Life in the Golden City

There's truly something for everyone here.  It's really amazing.  For all the times we vacationed in San Francisco and visited friends, we still had no idea how much this city has to offer.  We've only been here for just over a week now, so we clearly haven't even scratched the surface, but I can't adequately describe how happy we are that we made the move.

This is where our apartment is (on a partial map of SF)

 
This experience has been so interesting for me, having traveled a lot, but never having really moved anywhere except Claremont (I don't really count Pullman, because at WSU it didn't really matter what the surrounding town had to offer), I've always wondered how I would know if I really loved living somewhere.  Well at this point, this is how I know:
I love how you can walk a matter of blocks, and experience entirely different neighborhoods.  Each has its unique style, specific characteristics, even weather patterns...and each one certainly has a vibe of its own.  There are many words I could use to describe San Francisco, yet many of them are contradictions of each other, because one thing that San Francisco is not, is homogenous.  


So, what is San Francisco?  It's lively yet peaceful, beautiful yet scuzzy, picturesque yet also gritty.  It's both pristine and dirty, sunny and foggy, very rich and very poor.  You want water?  It's here.  Lush green parks & trees? Check.  Concrete jungle with high rise buildings? Absolutely.  The smell of fresh clean sea water or the smell of trash & pee?  You can have them all!  There's great food everywhere- whether you like Michelin star restaurants, or prefer the delicious 2 for $5 tacos from Nick's Crispy Tacos (amazing!) there's something for everyone.  And if you're active & enjoy the outdoors, San Francisco seems to be a mecca of options.  I've never seen more running/biking trails in one condensed area.  Just today we went for a drive, and saw people golfing, sailing, surfing, running, walking, biking, you name it.  Yesterday we wandered into a park just in time to witness the start of the "Big Gay 10K."  Awesome.  

One more thing we love about life in SF- the handful of great friends we have here.  They've welcomed us to the city with open arms, they're eager to show us the ropes, and introduce us to lots of great people.  What more could we ask for?  I found a quote today that made me smile, so I'll end this post with it.  It reads:

"If you're alive, you can't be bored in San Francisco.  If you're not alive, San Francisco will bring you to life."

Approximately 2 blocks from our apartment

Our bedroom