Hype up moving to the Bay Area/SF
June 9, 2018 2:05 PM Subscribe
So following this question it looks like I will be moving to SF and taking a job in the South Bay in a couple months. While this is obviously exciting, I am feeling a little down about leaving my hometown, my family and friends, my cute apartment, etc. Add in all of the logistical chores involved in moving (especially since I'll be coming from Canada and I have never lived in the US before) and the lifestyle changes I will likely have to make (shitty commute, longer hours etc).. If I keep going like this I will arrive determined to hate everything and be miserable - please help me turn my attitude around!
About me: mid-twenties, F, queer-ish, into DIY-type stuff and music. I'm coming from Vancouver, BC, so I've already got that nature-y West Coast vibe down. Having a car-centric lifestyle is a dealbreaker for me, so I'm mostly set on SF and not somewhere on the Peninsula/South Bay. I'm mostly excited about being in a bigger cultural center, having access to good Mexican food, and... ??? (you tell me!) I have some distant relatives in SF so I've been a couple times, but am not at all familiar with the city or surrounding areas. Hope me, Bay Area mefites!
About me: mid-twenties, F, queer-ish, into DIY-type stuff and music. I'm coming from Vancouver, BC, so I've already got that nature-y West Coast vibe down. Having a car-centric lifestyle is a dealbreaker for me, so I'm mostly set on SF and not somewhere on the Peninsula/South Bay. I'm mostly excited about being in a bigger cultural center, having access to good Mexican food, and... ??? (you tell me!) I have some distant relatives in SF so I've been a couple times, but am not at all familiar with the city or surrounding areas. Hope me, Bay Area mefites!
You're gonna find your people quick :)
I love living here for the amazing art and music scene, the crazy amount of awesome restaurants and bars, the support people give to local makers, and the open and accepting culture. Also the weather is always pretty nice (it's forever spring here) so you have so many options to wear fun layers from local designers :)
You'll be close to nature and plenty of good hiking and swimming spots, and lots of fun outdoor activities like sailing and hang gliding if you like that sort of thing. We have amazing museums and parks. Dolores park is basically SFs living room on the weekends.
You're gonna have a blast exploring and finding your fave spots :)
posted by ananci at 2:46 PM on June 9, 2018
I love living here for the amazing art and music scene, the crazy amount of awesome restaurants and bars, the support people give to local makers, and the open and accepting culture. Also the weather is always pretty nice (it's forever spring here) so you have so many options to wear fun layers from local designers :)
You'll be close to nature and plenty of good hiking and swimming spots, and lots of fun outdoor activities like sailing and hang gliding if you like that sort of thing. We have amazing museums and parks. Dolores park is basically SFs living room on the weekends.
You're gonna have a blast exploring and finding your fave spots :)
posted by ananci at 2:46 PM on June 9, 2018
Outdoor film series starts in August
The hilarious and award-winning San Francisco Mime Troup starts this year's performances in July
posted by salvia at 4:03 PM on June 9, 2018
The hilarious and award-winning San Francisco Mime Troup starts this year's performances in July
posted by salvia at 4:03 PM on June 9, 2018
This is a long list, but that's intentional. There are so, so many fun things to do in the city or within an ~1 hour drive, including a number of amazing or just fun annual events.
Maker Faire
The Fire Arts Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
The Greek
Bay to Breakers
Bring Your Own Big Wheel
The Stern Grove Festival
Napa and Sonoma Valleys
Mountain Play and Mount Tamalpais
The Berkeley Kite Festival
Local bands: The Family Crest, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Fantastic Negrito, Two Gallants, Gracie and Rachel and of course Green Day and Metallica.
Treasure Island Music Festival , Outside Lands, Bottlerock
East Bay Parks
Yosemite
Point Reyes
Muir Woods
Big Sur and Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel
Lake Tahoe
posted by cnc at 5:33 PM on June 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
Maker Faire
The Fire Arts Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
The Greek
Bay to Breakers
Bring Your Own Big Wheel
The Stern Grove Festival
Napa and Sonoma Valleys
Mountain Play and Mount Tamalpais
The Berkeley Kite Festival
Local bands: The Family Crest, Thao and the Get Down Stay Down, Fantastic Negrito, Two Gallants, Gracie and Rachel and of course Green Day and Metallica.
Treasure Island Music Festival , Outside Lands, Bottlerock
East Bay Parks
Yosemite
Point Reyes
Muir Woods
Big Sur and Monterey/Pacific Grove/Carmel
Lake Tahoe
posted by cnc at 5:33 PM on June 9, 2018 [4 favorites]
San Francisco/the Bay Area is disgustingly expensive and I commute at least one hour each way every weekday and I still love it here. It really is a great American city.
Great things: the wine culture/local wines, great restaurants, a MILLION restaurants, Szechuan food, Korean food, beautiful views, perfect weather all the time if you don’t like being too hot or too cold. Those are just the top things that come to mind!
posted by stoneandstar at 6:52 PM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Great things: the wine culture/local wines, great restaurants, a MILLION restaurants, Szechuan food, Korean food, beautiful views, perfect weather all the time if you don’t like being too hot or too cold. Those are just the top things that come to mind!
posted by stoneandstar at 6:52 PM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
There are so many unusual things in the Bay Area that you don't find anywhere else that are super cool. I don't have time to list them all because I need to leave in a few minutes, but you'll find them.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:54 PM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:54 PM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Correcting my link above to the SF Film Festival. We saw Boyhood at SFFilm, before anyone else, in a so hot it was sweaty Castro Theatre, with a very drunk Parker Posey sitting on stage playing with her skirt while a bemused Richard Linklater interviewed himself. It was a glorious experience.
posted by cnc at 7:12 PM on June 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by cnc at 7:12 PM on June 9, 2018 [2 favorites]
Oh the food. Honestly, as a vegetarian, it was one of my main reasons for moving here 13 years ago. It’s so good.
The other main reason I moved here was the weather. It’s 50-70 most of the year and that’s what I want. I want to wear boots and a light scarf for a few months out of the year, for no real reason. And I want to wear sandals and T-shirts a few months out of the year. I want to rarely need a coat, but not look bizarre if I want to wear one. To me, the weather here is close to perfect.
If you want to go to a street fair, or festival, or protest, or art show, or whatever... we have one every weekend.
You may not be into politics, but if you are, whooo boy, we’ve got you covered. You can get your politics on every day the week.
And there are so many weird, wonderful things to take part in. In the words of Utah Phillips: “I’m open to all those things! If you live in California, you got to be open. If you’re not, they pry you open.”
posted by greermahoney at 8:44 PM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
The other main reason I moved here was the weather. It’s 50-70 most of the year and that’s what I want. I want to wear boots and a light scarf for a few months out of the year, for no real reason. And I want to wear sandals and T-shirts a few months out of the year. I want to rarely need a coat, but not look bizarre if I want to wear one. To me, the weather here is close to perfect.
If you want to go to a street fair, or festival, or protest, or art show, or whatever... we have one every weekend.
You may not be into politics, but if you are, whooo boy, we’ve got you covered. You can get your politics on every day the week.
And there are so many weird, wonderful things to take part in. In the words of Utah Phillips: “I’m open to all those things! If you live in California, you got to be open. If you’re not, they pry you open.”
posted by greermahoney at 8:44 PM on June 9, 2018 [1 favorite]
Regarding the commute specifically: since you mentioned a dislike of car culture, I'm guessing you will be commuting via company shuttle or some other method other than you driving yourself down to the South Bay?
If so, try to make use of your commute time as much as possible: work, answer work and personal emails, learn a new language, read a novel, etc. If you have any flexibility with hours, travel early or late on both ends to avoid the worst traffic. If you like to work out, can you go to the gym during your lunch break so that it's one less thing to spend time on when you're at home in SF?
The people who I've seen make the SF->South Bay commute work head to work early, get the gym done near work, and head back up to SF early so that they have as much of their SF evenings available as possible.
posted by sunflower16 at 9:00 PM on June 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
If so, try to make use of your commute time as much as possible: work, answer work and personal emails, learn a new language, read a novel, etc. If you have any flexibility with hours, travel early or late on both ends to avoid the worst traffic. If you like to work out, can you go to the gym during your lunch break so that it's one less thing to spend time on when you're at home in SF?
The people who I've seen make the SF->South Bay commute work head to work early, get the gym done near work, and head back up to SF early so that they have as much of their SF evenings available as possible.
posted by sunflower16 at 9:00 PM on June 9, 2018 [3 favorites]
San Francisco City Guides offers tons of free walking tours (donations accepted) - they're a great way to get to know all the varied parts of the city. (Heck, if you find yourself with some free time, you could volunteer to be a guide! They do very thorough training.)
posted by kristi at 11:06 AM on June 12, 2018
posted by kristi at 11:06 AM on June 12, 2018
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Also, Trader Joe's. The hype is often a bit much, but it's full of wonderfully affordable luxuries that are harder to come by (affordably) in BC.
posted by halation at 2:34 PM on June 9, 2018 [5 favorites]