Ted Howard

Feces and sunsets. Intrigued?

I moved from Seattle to San Francisco a year ago. I’m reminded of Paul Graham’s Cities and Ambitions but won’t cover ambitions here (though I think Seattle’s are far more wholesome). GeekMBA says that when you relocate, you need a backup plan in case you don’t like your new city. I’m here for four years so my backup plan is to discover great things about San Francisco.

In Seattle, there’s …

• Parking.
• (Somewhat) affordable housing.
• Non-Apple computers and phones. It’s surreal how much more trendy Apple is in SF.
• Mountains on every horizon and within driving distance for day hikes.
• No interacting with strangers, aka the Seattle Freeze.
• Snow. I’m not sure if that’s good or bad.
• Deathly overcast days for 4-9 months.
• Socks with sandals. There’s less and less these days, but still… socks with sandals?!

In San Francisco, there’s …

• Fist-fights over parking.
• Lawlessness and no respect or concern for others – third-world-style driving, drugs sold and used openly, kegs in the parks, blatant littering, loud music after midnight,  …
• Signs telling people to not shit on the sidewalk. It’s not a joke.
• Mexican gang warfare with a dash of motorcycle gang warfare.
• Burning cars, toilets, and Christmas trees on the streets and not just in ‘bad neighborhoods’. There’s a 2.4 million dollar house for sale wtihin blocks of armed robberies, firebombed cars, and burning Christmas trees. That alone is a great microcosm of SF.
• Air-raid style sirens once a week, reminding me of childhood tornado sirens in Texas.
• Lines down the block for a restaurant with empty restaurants next door. Wait 1+ hour in the rain or order in 5 minutes? Let’s wait in the rain.
• Awesome restaurants that have no line if you get there early. Zazie and Cha Cha Cha for example.
• Public transit that works.
• Strangers chatting and helping each other out. SeeAlso: Seattle Freeze.
• Golden Gate Park
• Beaches
• Bring Your Own BigWheel and so much more zaniness. Bay to Breakers is coming up.
• A gorgeous sunset almost every night. One is nearly blinding me right now.

It’s challenging to go from an orderly, clean city to a lawless, dense urban are.

The weather is much better.

far

Photo by Jen Boynton, downloaded from here.