse from your fine city, my favorite one on this continent. I am usually entertained and/or outraged by it, but I must say that this piece makes me so glad to live in a small city in the Northern Tier, where our version of Tartine has bread every bit as good and the "crush" there is not only my sister-in-law, but my best friend to boot. It is where a half million will buy either an old Victorian mansion, or a small ranch. The fellow with the Chinese restaurant down the street has the deepest roots in town, his family having arrived with the railroad, but the best food and friendliest ambiance anywhere. Our "park" is several thousands of square miles of national forest and BLM and our micro-brewers take a back seat to none. Enjoy your angst, folks. I'll come visit on occasion, savor your vistas, ocean, fine small restaurants and jazz clubs and go home in 5 or 6 days glad to get back.
sunnyfunny98
As a British lady who came to SF with love in my heart for this City, and after three years still explores and adores this amazing place, I'd like to apologise for KingHenry. Mean-spirited people like him were one of many reasons I left the UK. And as a London native I can confidently say, that city ain't all that and a bag of chips.
BornFrenchHospital
Born there, raised there. I say "there" because I'm now "here" which is Canada-the middle part, the coldest part, the worst part. I still get that quickening of my heart when I fly in and see the city skyline for the first time. Every day you step outside, thank the Maker you're in San Francisco. Seek the commonalities, enjoy the differences, eat the killer food, soak up the nature and the culture, love the Giants. Enjoy it for me everyone.
ps- I did fly in for the Victory parade. Euphoric.
the_bunneh
i left san francisco almost two years ago now, and this, on the eve of my returning to live in the bay, made me terribly homesick. after spending four years in the city, i left, having lost the taste for social environment entirely. the thing is, when you leave in a hurry, it's easy to gloss over all the things that make being there so beautiful. thanks for reminding me of just how bittersweet those little things are. i look forward to returning to the bay because of all the things you named--even the ones that kindof led me to leave in the first place now feel like a little slice of home.
Hunter
I'm gearing up to move to San Francisco in the next few weeks. This is exactly the kind of post I needed to stumble on. You've got me psyched. Thanks!
Mommy4EdReform
This was hilarious and very well written. Although, I have to note the "It means being open-minded about people – unless, of course, they’re Republicans." statement. I am a single mom of two, live in SF and love it here, most days. I am open-minded and compassionate. Who's having a tough time being open-minded now?
Nora S
I’ve lived in the Bay Area all my life. Lived in San Francisco since Junior High – Went to “Ben” then “Gal” and then “SFSU”. I have been here long enough to go from being a beatnik, to a hippy, to a Boomer. I’ve traveled, lived elsewhere, but I always come back to San Francisco. Why? It is easier to be Asian-ish here. Mom’s from Tokyo and Dad was from Mississippi (white as he wanted to be) – we’re Rice Crackers. Elsewhere I’m just a color girl or Native America at best.
The food brings me back. Life without a wide variety of ethnic food is not worth living.
Being a weather wimp I came back for the mild weather: never too hot for too long, never too cold at all, and if you wear the layers you can peel like an onion in the micro climates.
I come back because, as much as people like to complain about it, the public transit is better than a lot of American cities. Arlington, TX has NO public transit, just saying. Here one can live without a car and on the cheap too if you know the tricks to doing so.
Want entertainment? There are the museums and galleries, SF Symphony, live theatre, and countless musical venues. Entertainment on the cheap can be had with the free events, street fairs, farmer’s markets and general people watching at one of the 200 parks.
When was the last time you took a cable car ride, bought Chinese food displayed in a window or a tamale from a truck, had clam chowder out of a sour dough bowl at Fisherman’s Wharf, or climbed to the top of Coit Tower? I do these things regularly because I love living here. It’s not for everyone and that’s a good thing with only 46 square miles we don’t have room for everyone.
fixpert
Man, I read this earlier today and it really bugged me, but I don't tend to leave negative comments so I let it go. But it kept popping into my head throughout the day. This is such a cynical, shallow take on this city. It's not terribly clever or thoughtful either. Even the writing style, the voice of the piece does not sound like an inhabitant of San Francisco wrote it. It feels very East Coast. Does anyone else feel me on that? My social group here is completely devoid of cynicism, it's one of the things I really love about this city. Maybe I just got super lucky with finding a rad group of people here.
fixpert
( By the way, Bold Italic, you can see that people are posting the same comment multiple times because there's not confirmation once you've submitted a comment, the button just goes back to saying "Post Comment" with the contents of your comment still in the text field. The page doesn't show any indication that your first attempt at posting was received successfully. )
derek c
Fantastic. I have a love hate relationship with San Francisco and you sum it all up quite beautifully.
Nicole G
Thanks for your help, fixpert! We're on it.
jtrame
being justifiably elitist about your food, because your food literally is better than everyone else's
Kelly M
wow. so much commenting. stu, this was so true on so many levels that i laughed at loud the entire time. people things so seriously it cracks me up. i love this place so much. and for all those love- hate reasons. sf is far from perfect, its weird, its too cool for school and on and on, but all this stuff makes me smile and love it more. and very few people can live here and get it, some move back to where they came from. but you. me and the rest of us here will keep lovin it all every day for its weird, awesome, creative character. <3
LaurenL
Hee -- absolutely loved this piece! And I'm a 40-y-o, fifth-generation native (grandmother born right after the '06 earthquake, her Oakland birth certificate stamped "refugee" b/c her parents had to leave their 'quake-destroyed house in the City just a few days earlier), whose life bears only minimal resemblance to those of the "hipsters" caricatured above. (Except, perhaps, for the eight-gazillion scarves in my wardrobe, and a farmers'-market tote more-or-less super-glued to my hand. (-: )
In any case, where else in the U.S. can one eat SO incredibly deliciously and diversely on a daily/weekly/monthly/seasonal basis -- while experiencing such relatively mild weather? And where else, besides NYC, is it possible to be in an inter-racial romantic relationship without attracting unwanted attention?? Also, two words for the old-schoolers: Herb Caen... (-:
Yes, I love, love, love San Francisco, and the Bay Area, despite the flaws and expense; and I really enjoyed this article! (And no, I've never been to Walnut Creek -- only once to Moraga, for a college friend's parents' holiday party... (-: )
Bennigan
This is awesome! I was born and raised in SF and it's awesome there. While I was there I moved to the East Bay. I recently moved to Chain-Central Middle America to "slow down a bit." I'm moving back to SF. That's all there is to it.
Living in SF means living with some of the best views in the world; living with some of the best food in the world; living with some of the most driven and innovative people in the world. And yes, living in SF also means, walking by mysterious substances almost everyday; wondering what might have happened on the seats on BART; and walking through the occasional cloud of weed.
"Living in San Francisco means coming over the Bay Bridge and having your heart race a little when you see the city’s skyline." - Happens to me every time.
LalaTellsAStory
Living in SF means politely dodging homeless shaky drug addicts for 2 solid blocks and walk square into the 5th Avenue of the Bay, Union Square.
kdkd
Living in San Francisco means forgetting that there are thousands of people who don't look like you, don't have the luxury of spending four dollars on a morning pastry and who don't have parents with deep pockets.
darvishnu
i made an acct. so i could just come here and say, other than the sketches, this thing horribly sucks...mainly because you have ruined SF...that because of people like you, the city has turned into a shitbag...because of morons like you, the streets are overfilled with drug addicts and gang bangers...god damn this SUCKSSSS
mjjflynn
my old roomate.....now living in Iowa says when he misses SF, he pisses in the entryway to his home, and writes himself a parking ticket. (meanwhile....I get thrown out of zeitgeist for not posing properly, showering too often, and clearly not haviing enough tattoos)
SFN8IV
4th generation SF native here. Ive been all around the world, all around the USA, and I would never live anywhere else. Nowhere else is there the cosmopolitan vibe MIXED with the natural beauty we have. Yes, cities like London, NY, Paris etc may have the cosmopolitain thing going, but they are so huge and the natural topographical beauty just isn't there. SF rules. Go Giants.
natattack88
why would dude move from the mission to the richmond cuz of gentrification? wasn't this dude part of the cause of gentrification in the first place? so moving to some other less-gentrified district would just gentrify it, duh. i for one moved to SF cuz i fell in love with a native, and i love it here... but instead of these narrow articles, i'd like more highlighting the diversity of the city. i'd like to think my style is unique and my ideas my own, so... for me... "living in Sf means being myself"
KMonihan
What a bunch of self centered Vixers! Who cares about SF? We all live have the good and the bad. Get over yourselves and stick your non profit bull$hit up your arsh!
Derek12345
Living in SF means not saying "The 101"... it's just 101. But, great read and made me miss home.
Epe
Pretty good description of your average Mission kid who's lived here a year or two. Except for the "rent supplement" part. Just change that to "Living in San Francisco means having your parents back in Connecticut/Ohio/Virginia put money in your account every month" and you're all good.
hayduke
Living in San Francisco means you are probably not from California. It means you are susceptible to marketed "cool" and satisfied with superficial interactions. Living in San Francisco means living green, but not quite understanding what that actually means. Living in San Francisco means not caring if you understand - and embracing the cause for the cool parties.
Btron
This is so spot-on. I've read it a couple times now. It makes me realize that none of my thoughts are original, yet it's comforting.
sucka_free
My mom is a native here. She doesn't smoke bomb nor has she ever been to Zeitgeist or End Up or Bay to Breakers but she sure as hell brings an all organic tote bag to the farmers market, walking her lap size dog, sporting her Tom's and hand-made accessories. I'll be damned if my mom is a hipster but at the same time, that is just so SF. Maybe this article isn't you but I guarantee you pass this person every day on the streets.
Gotta say I really resented this piece for a minute but it did make people get deep, which is cool. Thanks for all the powerful comments, I'm glad we all love the City!
Living in SF means... a lot more than what's in the article, but not a bad start tho!..
Clu
I just feel annoyed after reading this.
whocares
living in sf means bitching endlessly about that shit that doesn't matter. transplant or native, you're all doing it.
polya
Very creative and well written. Comments made me want to move to SF ... I can sense passion in all opinions whether they are love or hate... Sounds like the beginning of a book...
jvay
So, I am a native NYer who lived in SF for a bit in the early 90s. I found the people humorless and boring. I love NY BECAUSE being a NYer is a state of mind. You can be from anywhere and feel you are a NYer. You can have the most authentic interactions. SF has been having the same boring arguments for 20+ years. I hear "I am third fourth generation" and - who cares? It is a young city! You are all early settlers.
cindyha
.....being judged by what neighborhood you live or hang out in.
...dealing with annoying Bridge and Tunnels who think wearing a tutu suffice as a costume.
...paying $3 for overpriced-overfrosted donut in the Mission.
...asking a waiter : " What type of red wine do you have available?"
He responds," We have a wonderful local red wine that is organic."
I ask,"Is it red?"
He says, " Yes."
I reply,"Sold."
I turn to say to my friend, " That was so San Francisco."
Freezer
Being a third-generation San Franciscan means listening to cliched drivel like this from people who've moved here and now think they know the city, but whose comments are as clueless as Midwest tourists who say "Frisco" and "Cali"
fuzz
this is a complete rip off of the girl on the bike - modern san franciscan poster
Kenover
This POV is only shared by transplanted straight white wannabe Mission Bohos of the type who roam Valencia Street in herds on Saturday night, line up around the block mindlessly for morning buns at Tartine, and stand shivering in the foggy cold of August to pay $8 for a double scoop of Bi-Rite Creamery ice cream...and then bitch about creeping gentrification and how expensive SF is. In other words, exactly the demographic that's ruined the Mission. And BTW, it's been years since the Castro was "full of gays."
Jason S
Living in San Francisco means having an opinion of what it's like living in San Francisco.
brookiepants
This is amazing, so true!
poofanny
Wow........ bitter much?
Stop bitching that the article doesn't represent YOUR San Francisco.
sheep
getting sick of the city, realizing its time to leave it, and then falling back into its arms because it somehow charmed you back
phancy3
I've lived here for 25 years and am laughing at these truisms! We would joke about this shit in the 80's. Funny how it is the same sort of things but with a different group of people. Just because it doesn't reflect your experience 100% I bet that doesn't mean there aren't a few of these that you can relate to.
Un-clench! Laugh!
I still smile hearing 4 different languages simultaneously on MUNI while going to work. I love how the ice breaker here is not 'what do you do', but 'where are you from?'. I love how you can look into the eyes of a fellow pedestrian and it is normal and friendly- not threatening...
There are so many states of minds in this town- which is what makes SF so wonderfully diverse! Yes, there is a lot of transience but that is what keeps this town fresh with innovation and keeps people from thinking they are the center of the universe like those from NY (though NY-ers have many redeeming qualities!). This is a place many come to find a part of themselves. Hopefully, they carry that more evolved self back with them as they journey home or somewhere else - thus transplanting a higher social/artistic consciousness and worldview into other communities.
SoleilSmile
Living in San Francisco means getting to dress as eccentrically as you want to and no one blinks an eye. The same goes for Berkeley :)
m-to-the-g
... that you live in the land where a C+ thinks they're an A+ and you want to move to Austin or NYC to meet people who are less arrogant, less self-consciously quirky, and more approachable, and cuter (inside and out) but the weather, natural beauty, and rent control keep you put.
Silencio
My wife is SF born and bread [...]
scarlet722
what a fantastic article. it has made me want to move to sf even more than i already do. honestly everything said, even all the funny comments, make your city sound like so much fun i'm counting the days until i can live there. i feel the need to write a little piece of my own, to make all of you guys feel very VERY thankful that you live in such a cool city. living in new jersey means... constantly being surrounded by very angry people who constantly frown. hating that the entire country thinks everyone from nj are like the people on jersey shore, even tho you know atleast one person that reminds you of each character. going to school with the children of people your parents went to school with (people dont generally move away from here.) being annoyed that the only thing to do half of the time is go to one of the 3 malls in your 20 mile radius. dealing with 100 degree summers and 20 degree winters. being labeled a weirdo if you dont listen to country music or rap. accepting the fact that if you dont want to pay 5$ to go to the same kegger with the same people weekend after weekend, you probly arent going to have anything to do. going to philly for the day and being so excited that there really is a big world outside of your stupid shit town. so in conclusion, it sounds to me that all of you guys have it pretty darn good lol. ps- does anyone have any advice for moving to sf? i'd love to hear any and everything :)
overNYC
Hi Scarlet722 - I too am considering a move to SanFran. After 11 years in NYC, the shine has officially worn off for me and feel that the time is right to try an alternative to the unhappy, rude and generally arrogant people who populate the tri-state. Love this article, for its ridiculousness and the gems of truth I'm sure are in there :-). I'm not deterred from moving. Really ready to say goodbye to New York...
overNYC
@phancy3 - thank you, for summarizing my key reasons for moving to your gorgeous City. Beautifully said. I've been trying to find the redeeming qualities of my fellow NYers, as you've mentioned. Sadly, that we can survive (more so than other city-dwellwers) if dropped into a jungle is no longer a draw for me. I've survived - am now ready to thrive...just a little. (...and yes, to find myself) :-)
coreytodds
It means knowing that "Western Addition" is a large SECTION of San Francisco that includes the NEIGHBORHOODS of Hayes Valley, Lower Pac Heights, Japantown, USF, North Panhandle, and even parts of Inner Richmond... and that the hipster/poseurs who decry the term "NoPa" while simultaneously using the names of sub-sections (like Lower Pac Heights, Japan-town, Hayes Valley) don't know the city's history, and they don't know they are all part of the larger section of town called "Western Addition". Learn it: http://goo.gl/etbrs
beertown94118
Living in SF means watching the opera for free at AT&T Park, walking to Market to catch Muni because the T was too crowded at 4th & King, stepping in human shit on the way, and seeing two people taking wedding photos next the band shell in GGPark on the way home. It's never boring here. Love it.
BQ
Living in SF means writing a quirky blog while at work.
pullejo
Living in SF means that while you claim to be receptive to new and different ideas or the opinions of others, you're actually more bigoted, intolerant, prejudiced, and judgmental than any other city in the country - including the "racist pricks" in the south. I watched it change rapidly from the mid-90's to what it is now - partly I believe due to the tech boom - and what was once a welcoming city to people of extremely diverse backgrounds is now a sad state of "we're better than you" hipsters and ultra-liberals. There is some strength in balance and that balance is gone.
Ginkgo
I'm a 46 yr old gay man with an opinion of SF.
I spent 3 months in SF when I was 16 yrs old and loved every minute of it. I lived on the Presidio with my Uncle, a colonel and was allowed to explore the city all summer. I moved to SF last summer for 3 months to see if I wanted to join my partner there who just HAD to live in the gay Mecca. We were living in Seattle before. I learned really quick that its not the same city as it was in 1984. Compared to Seattle it is a dirty concrete jungle with too many people crammed into a small area. Its beautiful from a distance but up close its an overpriced, overpopulated, the people are edgy, way to polarized: gentrified, and a very dirty city. I have a dog that had to learn to shit on the sidewalk because most of the city streets are concreted in all the way to your front door. I saw more people walking their dogs on the palm tree lined median because the parks are far and few between. Dolores Park is a big open ugly park that is overcrowded every time the sun comes out.
I'm back in Seattle where there are trees and grass right outside your door and I live in the most densely populated areas of the city.
foggycitylife
So so true. But I LOVE living here with the good, the bad, and the ugly. And there is sooo much of the good!
Jen H
Love. This.
wolfdragonhorse
I don't see how it matters whether you've lived in SF all your life or been here for ten minutes. It's all about your attitude. If you are so focused on that one time that pigeon shit on you or the time that you stepped in something questionable, then you'll never see the millions of other times it didn't happen. I visited SF for the first time for one week back in October and by the end of the week I knew it was where my home was going to be. No other place I have ever been had made me feel so comfortable in my own skin. I saw nearly every part of the city, from the beautiful architecture on just about every building, amazing parks and restaurants, culture, transportation, sheer color, down to seeing random people ranting in the streets, some not so great smells, dirty sidewalks (in Portland the sidewalks are always clean due to the rain) the excessive homelessness, and a guy bleeding/dying on the sidewalk in the Tenderloin (thankfully someone was assisting him). With any city you take the good with the bad. I read this article to my boyfriend who used to live in SF. He got teary eyed just listening to all the things and places he so deeply regrets moving away from, the good and the bad. So, it doesn't matter what SF hospital you were born in, or which preschool you attended, whether you are a native or just moving in. I plan to explore and learn every part of SF when I get there and I believe doing so will take a life time. If you truly love and enjoy San Francisco from its new and trendy parts to its old and traditional areas, its tourists and gawkers, its beauty and ugliness; then I believe you have a right to call it home. I know I already do.
deedubbs415
I am also a native and I am with kinghenry8 and sfsucks natives vs this crap of a hippster culture that is here.
deedubbs415
and to those that say its diverse then why is it that every where you go its mostly white guys hanging out with other white guys who take over neighbor hoods that were culturally diverse now are a shell of what they used to be. I liked fillmore and the mission the way it was now its all vegan this yoga that. and do you really need 5 coffee shops on one block on valencia? is that even fucking necessary? and the whole skinny jeans thing is disgusting how can you look malnourished and claim your fit? and mock others who don't ware those size 4 jeans you got from your sister.
deedubbs415
pullejo
Oct 31, 2011, 2:24pm
FLAG
Living in SF means that while you claim to be receptive to new and different ideas or the opinions of others, you're actually more bigoted, intolerant, prejudiced, and judgmental than any other city in the country - including the "racist pricks" in the south. I watched it change rapidly from the mid-90's to what it is now - partly I believe due to the tech boom - and what was once a welcoming city to people of extremely diverse backgrounds is now a sad state of "we're better than you" hipsters and ultra-liberals. There is some strength in balance and that balance is gone.
coulden't have said it better myself glad someone else also shares my views thought i was alone
Run Your Mouth