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Old 04-12-2012, 03:00 AM
 
3 posts, read 6,222 times
Reputation: 21

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Hey guys,
I'm new here, but I've been a silent lurker for the past couple of months. I was originally driven to this forum because I wanted to get some information on San Francisco. I was given the opportunity to move to San Francisco after a job opening popped up.

Initially, I was excited. The job I had back in Portland wasn't as satisfying, the weather seemed to bring me down a bit, and the prospects of having sunshine, more culture, and more scenes (of things to do) seemed tempting. I eventually took the plunge and decided to move. I always heard that SF was like a hybrid of Portland and New York combined... so I figured, "screw it, if it has the best of both worlds, it won't hurt", right? Wrong.

As much as I love the cultural diversity that's present in SF, it's definitely not a livable city. The public transport is a mess, the biking culture is meager at best, streets are filthy as hell, and not to mention the RIDICULOUS prices on housing. Homelessness is another big headache for the city as well as for its citizens.

In terms of the general vibe from people in this city is spotty at best. Most people seem to be too busy with their lives, almost with a New Yorker attitude. I often get a sense of self-righteousness due to the fact that you see a lot of Silicon Valley yuppies (most of them with a "I'm too good and intelligent to be wasting my time with you" attitude).

What's weird to me are the blatant juxtapositions of severely run-down areas living next to upscale and trendy spots. An example of that is the hipsterized area of The Mission. On one street, there's Mission St... a latino haven that is a bit gritty and vibrant with lots of activity... I sometimes refer this area as Mexico 2.0... Parallel to that is Valencia (which reminds me a lot of SE Hawthorne but grittier and with less charm). The housing bubble surrounding Valencia has been ridiculously expensive and it's no wonder that all of these rich kids are flocking to this part of town.

Man oh man did I make a big mistake. Now I'm stuck in this city, trying to figure out an exit strategy so that I can go back to Portland. I hate to sound like a little b**ch complaining like this but every time I try to think positively, I get a little depressed of the good times i had in Portland. I obviously miss my friends, but I also miss seeing the dozens of double-decked bikes, unicyclists and every other ridiculous and entertaining character that makes Portland "weird". Not that I was ever into those sorts of things, but it was always nice to see these bouts of unexpected randomness in your everyday life.

Over here, unexpected randomness equates to drunk/high homeless people shouting and taunting bystanders. The homeless situation here is pretty bad. Every street corner has at least a dozen people begging for change. And if it's not homeless people, it's the immense quantities of human waste on the streets (that includes spit, vomit, trash, and oh yes, human feces).

Everyday I think about the mistake I made and can't seem to cope with it as well as I thought I would. Watching "Portlandia" doesn't help in one bit as it makes me want to move back there even more. I would gladly trade all of the sunshine in the world for the clouds, rain, nature, and friendly people that are the things that me feel warm fuzzies for Portland.

Oh well, this is the end of my rant. Just wanted to let these feelings out and share my experience of what SF life is all about.

I'm keeping myself optimistic about things getting better over here. It has been only 4 months since I moved. I guess I'll need a full year to decide whether or not SF is the right fit for me.

If you guys feel differently, I'd appreciate some thoughts. Hopefully positive ones so that I don't end up like most of those folks who end up jumping off the Golden Gate bridge.

Last edited by missingstumptown; 04-12-2012 at 03:16 AM..
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Old 04-12-2012, 03:20 AM
 
Location: Portland, OR
9,858 posts, read 11,868,701 times
Reputation: 10027
Hmmm... I don't know nearly as much about Frisco as I do PDX but without trying hard I managed to learn enough to know that you wouldn't go to SF looking for sun. San Diego, San Jose, San Bernadino maybe, but not San Francisco. And, in a place that hilly I wouldn't expect much of a bike culture. The number one place in the world for bike culture is Amsterdam, NL for one very good reason: its flat as a pancake! That said, if I were moved to SF (I wouldn't move there otherwise) I could survive there reasonably well without too much angst. It's all in the outlook one has. There are people who think the homeless situation in PDX is completely out of control. What are they going to make of your post? I've been to SF and I now live in PDX. I've lived in NYC most of my life. Neither SF or PDX have a homeless situation that begs the number of rants that are devoted to them compared to NYC. Perspective is a wonderful thing.

H
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Old 04-12-2012, 03:28 AM
 
3 posts, read 6,222 times
Reputation: 21
I'm currently residing near Dolores Park and I was lucky to learn that this part of town is sunny most of the time. Micro climates are very noticeable in this city. One minute you're under heavy fog, the next watching the fog below from a sunny hill.

Unfortunately, the job market was not as good as I expected it to be (as it is with most Americans) so choosing a city wasn't much of a choice. I would've loved to move somewhere within the PNW region but there's no jobs there
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Old 04-12-2012, 09:15 AM
 
Location: Nutmeg State
1,176 posts, read 2,550,754 times
Reputation: 639
I wonder if you're not just romanticizing Portland (ie. only remembering the good things), as almost all of the things you complain about San Fran. we have heard people on this forum complain about Portland.

Just sounds like you're lonely and not plugged into the right people yet. It takes time, but it will come.
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Old 04-12-2012, 10:16 AM
 
Location: Tigard
638 posts, read 1,172,753 times
Reputation: 380
I agree with davemess10--give it some more time. I've been in PDX for 9 months and still looking for a job. My advice is to be thankful that you have secure employment and get involved in a social group. Even just commiserating with others can be a huge morale lift.
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Old 04-12-2012, 06:07 PM
 
Location: Lakewood OH
21,695 posts, read 28,309,077 times
Reputation: 35862
I agree with the last two posters. There is a saying "bloom where you're planted." If you can't be where you want to be right now, make the best of where you are. Try to quit dwelling on the negatives of San Francisco and try to find positives. And don't idealize the PNW just because you don't like San Francisco. Every place has its drawbacks.

Go on the SFO forum and ask people what they like about their town. Get involved with things that take your mind off your dislikes of the town. And as has been said but is so worth repeating, be glad you have a job. Maybe it will enable you to save enough to more elsewhere some day.

And remember, "Portlandia" is an exaggerated TV show about a handful of people desparately trying to seek attention. It isn't real.
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Old 04-12-2012, 09:29 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
1,012 posts, read 1,537,175 times
Reputation: 523
Wow. I fell in love with San Francisco! I guess to each their own.
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Old 04-12-2012, 09:37 PM
 
Location: bend oregon
978 posts, read 1,082,442 times
Reputation: 390
i finally watched some new episodes and i like that show now.
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Old 04-13-2012, 10:07 AM
 
Location: the Beaver State
6,464 posts, read 13,381,783 times
Reputation: 3581
If I didn't live in PDX, SF would be on my top two list of cities. I enjoy visiting down there, the Ferry Terminal Building alone with all it's diverse food products is worth going too if you only have a limited amount of time. I love driving over the Golden Gate Bridge, driving the loop through Golden Gate National Recreation Area, and then coming up through Sausalito to get back on 101.
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Old 04-14-2012, 12:08 PM
 
Location: Milwaukie, Oregon
102 posts, read 180,165 times
Reputation: 195
My wife and I left Portland for Albuquerque in March of 2009, after the economy tanked and I was laid off. We thought a change of scenery would do us good, get us out of the rainy doldrums, yada-yada.

I have no quarrel with Albuquerque (and I don't get this trend of trashing one city in defense of another anyway), and we availed ourselves of all the best ABQ has to offer, but soon we realized that we missed our home in Portland too much.

We've been back since August of 2010 and it has re-vitalized our love for this city. Rain or shine, we wouldn't be anywhere else (although there are lots of places I would like to visit, Albuquerque included).
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