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Some people misunderstand our constant wandering. They think we are in search of a home, a perfect corner of the world where we’ll eventually settle down. The truth is that we have no such quest – for now we are perfectly happy with our nomadic lives and have no desire to choose just one place to base ourselves. Still, if pushed, we’d agree that of everywhere we’ve been the one place it wouldn’t be a hardship to settle in would be San Francisco. It’s almost perfect for us (if only it was in the tropics and not so expensive) and here’s why.
Vegetarian Heaven
Wow, the food. Not only could we eat at a different vegetarian (or even vegan) restaurant every night and not run out of choice for months, but the quality is superb using fresh local produce. From gourmet ice cream, to giant burritos and classy vegetarian meals at Greens (our favourite restaurant, anywhere) we love it all. We plan to spend a few months in the city at some point and I can’t wait to have our own kitchen to take advantage of the wonderful Farmer’s Markets and Mexican delis.
Multi-Cultural
We stayed with a friend in the Marina neighbourhood, a largely white, well to do area, and took the bus downtown. As we passed through North Beach our neighbours would chat away in Italian, until reaching Chinatown Mandarin was thrown into the mix. Hopping onto another bus out to the Mission and you’d hear more Spanish than English.
San Francisco is wonderfully multi-cultural, adding to the vibrancy of the city and of course it’s food scene: Chinese, Italian, Vietnamese, Lebanese, Nepalese, Japanese, El Salvadorian, Burmese, Afghani. It’s all here.
Beauty
Colourful Victorian houses are clustered precariously on the steep hills overlooking the bay. A breezy walk along the water rewards with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and hills beyond. It’s a beautiful city that hasn’t been ruined by the urban sprawl and ugly highrises of so many cities.
Neighbourhoods
Best of all we love the neighbourhoods. Latino, hipster, trendy, gritty Mission is our favourite but every area has something to offer. You’ll find cool cafes, quirky shops, vintage clothes stores and a favourite brunch place with a line out the door on weekends.
Walkable
I love cities but get overwhelmed in places like New York and London where I’m stuck on a sweaty underground train for an hour to get half way across town. San Francisco is manageable – each neighbourhood is very pedestrian friendly and we found the buses an easy way to get between neighbourhoods.
Alternative, Artsy Vibe
There’s world-class art in San Francisco whether it’s in the big art museums MOMA or De Young or in the graffiti filled streets of the Mission. The city is full of interesting, creative people living unconventional lives.
Tech Capital
For those of us who haven’t lived in the city it’s a thrill meeting people who work for Google or Twitter. For everyone else it’s normal. For Simon especially being in the tech capital is an opportunity to talk geek with some of the best in the world. Everyone here has a start up and no one thinks we are weird for having a blog.
Close to Nature
Just over the bridge we walked amongst the mammoth redwoods of Muir Woods and even closer strolling through Golden Gate Park can take all day. Beaches, forest and mountains are all within easy reach.
Hi Erin, I love going through your posts and the best part is I am vegetarian too.
We are thinking of visiting san francisco for two days. can you suggest a two day itinerary for SF.
That would be of great help.
Here’s a pretty good itinerary: http://ournextadventure.co/san-francisco-48-hours/
Have a great trip!
We lived in Russian Hill and Pacific Heights neighbourhoods about twelve years ago. Absolutely love SF. Great vibe, culture and eclectic food. Used to love being able to ski in Tahoe during the winter. The weather is best in autumn and worst in Jan/Feb. Summer is cool with fog although always pleasant. We used to cycle across GG bridge to Marin for better weather at weekends. Lots of lovely towns along 101: Mill Valley, Tiburon, Larkspur, San Rafael and, of course, beautiful Sausalito. Plenty of live music available, especially blues and jazz. We saw John Lee Hooker and Carlos Santana at SF Blues Festival at Fort Mason (Marina district) – surprisingly intimate event!! Frequented a fabulous dive bar called The Saloon in North Beach most Friday evenings which showcased some of the best blues I’ve ever heard. Shakespeare at open-air theatre in GG Park, proper old school movie theatres in every neighbourhood, interesting boutiques in Sacramento, Union, Fillmore and Valencia shopping areas, proper coffee shops (not Starbucks commercial types), everyone is fit and healthy, fantastic architecture and scenery. Best part was I could walk to all my clients’ offices (except the ones in Sacramento and Pasadena, of course). Ah, happy memories! Will definitely return one day….
You are making us want to go back there now Ian!
Your have to venture across the bay to the East Bay -to Oakland/Berkeley. I live in Berkeley. It’s more relaxed than San Francisco and an easy half-hour away across the Bay Bridge by car or by a BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train. Riding a bike here isn’t as harrowing a journey as in San Francisco. As for alternative culture, there’s more of it in the East Bay particularly in Berkeley and Oakland. The East Bay regional parks are larger and wilder than those in San Francisco with excelent views of the Bay and San Francisco. While San Francisco Chinatown is becoming too expensive for Chinese immigrants and more of a tourist trap, Oakland Chinatown is still very much Chinese and Asian packed with restaurants and markets that mostly only locals frequent. There is even a Chinatown East on the other side of Lake Merritt. The Fruitvale area along International Blvd in Oakland is a large Hispanic neighorbood. And, finally, everything in the East Bay is cheaper than in San Francisco.
Finally, I am a vegetarian – vegan. In Berkeley, there are Japanese, Thai, Indian, and Chinese vegetarian restaurants. In Oakland there is a vegan soul food restaurant, Souley Vegan, that is very popular. There’s a place in Berkeley called Karma Kitchen where you pay whatever you want (they call it paying forward – paying for someone esle’s meal). The food is excellent Indian food and along with you a meal you can have Mango Lassi and a desert too. Ethiopian, Eritrian (a big community in North Oakland) restaurants too. The variety of vegetarian food in the East Bay is as large and diverse as it is in San Francisco.
I can’t believe we haven’t made it out to Berkeley and Oakland yet. They sound fantastic. Our ultimate goal is to spend a few months in San Francisco and it sounds like the East Bay would be a more affordable area to consider staying in. Thanks for all your advice.
The food is AMAZING in the Bay… fresh, simple, & delicious! It is easily a foodie destination with all the organic ingredients, gourmet food trucks, and Michelin rated restaurants. There is always plenty to do, with many street festivals and events throughout the year. My favorite part(s) about SF (besides the food) is the close proximity to beautiful WINE COUNTRY: the world renowned NAPA VALLEY, the scenic drive along Hwy 1 down the coast in BIG SUR, and gorgeous LAKE TAHOE in the winter with superb skiing/snowboarding conditions. It is truly a great place to live that will excite all of your senses!
That’s why we want to spend a few months there. We still haven’t visited Napa and Lake Tahoe so have them to look forward to.
I adore San Francisco – even the weather doesn’t bother me. I can totally feel its vibe, the mix of neighborhoods, the nature next to the skyscrapers, the people, everything. I’ve been there twice and can’t wait to go back again. I particularly enjoyed walking on the Golden Gate bridge, the tour of Alcatraz, the visit to the Haas – Lilienthal house, the view from top of Coit tower and of course the cable cars! When I grow up, I want to move there :)
Don’t we all? =)
You pretty much summed everything up. I would also note the great public transport. Good write-up.
We found the Muni really easy to figure out, which isn’t often true of city transport systems.
You guys are an inspiration to us! We are also a couple who hopefully one day could be like you 2s and travel the world indefinitely. Great read!
Thanks guys for the lovely comment! Good luck with your travel plans and feel free to ask any questions.
Well… to continue with what everyone else is saying, we love it to! We lived in the city (Russian Hill) for a few years. We still talk about moving back one day – it will always have a special place in our hearts. How can you beat taking the cable car to work every morning, passing by cafes and shops, and seeing such amazing scenery on your way?
Is there any one who doesn’t like San Francisco? We liked the Russian Hill neighbourhood too – love the tiny Bacchus Wine Bar there.
I completely agree with all these points. I love the little cypress bushes that decorate the fronts of people’s houses (in your neighborhood photo above). I am fortunate to live 90 miles from San Francisco, and though I don’t get there nearly as often as I’d like, it’s nice to know that I can go there easily. It’s definitely one of my favorite places in the world!
We were struck by all the colourful flowers and greenery as we wandered around the neighbourhoods. What a great city to live close to – I know there is so much to do in the area too, we want to explore more next time.
Absolutely agree with everything you say in this post! We are vegetarians ourselves and loved the amount of vegetarian eateries. We also loved the Mission District and the murals / street art there. As a same-sex couple, we were also big fans of the open & integrated gay community in San Francisco. The city itself is beautiful, we were lucky to have excellent weather when we were there and hung out on the beaches, exploring Golden Gate Park, and just walking around the neighborhoods for hours. Definitely a place we could see ourselves living for a while (August / September preferably).
We had great weather when we were there in October and less great at the beginning of June. Still, even when it rained it was only for the morning and then the sun came out. Nothing like English drizzle for days on end. It would be a fantastic place to base yourselves for a few months wouldn’t it? So much good food to eat…
I totally agree! Don’t forget the weather :D Bay area weather is hard to beat.
I’d personally prefer the weather to be a bit hotter but I do like the fact that it’s sunny so much (we’ve never experienced the fog).
It was very cold when you were here Erin, we’ve had some beautiful days this summer since you left. Your post is spot on, having been to 18 countries myself I have to say that SF is an extremely exciting and culturally diverse place. My favorite part of SF is the walking culture, everything is accessible via foot or public transit. On the weekends Bill and I do what people here call “urban hiking,” we walk from our apt next to MOMA all the way up to North Beach, then back home to our little South Beach neighborhood via the Embarcadero. Let us know if you ever make it back, would love to take you and Simon to a delicious local spot, a tiny French bistro in South Park.
Lovely to hear from you Stacy. Even at its worst San Francisco weather is far nicer than Manchester! When the sun comes out it’s such a stunning city. I love the idea of urban hiking – our favourite thing to do in SF (other than eat!) is just wander around. Can’t wait to come back!
We spent just 2 weeks in San Fran last month and fell hopelessly in love with it, for all the reasons you’ve written and more! The city was so diverse, multi-cultural and generally ‘accepting’ of all and everyone- the SF pride parade remains one of my favourite memories of our 5month cycle tour so far. The sight of members of the SFPD marching hand in hand with their same-sex partners was incredible!
We’re a young, techno-orientated couple with a toddler and simply found the city offered everything we could possibly desire&more. The colour, the shops, the food, the culture- it’s all there. We vowed if we could ever settle in the US- this would be the place!! :)
It’s wonderful isn’t it? I do feel that it’s a place that you can just be yourself, it’s very accepting.
San Francisco is definitely one of our favorite cities in the world. We’ll be back there in 2 weeks and will be spending 6 nights there – would love to spend a month or two in SF but unfortunately our visa doesn’t allow us to!
Have a wonderful time! Luckily we could get a 3 month visa to the US but we can’t afford it just yet. It’s not a cheap city, which is the only downside really.
People often ask us if we miss the United States and we reply, “Not really, but we miss our neighborhood in San Francisco – North Beach.” Dan lived in SF for six years and I was there on and off for three years – it’s such a special city. We’re glad we left so we could live in Europe (Prague) and travel the world, but each time we visit friends there we think, “It would be nice to move back here one day.” Just wish it were a bit less expensive!
The expense is the only problem isn’t it? My ideal scenario would be spending 2-3 months there every year or so – it’s something to aim towards!