San Francisco and what to do in it

We was ridin high til the '89 quake
Hit the Santa Cruz Garden Mall
Like a wrecking ball

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1ujuoo9VbA

I have no knowledge of pre-earthquake SC. I guess downtown is more bougie, but the overall city itself still seems to have that weird insular bubble vibe college towns sometimes have - still a mix of hippie burnouts, students/academia, surfers, retirees, and weirdos

way better vibrant music scene than their used to be, as well

Reno is fine to visit but idk abt living there

way better vibrant music scene than their used to be, as well

Camper Van Beethoven would like to have a word with you.

Here's a good history of the UC Santa Cruz banana slug mascot:

https://www.ucsc.edu/about/mascot.html

*cough* I think I trust the guy who lives within driving distance of Santa Cruz and is actively involved in music to be able to say how the scene's been doing in comparison to recent years -- like, say, this century. You know?

It was a joke. You know?

Oh I’m a huge CVB dork. Of course they were done by the time i got there. I did see Cracker’s very first show ever at the Catalyst in SC though. They covered Massive Attack’s Unfinished Sympathy.

But when I was there there was nowhere for small bands to play (or even rehearse), one local label in operation, and maybe a half-dozen (non-hippie) bands trying to play house parties and random breweries and shit. The Fucking Champs were the biggest thing going.

There’s way more going on now afaict

Maybe you're forgetting about my band from high school? Stigmata?

I think the (((Folk Yeah!))) guy has been a godsend to the area, he's booked a bunch of stuff in SC. There's a metal scene, there's psych stuff, we recently did a show with a great singer-songwriter type guy from down there. There's two major places for smaller, independent music that opened up since I left (Moe's Alley and the Abbey), etc. There's an actual recording studio at UCSC's Music Center that did not exist when I went there (I did get in there a couple years later when they were initially setting it up). It's very different now.

When I went there touring bands did *not* come through Santa Cruz - with the exception of boomer bands coming through the Catalyst and the odd "secret" Neil Young show - and shows by local bands were generally tiny, illegal, and sparsely attended. One time I saw the Melvins at a (now defunct) brewery, that felt like a big deal.

lol DJI xp

I always thought it was crazy that there would be a university and no on-campus venue or resources for live music, but that's the way it was then.

I saw Nirvana open for Dinosaur Jr at the Catalyst in 1991

yeah that was just before I got there

the Catalyst was really the only game in town at the time

Reno is shitty, trust me.

I'd live in santa cruz if I didn't have to commute to SF.

Are there IT operations jobs plentiful in SC? No way would spouse be up for an SF commute (nor would I, but my options are more flexible, plus they will all pay fairly shitty regardless).

no jobs are plentiful in SC but I know people commute from there to SV/SJ tech firms, that's what Highway 17 is for. I had college roommates that would commute to Cisco's campus back in the day.

How much of a nightmare is a hwy 17 commute?

26 miles of amazingly dangerous and beautiful highway

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/the-commuters-guide-to-driving-highway-17

Yeah, that's the perfect description of it. There's transit bus lines for it, at least.

I knew people who got into major accidents on it. I managed to avoid that somehow, but then I didn't drive it every day.

and Caltrans goes... somewhere near Santa Cruz, right? Gilroy? Maybe that's not so close

Not close, no. Yeah, there are Caltrain runs that go to Morgan Hill and Gilroy, and if transit to work is a factor -- and horse space -- I wouldn't rule those out, but they are getting increasingly popular and busy all around. Also, it can get REALLY hot. (My gf grew up in Morgan Hill and her parents live there; I've been there often enough now to speak from experience on the heat point in particular.)

Here's the official system map -- you can see where the 17 approaches it.

http://www.caltrain.com/stations/systemmap.html

Anyway, yeah, I think I'd recommend Morgan Hill a little more over Gilroy just because it's not THE end of the line, and a whole slew of thankfully non-developed land is right there for hiking, riding, etc. The Caltrain connection only runs during the week, not the weekend, so it's not a simple hop up to SF for a weekend visit, but if you get yourself to Diridon Station in San Jose you have that.

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