I visited in 2006, loved it. Visited again 2009, hated it.
The place is choc full of bums....
Move to SF and hate it?
41–50 of 172 posts
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#42Can you easily live in SF without a car, and get around well only walking, cycling, and using public transit? I did this in Boston for a while and it was quite great. The bike went away for the winter, of course.
If you stay in the (miniscule) center of the city, yes. As soon as you take a job outside the city (say, in San Mateo), drop "easily" from the description. It's always doable, in any US city, to live without a car. But it's not always comfortable. SFBay is not comfortable without a car.
If you live and work near Caltrain or BART stations it's very easy to live in the city and work in the valley or east bay, or vice versa (though if you live outside the city you'll want a car).
Or if you're fortunate enough to work somewhere that has a shuttle that's another option. Many of the big tech companies do now, thanks to Google's lead. Off the top of my head: Google, Facebook, Apple, Genentech (I actually knew someone who would take the Genentech bus to work even though they didn't work there. Guess they don't check)
Of the people I know who live in SF and work in the valley, I'd say roughly half drive, and half take the train or a shuttle.
I usually take Caltrain but sometimes drive.
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
Tom, This is golden. Thanks for taking the time!
Thanks. In fairness, I can make a list of things I liked about San Francisco too: * Beach bonfires on weeknights. * The drive to Monterey. Also, the drive to Half Moon Bay for Halloween pumpkins in a very nice car. There is no better city in the US to own a nice car in. * Dim sum. * Freshwater aquarium supplies. * I used to really like Zeitgeist, although I hear it's gone downhill. The last time I was in town, SF see…
Which campus in Chicago are you referring to? I've enjoyed bumming around NU, UC, and UIC at least as much as I enjoyed bumming around Stanford. I know, NU is not technically in Chicago, but it is as close to the loop as Stanford is to SF.
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#44Moved here in May of '07. Never leaving. Love the people and the city. I've been to New York (born there, too) and hate it. Too big, noisy, and dirty. And the people are unfriendly as hell.
I've never really talked to anyone not from the east coast whose first impression of NYC wasn't horror. If you haven't been, it really is unlike anything you could imagine; even the nicest parts of the city seriously feel like a neglected warehouse of city parts haphazardly strewn about. But NYC makes up for that by being the most vibrant city in possibly the world. It can be very hard to take, but you're always awar…
Could you unpack the numerous double negatives in your first sentence? I think you're agreeing with me, but I'm not sure?
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#45I moved here in 2008 and absolutely love the city. What I like: * There is always something going on. As many tech meetups/lectures/etc as you can stomach. Hell, there's an incredible amount of art/history/science/etc things going on every single day. This is probably true in places like NYC, but I didn't have the same experience in DC. * The weather is awesome. Coming from DC I couldn't stand the hot and humid summe…
I've spent some time in DC, I have friends in DC, I'm pretty familiar with the knocks DC takes... and lack of "art/history/science/etc things" has never been one of them. Isn't DC actually pretty amazing for that stuff? And, can you clue me in on the art/history/science stuff you've found to do in San Francisco?
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#46Can you easily live in SF without a car, and get around well only walking, cycling, and using public transit? I did this in Boston for a while and it was quite great. The bike went away for the winter, of course.
If you stay in the (miniscule) center of the city, yes. As soon as you take a job outside the city (say, in San Mateo), drop "easily" from the description. It's always doable, in any US city, to live without a car. But it's not always comfortable. SFBay is not comfortable without a car.
San Mateo is not a great example. It's one of the easiest suburbs to get to without a car.
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#47Can you easily live in SF without a car, and get around well only walking, cycling, and using public transit? I did this in Boston for a while and it was quite great. The bike went away for the winter, of course.
Yes, assuming you work in SF too. And its never too cold for bikes, which is good because youd be in some trouble otherwise (MUNI is pretty terrible)
My only problem with MUNI is it gets packed during rush hour. I've often had to wait for the 2nd or 3rd train to be able to get on.
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#48Earlier quoted context omitted.
Thanks. In fairness, I can make a list of things I liked about San Francisco too: * Beach bonfires on weeknights. * The drive to Monterey. Also, the drive to Half Moon Bay for Halloween pumpkins in a very nice car. There is no better city in the US to own a nice car in. * Dim sum. * Freshwater aquarium supplies. * I used to really like Zeitgeist, although I hear it's gone downhill. The last time I was in town, SF see…
Which campus in Chicago are you referring to? I've enjoyed bumming around NU, UC, and UIC at least as much as I enjoyed bumming around Stanford. I know, NU is not technically in Chicago, but it is as close to the loop as Stanford is to SF.
I lived in Evanston for a couple years and NWU never felt like a "campus" to me; more of a college-y suburb.
I actually went to UIC, and went to St. Ignatius for high school, just blocks away from UIC campus. I can't imagine going there for fun.
The University of Chicago campus is a destination campus. It's actually pretty amazing. It has every bit as much character as Stanford; you could totally go there just to hang out and read a book.
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#49Spent several years in San Francisco. Hated it. Moved back to the midwest (Ann Arbor, then back home to Chicago). What don't I like about SFBay? With the caveat that it's been almost 10 years since I lived there, let me make you a list: * It's expensive. What that means is, you have fewer options on where to live, and the options aren't as nice. * Apart from tacos, the casual food options are much worse. Concrete exa…
The Haight isn't that bad, I certainly wouldn't call it a red light district. I lived a block from Haight and Ashbury for a year, and while the fauxbos can be annoying they're mostly harmless.
Tenderloin is much scarier. My friend got punched in the face by a random guy walking down the street.
Re: Move to SF and hate it?
#50Spent several years in San Francisco. Hated it. Moved back to the midwest (Ann Arbor, then back home to Chicago). What don't I like about SFBay? With the caveat that it's been almost 10 years since I lived there, let me make you a list: * It's expensive. What that means is, you have fewer options on where to live, and the options aren't as nice. * Apart from tacos, the casual food options are much worse. Concrete exa…
The Haight isn't that bad, I certainly wouldn't call it a red light district. I lived a block from Haight and Ashbury for a year, and while the fauxbos can be annoying they're mostly harmless. Tenderloin is much scarier. My friend got punched in the face by a random guy walking down the street.
I lived around the corner from the Haight, too and I'm not sure what would make the area a "red light district." The hippie hill drum circle? Guys selling weed? American Apparel? Ben and Jerry's? The Gap?
The worst aspect of the Haight is the gauntlet of gutter punks between Cole and Clayton. It's actually a very nice, dare I say, "gentrified" area, aside from that particular stretch.