Today, my thoughts are on the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area, where I have been living since August 2019, after living in Humboldt County from 2010 to 2012 and in Santa Cruz from 2012 to 2019. Unfortunately, I moved to San Francisco less than a year before the COVID pandemic hit, so I haven’t been able to enjoy it as much as I would have otherwise. But, even so, there are so many things to love and appreciate about this gorgeous and unique place, and as Thanksgiving is just around the corner, I am trying to cultivate thought of gratitude for the good things.

I lived in the Bay Area previously, from 2005 to 2010. I had moved to Oakland from Philadelphia to start graduate school when I was in my mid-30s and full of hopes and dreams. Some of those dreams came true, and some did not. But after a period of adjustment to the many ways the Bay Area is different from the East Coast, I came to love my new home city.

It’s been interesting to be back in the Bay Area after I had been away for 9 years and living in SF instead of my more familiar stomping grounds in Oakland. San Francisco is a lot different than Oakland, even though they are only about 10 miles apart. It’s hard to sum up all the differences, but a few include that Oakland is more spread out, with many neighborhoods, some with a suburban feel, connected by freeways, and San Francisco is more dense; Oakland is more racially and ethnically diverse than SF (although SF is also very diverse); Oakland has about half the population of SF; Oakland is warmer and sunnier (especially in the summer); Oakland is slightly less crazy expensive than SF (although, both are not cheap!); and SF has more widely known tourist attractions and sights.

I miss living in Oakland! But I have come to love San Francisco for its beautiful beaches and parks, all the amazing views from the many hills, the culture, the history, and the relative ease of getting around by transit or Lyft compared with Oakland.

So, a few things I love …

• The light–there is something about the way the sky lights up when the sun is out that is unlike the light any place else I have been.
• The museums: The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the DeYoung Museum are my favorites, but there are many others.
• The hidden staircases all over the city. It’s a city of hills, so the fact that there are lot of staircases makes sense. And some of them have been decorated with gorgeous mosaic tiles!
• The murals and street art. There is so much cool art everywhere! And so many public art programs! A few are the Bay Area Mural Project, the Clarion Alley Mural Project, the San Francisco Arts Commission, the San Francisco Giants’ Resilient SF Mural Project, Balmy Alley, and Paint the Void.
• The Pacific Ocean and Ocean Beach. I love the ocean! I love the beach! However, I didn’t realize how much I love these things when I lived on the East Coast. Even though there are many beautiful East Coast beaches, those beaches don’t have the mild Bay Area weather that makes it pleasant to walk on the beach most of the year without being hot and sticky or freezing.
• The plethora of fabulous Asian food. The Bay Area, home to many Asian Americans and Asian immigrants, has hundreds of restaurants serving delicious Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Korean, Burmese, and Indian food (and probably other cuisines I have forgotten). I could probably eat dim sum every day without getting tired of it!
• The politics. I am a liberal, and San Francisco is one of the most liberal cities in the United States. The politics here and their impact are not perfect, but I do value the liberal beliefs and attitudes of SF.
• Being able to get to a gorgeous park, forest, beach, or trail within minutes.
• The Mediterranean climate. I don’t love the summer fog along the coast, but I will take that when we also get warm and sunny falls, winters, and springs.
• The creativity. From art to tech to food to fashion to dance, the Bay Area has a lot of creative types. True, many of the artists have been priced out due to the super high rents and insanely high prices to buy property, but there is still a wealth of creative thinkers here.

There is a lot more, but this list sums up some of my favorite things. I may not be here forever, so I will reflect on all that I love and enjoy it while I can. Life is short.