San Francisco and what to do in it

If you work at a big company, there are often company shuttles to the Valley.

There are a few companies in SC. I know a couple guys who work at Universal Audio. The Alexa app team is down there. I'm sure there are other computer jobs, but not like the Valley.

Netflix corporate is just over hwy17 from Santa Cruz in Los Gatos... but in the winter when the rains start coming, that 30-45 min commute can turn into a WFH day (which is not bad). About a year and a half ago I was driving back from SC in the rain on hwy17 and on one of the sweeping off-camber horseshoe curves the driver immediately in front of me did a full 360 and ended up not hitting any other cars nor the center divider, it was pretty amazing/horrifying as that could have turned out much worse.

Romantic lunch date, San Francisco style (yes, that’s an electric one-wheeled skateboard) #PeakSanFrancisco pic.twitter.com/i9lRZ8yw2R

— Wᴇ Bᴜɪʟᴛ Tʜɪs Cɪᴛʏ is the name of the photo blog (@TheRealWBTC) August 29, 2019

god I hate those things

Highway 17 is awful, and you don’t want to live in Mormon Hill or Gilroy

I am actually in San Francisco rn playing a gig at the knockout

OK I have been watching Santa Rosa videos and have a feeling it has too much of a suburban vibe, to which I and particularly the spouse are rather allergic. I think we'll still go check it out. Horse housing options are v. good and people housing prices are certainly attractive relative to DC /SF/Oakland/Berkeley.

Horses do seem to be doable from Oakland--sarahell any info you can get from horsey acquaintances would be most welcome! A spousal hangup re: East Bay relates to his living in Arlington, VA for a couple of years. He said he'd look across the river and wish he were in DC. He's afraid he'd feel the same longing for SF were we in East Bay.

I'll need to come up with a killer Oakland tour to help sway him. I could use an update on Oakland neighborhoods. We'd like to have a bit of outdoor space, doesn't have to be much. High walkability is U&K. I'll need to use the car to get to the pony but we would otherwise want to be fully reliant on public transport. We're not tech-bro loaded but proceeds from sale of our DC house should give us decent options I think.

Maybe someone could run out and buy this tomorrow and hang on to it for me until 2021?

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5499-Kales-Ave-Oakland-CA-94618/24810360_zpid/

That place ^^^ is sooooooo nice. Falling in love with places before one is ready to move is torture. I am going through it now.

that place is attractive, but I think you will find something equally nice when you are ready!

Rockridge is a nice neighborhood.

SF Board of Supervisors declares NRA a "domestic terrorist organization"

does that mean they can make arrests? what does that mean?

I don't think it means anything really

Like when Santa Cruz banned nuclear weapons?

lol yes

I forget, did they put up Nuclear Free Zone signs like Berkeley did?

I always thought was hilarious -- like, yo, I am driving on MLK up from Oakland with a nuclear warhead ... whoops, can't cross the Berkeley border with my nuke, gotta go around I guess ...

Xp I think so yeah.

My kind if NIMBYism. Can’t wait!

this guy from my kids' school is rad, got a radio profile. love to chat him up about old rap mixtapes.
https://www.kalw.org/post/mission-district-security-guard-spirit-school#stream/0

My wife and I are in town and have no nighttime plans. Where should we hang out (sorry for all the recommendations missed throughout this 16 year thread)?

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is playing at the Castro

Would like to check out the Castro but I don’t think we can justify seeing it a 3rd time on our trip.

lol ok!

I suppose the question back is, what types of places do you normally enjoy hanging out at?

"A spousal hangup re: East Bay relates to his living in Arlington, VA for a couple of years. He said he'd look across the river and wish he were in DC. He's afraid he'd feel the same longing for SF were we in East Bay."

it's more akin to living in Brooklyn rather than Manhattan. SF has beautiful spots but frankly most people I know would rather live over here in the east bay now. A lot of what used to be interesting about SF moved to the East Bay a qhile ago (art, music, dining)

people have been saying that for 50 years or more

and it's true

lolz

A lot of what used to be interesting about SF moved to the East Bay a while ago (art, music, dining)

it's definitely become true in the past 5 years -- especially music and bookstores and such. Dining is pretty equivalent. The major museums are still in SF, so idk about the assertion that all the interesting art moved to the East Bay, it obv depends on what you find interesting.

We’re probably most interested in any cool bars or music tips.

Anything movie-related too although at first glance we didn’t see anything playing we haven’t seen. Any repertory picks.

I read this book awhile ago, in the middle of reading a stretch of urban history sort of stuff in general, and it sort of solidified in my mind that to love living in any city means to love living in an environment that is constantly shifting and changing. It's made me very unsympathetic to "omg my favorite bar/club/restaurant/store is gone this city is DEAD" sort of arguments, which feel like they are ultimately delusional about what cities actually are/how they function. Which is not to say there aren't tons of things I miss when they go (RIP Aquarius, Hamburger Mary's, Crescent City Cafe, Elbo Room, Tip Top Inn, Recycled Records, ad infinitum) just that I generally feel more philosophical about it when it does happen - it's just the nature of things. Some things get preserved and last longer than most, most things come and go - and this is especially true in a boom-n-bust town like SF, which has continually been transformed by multiple waves of migration and cultural shifts ever since the Gold Rush. Things wash over the city and some stuff sticks around for awhile and the rest washes away, and this goes for even the most iconic landmarks and the geography. I mean I once had an old guy tell me the town was ruined when they built the Golden Gate Bridge, that it ruined the Bay he remembered from the early 30s.

where are you staying Chris?

it's different when no one (in SF or NYC) with a normal fucking job can afford to live anywhere near the city; not normal "boom-n-bust"

xp

We’re in Union Square.

it's different when no one (in SF or NYC) with a normal fucking job can afford to live anywhere near the city; not normal "boom-n-bust"

lol guess I don't have a normal job, nor does anyone else I know like the guy in the radio piece I just posted about, or my bandmates that still live in SF, or anybody else I know who's lived here since the early 90s

I would say don't hang around in Union Square too much, although riding those outdoor elevators is entertaining once or twice

you could do worse than seeing Howlin Rain at the Chapel tonight, if yr into wooly stoner-rock: https://www.thechapelsf.com/

or any of the latino families my kids go to school with, or any of the asian families out in the Sunset/Richmond etc etc

why do I bother

xps

the basic pattern of SF is that a bunch of assholes moves here expecting to cash in/become millionaires off of whatever the latest opportunity is (gold, silver, shipping, hippies, websites, apps), money floods the city, those that make a ton buy up some shit and make things really expensive/transform the city, those that don't make quite enough filter out to the surrounding area ("let's all move to Sacramento, where that money I made will go further!"). This happens repeatedly in 20-year cycles or so.

Chris L: if you're not wanting to wander far from Union Square, I liked Bartlett Hall well enough the one time I went for a work get-together, for all its fairly obvious stylization:

http://bartletthall.com/

But on the weekends it's probably a crush. Generally the area's tourist trappy, per Shakey's comment.

If you do go out to the Chapel, you might as well hit up what's around there -- the attached bar's pretty solid (and you don't have to pay for the show) though I haven't tried the new restaurant. That said if you're looking for a much more chill bar all around, head over to the Royal Cuckoo, though that's well down the way on Mission:

https://www.yelp.com/biz/royal-cuckoo-san-francisco

No TVs, only music is either vinyl plays or live organ performances, low-key lighting, great cocktails. Combine that with Taqueria Cancun across the street and Mitchell's Ice Cream right near by and believe me, that's a good evening. (I live nearby but I'll need to chill this weekend after hosting friends last weekend; still, drop a line and I may have a second wind.)

it's different when no one (in SF or NYC) with a normal fucking job can afford to live anywhere near the city; not normal "boom-n-bust"

you mean, as in people can't afford to move ... with rent control, you do have people who do have "normal fucking jobs" but they have been in the same house/apartment for a long time and can't afford to move, ... I know I'm in that position ... meanwhile, most of my peers are moving to other neighborhoods or further afield and not into my neighborhood because it's now super expensive.

Thanks I’d be more than willing to travel from Union Square lol

We’re probably most interested in any cool bars or music tips.

― Chris L, Friday, September 6, 2019 10:43 AM (twenty-seven minutes ago)

If you're in Union Square, you're close to BART so you could just as easily go to downtown Oakland -- a couple friends of mine are partners in a co-op bar/restaurant called Tamarack in downtown Oakland, and there are a lot of small clubs and fun spots near there.

No TVs, only music is either vinyl plays or live organ performances, low-key lighting, great cocktails. Combine that with Taqueria Cancun across the street and Mitchell's Ice Cream right near by and believe me, that's a good evening.

Cuckoo's cool, yes. I like all the bars/little clubs on that stretch of Mission tbh - El Rio, Knockout, etc. Mitchell's and Cancun are both institutions at this point.

it's kinda one of the few spots in SF that is a reminder of what a lot more of SF used to be like.

These are great recs, thank you everyone. Sounds like we’re leaning toward hanging out in Mission.

i'm glad you know the fortunate few, "Body Snatchers '78" Collier