I hate San Francisco Bay Area -Any Transplants ? (Berkeley: elementary school, living in)

[seashellbelle]

Originally Posted by dbh522

I have actually only been here just short of a month. We moved from Upstate NY. I lived my whole life in various parts NY State (between NYC and Albany) until now. I've been to Cali but only the San Diego area not SF. I don't think I'm a good one to give feedback since I've only been here a very short time. I open all these threads looking to learn more myself. From what I've experienced so far I really like Wilmington, but again it's only been a short time so I haven't experienced that much yet.

Dahlin' I hate to say this and will probably be reprimanded, even thrown off Craigslist, god forbid, but i have a feelin our Frank99 from the SF Bay area is just trying to stir the pot, so to speak, best stay away.
Oh and Frank99, best seek another place to live, why not Sausalito, would be perfect for you

[Frank99]

Not trying to stir up the pot...Just trying to "keep it real." I guess I should have just said I'm looking for a more "conservative" environment and left it at that. The Bay Area and Cali is a write off at this point and there's a mad rush to the exits. Most are staying out West, but we figure we love the coast, so I would explore the East Coast areas. Housing prices are ridiculous in the Bay Area. Sausalito is untouchable and you can't touch a decent area for under $1M at this point (even with the housing crash). Check out Lafayette- you can get a 1,100 sq ft rancher that's 50 years old with the original carpets, etc. for $1M. The standard of living here leaves a lot to be desired. As a real estate agent I guess you haven't seen many California transplants out your way?

[Francois]

I still say SOUTH Carolina is more your style if you are specifically looking for "conservative". NC is a Blue state now, did you realize? NC state govt has been Democratic for many years and Wilmington, in fact, has an openly Lesbian state senator. OTOH, SC is markedly more "Red" and conservative. Charleston and Mount Pleasant (just outside Charleston) are lovely areas with much historical "feel" and it's on a peninsula, just like SF (so weather is milder than somewhere like Wilmington).

[Frank99]

Francois, thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll have to extend my stay and visit both places. It' looks like quite a drive down to Charleston.

[Ann in Oriental]

I've lived in both Portola Valley and Mt. View and have always loved S.F. However, I'm very liberal. I find a lot of the towns here in Eastern Carolina way too conservative for my taste. That being said I do think you might do fine in Wilmington. Houses are MUCH cheaper and while way more conservative then SF it's not nearly as much as many of the smaller towns. The downtown area by the river has lots of neat shops bars and stuff. There is some theater, a small airport and of course UNCW. Cape Fear is an excellent community college and there are a lot of things geared to kids for instance art classes, cooking, dance, childrens theater groups... There will be white, black and hispanic kids as well as some muslem children but probably not too many asians.

[Dusty Rhodes]

Originally Posted by Frank99

My wife and I love the coast, so that's why coastal NC has made our short list of areas to explore. We have a few days off mid October and also the end of November. Are these good times to visit?

Uh Frank????? you do know that N.C. also has gay folks, approximately the same percentage as most other states, it also has blacks, hispanics, chinese, greeks, and japanese, just to name a few. For the most part we all get along fairly well. N.C. is not a haven for bigots, we have a great university system and a higher than average, nationally, percentage of state residents with at least Bachelors Degrees. If I knew a location that would help you live your phobic lifestyle, I would gladly tell you where to go.

[melbern]

I think it's too easy to jump down the OPs back. Sometimes when we are frustrated we express things in a way that can be perceived overly negative (and some of what he said I also think is a bit over the top as well).

Perhaps I'm wrong, but the original intent of his post was that he wants to live in a more "conservative" area. It doesn't mean that he's a bigoted homophobic. Not everyone subscribes to everyone else's norms. One of my dearest friends is gay but no way in hell would I ever want to be subjected to SF politics. SORRY! Because it's not about "gay rights" or whatever. It's more of a general mindset. Which is hyper-politically correct-over controlling gov't, at least related to what I read about SF politics. Sorry, no thanks.

Cut the dude some slack.

I will say to the OP that I think that everywhere in America there is a changing mindset. I had to chuckle at the poster from Oriental who felt it was too conservative. My feeling is that I would not want to live in Oriental because of the number of over-bearing left-wingers that have moved in. LOL no offense ok?

I do think you'll find a more conservative as well as easy-going approach to the kind of life that you want, even in Wilmington, compared to where you are now. You likely won't find the kind of militant activism you see in SF.

So come down and have a look see and get a feel for it.

As for me, I'm moving from NC to a place I feel has a better feeling for "'gov't keep out of my life' mentality" than you can find in most places in the US. Which includes a diversity of opinion but also a better sense of "live and let live" which you can't find in NC or SF.

Though I do love NC 'cause it's home.

[Frank99]

Just giving some of you a little taste of what we're dealing with... Get me outta here!

San Francisco Police Chief Fong's qualifications include being Asian-American and a militant lesbian.

[SIZE=2]Freaks in charge: Heather Fong (left), Theresa
Sparks, and Sgt. Stephan Thorne commemorate
the start of the transgender rights movement.[/SIZE] In the photo at her Wikipedia entry, she is standing next to Theresa Sparks and Sgt. Stephan Thorne at a rally commemorating the "Cafeteria Riot" of 1966, the opening battle of the transgender liberation movement.
Sparks is the president of the San Francisco Police Commission and the CEO of a multimillion-dollar sex toy company. "She" started out life as a male but had the operation. Sparks was a Grand Marshall in the 2008 San Francisco Pride Parade.
Sgt. Thorne took a different route to police work, starting out life as a female and, through surgery, becoming a simalcrum of a man. Thorne enjoys the distinction of being the SFPD's first transgender officer.

[mm_mary73]

Try Alaska.

[LLN]

Frank: I got your back on the militant lesbian and transgender crowd. Gives me the willies.

When I was in Des Moines we had an IT contractor, from, you guessed it, SF, who was midway through his/her transgenderazation.

One day I was chatting up one of the hot secretaries and the he/she came up and asked where the restroom on the second floor was located.

The secretary just blurted out, "Which one?" I about wet my pants. Was that awkward, but funny as you know what.

Anyway, I am with you, buddy!

lln