SF is a small city, but do the social circles also run pretty thin? (Los Angeles: transplants, house)

[Moondogger]

"San Francisco is a tiny city, and you will bump into everybody you know here all the time. Including that girl with whom you went on that incredibly awkward and uncomfortable okCupid date."

"There’s no shame in ducking into an alley to avoid a face-to-face interaction."

Haha, these humorous quotes about SF really caught my eye.

So is there any truth to this? Do the social circles also run pretty thin as well? I know the population overall isn't as big as other major cities, although it is denser than others, but do you constantly run into the same people everywhere?

This is one thing that somewhat bugged me about San Diego. Even though it has a larger population overall, you run into the same people every where. In fact everyone refers to it as 4 degrees instead of 6 degrees of separation so I'm wondering if its the same or even worse in SF.

Don't get me wrong, at first it's great because it makes it easier to meet people but after awhile it's like the people you've already met are the same people you'll meet over and over again. It just seems like everyone else stays home. There are some exceptions of course, new transplants or active tourist season but for the most part, that 4 degree moniker is pretty standard.

Thoughts?

[jade408]

I think so. Four degrees sounds about right.

I went to a house party yesterday, and ran into someone I had met at a conference.

[Isebiel]

I do run into the same people over and over. However, moving to a different "circle" tends to get new people. Like there's a group who does all the same [ethnic] stuff and every activity associated with [ethnicity] seems to have the same people. But move into [artistic] field and it's new people. But then I'll see all of them at every [art] thing. Again with tech/startups. But that group is so big I don't reencounter the same people over and over, and it's pretty likely anyone I know, from any other circle, will have a connection there.

[rkwalton]

With a smaller population and tight social circles that are hard to break into? I say "yep". You're going to run into the same people more often under those circumstances.

[jeffredo]

Its not especially small (815K people isn't exactly a wide spot in the road), but if you frequent the same neighborhoods and run with the same demographic group you will continually see people you know - especially if you live here long enough. I like running into folks I know just out doing my run-of-the-mill business. Its usually quite pleasant.

[rkwalton]

Originally Posted by jeffredo

Its not especially small (815K people isn't exactly a wide spot in the road), but if you frequent the same neighborhoods and run with the same demographic group you will continually see people you know - especially if you live here long enough. I like running into folks I know just out doing my run-of-the-mill business. Its usually quite pleasant.

• Hometown - Los Angeles: 3,819,702
• Chicago (just two months but that's long enough): 2,707,120
• San Francisco: 812,826
• Seoul: 10,464,051
• New York, NY: 8,244,910

San Francisco does have a small population compared to other cities and what we're doing here is comparing to other cities. (I say that because the OP starts the thread by making a comparison to San Diego).

If you're from a small city or town, okay, San Francisco is a big ol' city. We're not comparing San Francisco's social scene to Small Town or Small City, Wherever. The dynamics in those places are different. In bigger cities you don't trip over people as often as you do here.

[18Montclair]

It depends because when I was living in NYC I was also seeing the same people at various events.

[Radical347]

Yes, that sounds about right. Also, SF is very small (land area) and dense, so you'll just see more people more often in general.

[Mark Fitsburgh]

Originally Posted by rkwalton

• Hometown - Los Angeles: 3,819,702
• Chicago (just two months but that's long enough): 2,707,120
• San Francisco: 812,826
• Seoul: 10,464,051
• New York, NY: 8,244,910

San Francisco does have a small population compared to other cities and what we're doing here is comparing to other cities. (I say that because the OP starts the thread by making a comparison to San Diego).

If you're from a small city or town, okay, San Francisco is a big ol' city. We're not comparing San Francisco's social scene to Small Town or Small City, Wherever. The dynamics in those places are different. In bigger cities you don't trip over people as often as you do here.

That 8 Million NY population is including all 5 Boroughs. If you want to look at things that way SF-OAK-SAN Jose would be 7 Million people.

[Senno]

It's a small world after all....

Try to be nice and not burn any bridges at least.

You never know when that person you were rude to might be the interviewer at your prospective next job.