What do you love most about SF? (San Diego, San Francisco: transplants, spring break)

[NYC809]

With our upcoming Memorial Day weekend visit, we're approaching this vacation as a deciding point in whether or not SF, as a home, is in our future or not. My wife and I are from Manhattan and we are trying to decide if we will make the return back to the city or take on a new life in SF.

I have to sell her on this b/c I'm positive that it's the greatest place for us but it will certainly be a task to persuade her.

So what do you love about SF? I'd like to take some ideas and see if it would relate with our interests. Restaurants, parks, cafes, bookstores, bars, nature, sporting events, museums, riding bikes, music venues (from concert halls to dive bars), etc...

Thanks, everyone.

[larachris]

Things you may love about SF:

Clam chowder soup in a bread bowl on Pier 39
Alcatraz
Used book stores
SFMOMA
Exploratorium
Mitchell's Ice Cream
Martha & Bros coffee in Noe Valley
Thrift stores on Haight Street
Rollerblading at Golden Gate Park on Sundays
Outdoor concerts at Golden Gate Park
Dive bars in the Mission district
Taquerias in the Mission district
Cafes and Italian Restaurants on North Beach
St. Peter and Paul church on North Beach
The North Beach festival
Swanky restaurants in the Marina
Camping and skiing weekend getaways
Jogging on the beach in the cool early morning fog
Catching a Giants game at AT&T park

And my #1 is......the people of SF.
Diverse mix of people from all over the world, both transplants and people who have been there for several generations.

[mayorhaggar]

It's near Oakland so I don't have to commute very far.

Seriously, I am soooo over SF at this point. It's noisy, grubby, full of homeless people and crazy people, everything is crowded, and it's really chilly and windy 80% of the time, oh and it's expensive. Sorry to be negative but after 6 years of SF I got tired of it.

The one thing I do like is that there's Muni and BART which means it's easy to get around without a car, but riding Muni is usually such a hassle that it's more enjoyable to me to ride my bike around in Oakland than have to wait 20 minutes for a crowded bus in SF. Also SF's government has done at least one good thing with Healthy San Francisco by providing basic health insurance to people who need it, something every local government in the US should do.

[NYC809]

@ larachris - fantastic recs and soooooorry for all of my annoying inquiries on SF.

@ mayorhaggar - if we're feeling froggy we'll make the jump over to Oakland. I heard there are some great places to check out over there.

[jade408]

Originally Posted by NYC809

@ larachris - fantastic recs and soooooorry for all of my annoying inquiries on SF.

@ mayorhaggar - if we're feeling froggy we'll make the jump over to Oakland. I heard there are some great places to check out over there.

In SF:
Ferry Building
Dynamo Donuts
Blue Bottle in Mint Plaza
Buffalo at Golden Gate Park
Walking through the Presidio and around the Golden Gate Bridge
Cartoon Art Museum

But I like staying on my side of the bay too w/ mayorhaggar. Lots of cool stuff in Oakland.

[larachris]

Not annoying....that's what CD is for!

As far as Oakland, it's a great city, but it doesn't compare to SF. Yes, SF is not perfect, but you have to take the good with the bad.

I have two close friends who moved to the Bay Area from NY.
They both moved to SF for a few years until they 'found their way' around.
One is still in the city and the other moved to the Peninsula after 3 years because she got married and didn't think SF was a good place for her to raise kids. Most NY'ers I have met in SF love it there. But, I guess the ones that didn't moved away so I never had a chance to meet them.

Enjoy your vacation!

[hgnmx]

That it's sucka-free of course... lol

[Curmudgeon]

That I don't live there!

[Jasmine658]

When graduated college, went and lived the glamorous life in NYC...was well paid in fashion industry. But I missed nature and would go searching for it on weekends. My parents took me traveling all over USA and Europe and by age of 12 I was sold on SF, mainly because of the gorgeous redwoods and the crisp clean air!

SF has problematic school system, just like NYC. But for average person, making average wages, you can enjoy using a Fast Pass, great public transportation, visit and live amongst gorgeous places every single day, and even more fabulous places on weekend. When in NYC, I went to Fire Island, Montauk, Mohonk Mountain, Lake George, DC, Atlantic Highlands, but nothing around New York City holds a candle to SF. Yes, SF can be gritty just like NYC, but it is super fun for anyone with average job. I came from NYC with just a small amount of money, lived in weekly rental, got job, moved to Marina District, got roommate, and have never regretted the move. It is gorgeous here. I love hiking - my god, the hikes sure beat my 7 mile runs through Central Park, etc. Hiking up to Coit Tower, hiking through Glen Park, hiking through San Pedro Park in Pacifica, walking the waterfronts - from Ocean Beach, Crissy Field, Mori Point, or the Embarcadero are just wonderful. I lived downtown SF, and loved my frequent walks up and over Russian Hill and down to the bay. Then it's short way to Redwood groves, Sequoias, Yosemite, Santa Cruz, Napa, Lake Tahoe, etc, etc. Can hop plane, quickly get to Hawaii, Las Vegas, San Diego, etc., all wonderful destinations. Just returned from San Diego, and am off to Vegas in few weeks. Atlantic City was fun, but just not as much so as Vegas, sorry.

I had lived in NYC, then tried Scarsdale for few years, got tired of shoveling snow, then moved to SF. Anyone who complains of fog or wind is CRAZY in my mind - try living where there is bullet ice like in Chicago when I visited one spring break, or trying to drive in NYC where I drove & slid off icy highways 4 times on Christmas day, towed 4 times, due to not being allowed chains. Don't miss it at all. But I am member of Hilton Club NYC, so can go visit sister, but only October-early Dec, or May-June. The other times of year, don't care for at all. Also a 400 sq ft 1BR in NYC is usually a 700 1BR in SF. I got amused how NYC had different classifications for what they called the same thing- usually half the size.

Most of my old NYC friends relocated to either the smoky mountains or the coast of NC, but I came out to SF.

Fresh air, great walks, great weekend getaways, etc, is what SF is all about. It has a lot of culture, more is in NYC, but there is an art gallery scene here, theatre, dance, etc., and its on the rise. Industry-wise, NYC may have the best of the best, but quality of every day life is more available in SF.

Park to Visit: Take cable car up to Huntington Park (dog show always in progress), walk through the fabulous hotels nearby like Fairmont, spa for wife at Huntington Hotel is fun, and my favorite spa to go in SF.
Boat: Ferry from Embarcadero to Sausalito & back
Museums to visit: SFMOMA & Exploratorium
Music: Bottom of the Hill (new rock my husband's fav) & Yoshii's (jazz my favorite)
Hikes: Mori Point in Pacifica if have car (drop dead gorgeous) or bus out to beach - walk Baker Beach area
Redwoods: Muir Woods
Restaurants: Ana Madara my favorite Vietnamese at Fisherman's Wharf area or Le Coloniel on nob hill, Esperpento in Mission district for great tapas, R&G Lounge for Chinese in Chinatowm, Ebisu for sushi in Sunset- I've seen real Geishas here, Indian food - Shalimar in Tenderloin (gritty neighborhood, but I'm always driving by and doing take-out), Bocce for Italian mainly great for atmosphere, or for Mexican food - El Farolito or Poncho Villas in mission district. Oh, I could go on and on with food in SF...Gary Danko and Coi are on my wish list - as highly rated, so plan to try soon.

[NYC809]

"NYC may have the best of the best, but quality of every day life is more available in SF"

Pretty much sums up your post right there. Thanks!