San Francisco, California: Eight things I've Learned in the Past Four Years
Boosterism is the art of propping up a municipality when all the metrics point against living or doing business there. Boosters come up with all sorts of reasons why you too should adore their beloved and decrepit hometowns. If anything, San Francisco suffers from the opposite problem; it's a city of anti-boosters, one that prefers neither promotion nor introduction. Many old-timers, in fact, wish to stop the eager and curious from pitching tent here, a reaction I've noticed in other West Coast boom towns like Portland and Seattle. Many seekers do come here for a short while before turning around. It's an obligatory pit-stop for many American dreamers.
What for me started as a cross-country experiment has slowly turned into my life. March 21st marked my four years here in San Francisco and last Tuesday I turned 37. While this may not make me an absolute sage about the inner workings of Fog City, I have been paying some attention to the wild parrots squawking around me.
Here are eight things I've learned in the past four years as a San Francisco resident.
1.) Politics: you can assume that everyone is a Democrat or a left-leaning individual.
Even more so than Boston, San Francisco is a city where you can assume that everyone you meet is a Democrat or a left-leaning individual. Political labeling here is not so much a matter of orientation but of degrees. In lieu of the cranky Republican who was evenly sprinkled across true-blue Massachusetts (yet concentrated heavily in the South Shore/Southeastern Mass, I might add), San Francisco has a generous dash of the irate anarchist/socialist who believe that both parties are part of a simple duopoly, rotten to the core. This of course has only increased since Senator Bernie Sanders has raised his national profile.
If you scale out to include the whole of the San Francisco Bay Area, you still have a left-voting tilt. Once you go inland, however, and cross the lines of what makes up the nine Bay Area counties, you find yourself in Hicksville where things can start to get a little sketchy. It would not be odd, in the provinces, to encounter anti-government pot growers or toothless, spiteful meth addicts. We got mildly gay-bashed, for instance, when we airbnb'd at a cottage in Lake County's Middletown. It came in the form of a meth-head and salty neighbor yelling all sorts of drug-induced obscenities. The difference in manners from Napa County to Lake County was stunning; it's one example how California can be surprisingly polarized in terms of culture and policy wishes.
California, mind you, also narrowly passed Prop 8 back in 2008, a disappointing sidenote to Obama's heady win across the country. Prop 8 made it illegal for same-sex couples to wed in the Golden State (Prop 8 was overturned in subsequent years and gay marriage is legal now in California as in every other state in the nation). More pernicious was Prop 187, passed by popular vote in 1994, which made it illegal to extend public resources like non-emergency healthcare and public education to undocumented residents (Prop 187 was, by 1998, largely found to be unconstitutional by a federal court). Since then, latinos have been running for office and voting in greater numbers in California, and the Golden State has voted "blue" at the presidential level in every election since 1992.
Backlash against the religious-minded has also been seething, especially in San Francisco, in the wake of Prop 8. Anecdotally, I find that people of faith find little comfort in the Bay Area, much like LGBT folks might in more rural parts of the Central Valley. There can be a bit of hate on both sides which makes the Golden State a bit more volatile in its politics than moderate Massachusetts. It could be that the Bay State has always had a smaller canvas and a higher density of institutions of higher learning. While racial bigotry had certainly popped up in Mass's history, I don't recall a lot of LGBT hate driven by religious fundamentalists; they simply don't exist in great quantities throughout most of New England.
Respect for authority, in general, is not given high priority here in California. In this instance, New England wins in the congeniality department. Church goers and members of authority (police, teachers, firefighters) are extended more respect in Massachusetts and I often wonder if this is because of the Bay State's large Irish-Catholic population with its extensive families, many of whom work in the public sector and have aunts who still attend Catholic mass every Sunday. In these sub-categories, identity politics doesn't necessarily feel like a zero-sum game back in New England.
2.) There is a land of abundance and that land is called California.
Abundance and variety we here in California have in store. As Pavement once sang, "Down in Santa Rosa and over the Bay, across the grapevine to LA, we got deserts, we got trees, we got the hills of Beverly." The country's most populous state has several different climate zones and one of the widest arrays of flora and fauna on Earth. Were it an autonomous nation, California would be the planet's 8th largest economy, just behind Brazil, with a population that trumps the whole of Canada (39m to 36m).
California has at least a dozen national parks and national recreation areas within its borders and an extensive state park system with the biggest trees on the planet. On a personal note, I'm taking full advantage of the Californian outdoors this year; I'm planning three different camping trips in the northern portion of the state. The Golden State also kicks ass in food production, technology and entertainment. There's never a dull moment here.
3.) A Mediterranean Climate can cure the Blues.
People are quite bearish on the idea of "a geographical cure," the idea that a relocation can change your life and that those who take it are delusional and simply running away from their problems. For others like me, a fresh setting can instill new patterns and behaviors, that the environment can guide and inform your choice architecture. Richard Florida, the liberal economist who wrote the book "Who's Your City?," believes that relocation is one of the most important decisions we can make in our lifetimes and also one of the most neglected. Of course not everyone has the same opportunities for mobility and for this I've been blessed.
It helps that San Francisco's Mediterranean Climate leaves everyone quite chipper; the ease of doing business is quite smooth just like the conversation between strangers. What's more is California's Cool-Summer Mediterranean Climate gives residents easy access to some of the most uplifting and beneficial herbs and fruits that literally grow on sidewalks (I'm thinking of you, lavender, rosemary, jasmine and Meyer's Lemons). People "out west" are generally healthier and happier than those of our Eastern and Southern brethren which is why they seem more into experimentation in general.
Living here I've discontinued taking anti-depressants and have learned to imbibe alcohol at light to moderate levels (both greatly aided by a shamanic practice - see #6). Part of this Mediterranean Climate is that people just want to be outside. A big reason why life is so agreeable here for me is that, as a dogwalker, I clock in at least 5 miles a day of walking/hiking with lovely animals, in an office replete with ocean views, Vitamin D and fresh air. The sun has aged me a bit but it's done wonders for my spirit.
4.) You can't afford to buy here without joining a commune, having a terrific job or taking a rich husband.
The economy here is on fire (yes, you may call me Captain Obvious). We love to complain about how expensive everything is here but it's also refreshing to keep the talk of economic apocalypse in perspective. Let's start with the fact that salaries here are significantly higher than the national average and, in a dynamic economy, you can truly make your mark and have something to write home about. The rental laws here do favor tenants, especially ones who remain educated, and although it's considered a blunt instrument to fight income inequality, San Francisco does has a rent control law based on a building's age. Of course, many long-term residents have been evicted by unscrupulous landlords. Pressing demand by upper-middle-class "imports" continue to push prices higher and lead to a feeling of xenophobia embodied by many long-term-residents. The ever-growing tech economy is not solely responsible for astronomical housing costs; rather it's a spider's web of issues best explained in this comprehensive TechCrunch essay from 2014. To wit: existing homeowners teamed up with environmentalists to stop as many new housing developments as possible thus creating a supply shortage. People want to retain the charm of this city and for that I don't blame them -- but if we're going to stick to a policy, then let's accept the consequences instead of endlessly complaining that we can't have it both ways simultaneously (a livable, quaint city and one that has numerous, affordable rental units to consider).
That being said, it's extremely worrisome to even have to look for a new rental unit, never mind finding an available property for sale and putting down the $200,000 for a downpayment (note: according to Trulia, the median sale price of all homes in San Francisco in March 2016 was $1.1 million). When I was on the hunt for finding my own place, I started having panic attacks and within a week I aborted my relocation plan. Since then I've decided to work it out with my partner and we now revel in the domestic bliss of a rent-controlled studio. One of the few examples of a Craigslist room within my price range was a techie-man-camp situation in SOMA: a multi-floor building with several rooms to a floor, 4 guys to a room, one kitchen and one bathroom on each floor for $1,000 a month. *Sigh*
For more disturbing maps, figures and articles on SF's exorbitance, check out The Anti-eviction Mapping Project.
5.) Muggles need not move here.
The city is replete with all sorts of new age and experimental healing modalities that were either born here or are widely celebrated and established. For acupuncture, I recommend Circle Community Acupuncture, a neighborhood clinic that operates on sliding scale fees. A 45-minute-session can cost as low as $15. Down the street on the Mission/SOMA line is Rainbow Grocery, a worker-owned coop, where you have the largest selection of bulk, organic herbs on the West Coast. Tai chi and Reiki are quite popular and yoga studios are as ubiquitous as Dunkin' Donuts back in Boston.
Of course, my life here would be incomplete without my shamanic study. In May, my 16-month course, The Shaman's Way, will come to a close. We've been walking the Medicine Wheel and learning all sorts of technologies that, when utilized, can invite spiritual protection and put one on a destiny trajectory. Shamanism, of course, is not just healing for the practitioner, but also healing for the client, the community and the planet. More of this later in a future blog post.
6.) The City may not be as hippie as Maupin's days but San Francisco still thrives on his interconnections.
Armistead Maupin, even more so than Charles Dickens, showed us a world in which we are interconnected in so many different ways in his seminal Tales of the City series. Somebody's dog walker may just be the ex-lover of a neighbor you always see at the laundromat. The barista at your neighborhood cafe may also moonlight as a DJ and also be the latest fling of the city councilman who lives just down your street. Your old college friend may run a yoga studio that is patronized by half of your dogwalking clients. San Francisco operates like one giant village. The longer I stay, the more I fall in love.
7.) You don't have to be ruthless to get ahead.
Each city has its original sin. For Boston, in the hopes of establishing a theocratic "Shining City Upon a Hill," that sin became intolerance. Greed was the original sin here as thousands pillaged the nearby Sierras for gold nuggets and used San Francisco as a base camp for banking, trading and frivolity. On the other hand, the city has always attracted a lot of odd-balls and free spirits who desired adventure above money. In "The Bohemians: Mark Twain and the San Francisco Writers Who Invented American Literature," author Ben Tarnoff makes the case that San Francisco was a safe, nurturing place of reinvention and experimentation for the few early settlers here who took art, literature and poetry very seriously.
Pushiness and meanness doesn't work as well here as it would on the East Coast. As a whole, the West Coast is more dovish in foreign policy and the Western U.S. in general has higher proportions of people claiming greater well-being (see # 4).
8.) It's the most free society on Earth yet there is a civic program or non-profit that will have your back.
I've never felt so comfortable in being a gay man as I do in San Francisco. Straight folks, even ones with families, don't look away when you bring up your partner, your latest bit of activism or crack a tawdry joke. If anything, there is still an active admiration for all things LGBT here and the role of gay male is still a dominant one. Even Mayor Ed Lee, controversial in many respects, was one of the first mayors to prohibit all official city travel to the state of North Carolina, which just days ago passed the most draconian, LGBT discrimation law. Similarly there are strong protections and programs here for women, Chinese and Mexican immigrants, English-language-learners, the disabled and the homeless. The irony is the taxes needed to sustain all this compassion are procured from the "high earners" who are pushing out the people who require these services, as explained by this New Republic article from 2013.
This city isn't perfect; I'm actually surprised that it doesn't completely fall apart on certain days. Serious doubts arise that San Franciscans will be able to pull together in the strong likelihood of a calamitous event because of the city's long emphasis on hedonism and self. But the longer I stay, the more I like it. Even with all the inflow of money (which I hope I've explained is a mixed blessing), the place still has tremendous character and special appeal. So please visit and, when you do, let's enjoy a meal together.
What for me started as a cross-country experiment has slowly turned into my life. March 21st marked my four years here in San Francisco and last Tuesday I turned 37. While this may not make me an absolute sage about the inner workings of Fog City, I have been paying some attention to the wild parrots squawking around me.
Here are eight things I've learned in the past four years as a San Francisco resident.
1.) Politics: you can assume that everyone is a Democrat or a left-leaning individual.
Even more so than Boston, San Francisco is a city where you can assume that everyone you meet is a Democrat or a left-leaning individual. Political labeling here is not so much a matter of orientation but of degrees. In lieu of the cranky Republican who was evenly sprinkled across true-blue Massachusetts (yet concentrated heavily in the South Shore/Southeastern Mass, I might add), San Francisco has a generous dash of the irate anarchist/socialist who believe that both parties are part of a simple duopoly, rotten to the core. This of course has only increased since Senator Bernie Sanders has raised his national profile.
If you scale out to include the whole of the San Francisco Bay Area, you still have a left-voting tilt. Once you go inland, however, and cross the lines of what makes up the nine Bay Area counties, you find yourself in Hicksville where things can start to get a little sketchy. It would not be odd, in the provinces, to encounter anti-government pot growers or toothless, spiteful meth addicts. We got mildly gay-bashed, for instance, when we airbnb'd at a cottage in Lake County's Middletown. It came in the form of a meth-head and salty neighbor yelling all sorts of drug-induced obscenities. The difference in manners from Napa County to Lake County was stunning; it's one example how California can be surprisingly polarized in terms of culture and policy wishes.
California, mind you, also narrowly passed Prop 8 back in 2008, a disappointing sidenote to Obama's heady win across the country. Prop 8 made it illegal for same-sex couples to wed in the Golden State (Prop 8 was overturned in subsequent years and gay marriage is legal now in California as in every other state in the nation). More pernicious was Prop 187, passed by popular vote in 1994, which made it illegal to extend public resources like non-emergency healthcare and public education to undocumented residents (Prop 187 was, by 1998, largely found to be unconstitutional by a federal court). Since then, latinos have been running for office and voting in greater numbers in California, and the Golden State has voted "blue" at the presidential level in every election since 1992.
Backlash against the religious-minded has also been seething, especially in San Francisco, in the wake of Prop 8. Anecdotally, I find that people of faith find little comfort in the Bay Area, much like LGBT folks might in more rural parts of the Central Valley. There can be a bit of hate on both sides which makes the Golden State a bit more volatile in its politics than moderate Massachusetts. It could be that the Bay State has always had a smaller canvas and a higher density of institutions of higher learning. While racial bigotry had certainly popped up in Mass's history, I don't recall a lot of LGBT hate driven by religious fundamentalists; they simply don't exist in great quantities throughout most of New England.
Respect for authority, in general, is not given high priority here in California. In this instance, New England wins in the congeniality department. Church goers and members of authority (police, teachers, firefighters) are extended more respect in Massachusetts and I often wonder if this is because of the Bay State's large Irish-Catholic population with its extensive families, many of whom work in the public sector and have aunts who still attend Catholic mass every Sunday. In these sub-categories, identity politics doesn't necessarily feel like a zero-sum game back in New England.
2.) There is a land of abundance and that land is called California.
Abundance and variety we here in California have in store. As Pavement once sang, "Down in Santa Rosa and over the Bay, across the grapevine to LA, we got deserts, we got trees, we got the hills of Beverly." The country's most populous state has several different climate zones and one of the widest arrays of flora and fauna on Earth. Were it an autonomous nation, California would be the planet's 8th largest economy, just behind Brazil, with a population that trumps the whole of Canada (39m to 36m).
California has at least a dozen national parks and national recreation areas within its borders and an extensive state park system with the biggest trees on the planet. On a personal note, I'm taking full advantage of the Californian outdoors this year; I'm planning three different camping trips in the northern portion of the state. The Golden State also kicks ass in food production, technology and entertainment. There's never a dull moment here.
3.) A Mediterranean Climate can cure the Blues.
People are quite bearish on the idea of "a geographical cure," the idea that a relocation can change your life and that those who take it are delusional and simply running away from their problems. For others like me, a fresh setting can instill new patterns and behaviors, that the environment can guide and inform your choice architecture. Richard Florida, the liberal economist who wrote the book "Who's Your City?," believes that relocation is one of the most important decisions we can make in our lifetimes and also one of the most neglected. Of course not everyone has the same opportunities for mobility and for this I've been blessed.
It helps that San Francisco's Mediterranean Climate leaves everyone quite chipper; the ease of doing business is quite smooth just like the conversation between strangers. What's more is California's Cool-Summer Mediterranean Climate gives residents easy access to some of the most uplifting and beneficial herbs and fruits that literally grow on sidewalks (I'm thinking of you, lavender, rosemary, jasmine and Meyer's Lemons). People "out west" are generally healthier and happier than those of our Eastern and Southern brethren which is why they seem more into experimentation in general.
Living here I've discontinued taking anti-depressants and have learned to imbibe alcohol at light to moderate levels (both greatly aided by a shamanic practice - see #6). Part of this Mediterranean Climate is that people just want to be outside. A big reason why life is so agreeable here for me is that, as a dogwalker, I clock in at least 5 miles a day of walking/hiking with lovely animals, in an office replete with ocean views, Vitamin D and fresh air. The sun has aged me a bit but it's done wonders for my spirit.
4.) You can't afford to buy here without joining a commune, having a terrific job or taking a rich husband.
The economy here is on fire (yes, you may call me Captain Obvious). We love to complain about how expensive everything is here but it's also refreshing to keep the talk of economic apocalypse in perspective. Let's start with the fact that salaries here are significantly higher than the national average and, in a dynamic economy, you can truly make your mark and have something to write home about. The rental laws here do favor tenants, especially ones who remain educated, and although it's considered a blunt instrument to fight income inequality, San Francisco does has a rent control law based on a building's age. Of course, many long-term residents have been evicted by unscrupulous landlords. Pressing demand by upper-middle-class "imports" continue to push prices higher and lead to a feeling of xenophobia embodied by many long-term-residents. The ever-growing tech economy is not solely responsible for astronomical housing costs; rather it's a spider's web of issues best explained in this comprehensive TechCrunch essay from 2014. To wit: existing homeowners teamed up with environmentalists to stop as many new housing developments as possible thus creating a supply shortage. People want to retain the charm of this city and for that I don't blame them -- but if we're going to stick to a policy, then let's accept the consequences instead of endlessly complaining that we can't have it both ways simultaneously (a livable, quaint city and one that has numerous, affordable rental units to consider).
That being said, it's extremely worrisome to even have to look for a new rental unit, never mind finding an available property for sale and putting down the $200,000 for a downpayment (note: according to Trulia, the median sale price of all homes in San Francisco in March 2016 was $1.1 million). When I was on the hunt for finding my own place, I started having panic attacks and within a week I aborted my relocation plan. Since then I've decided to work it out with my partner and we now revel in the domestic bliss of a rent-controlled studio. One of the few examples of a Craigslist room within my price range was a techie-man-camp situation in SOMA: a multi-floor building with several rooms to a floor, 4 guys to a room, one kitchen and one bathroom on each floor for $1,000 a month. *Sigh*
For more disturbing maps, figures and articles on SF's exorbitance, check out The Anti-eviction Mapping Project.
5.) Muggles need not move here.
The city is replete with all sorts of new age and experimental healing modalities that were either born here or are widely celebrated and established. For acupuncture, I recommend Circle Community Acupuncture, a neighborhood clinic that operates on sliding scale fees. A 45-minute-session can cost as low as $15. Down the street on the Mission/SOMA line is Rainbow Grocery, a worker-owned coop, where you have the largest selection of bulk, organic herbs on the West Coast. Tai chi and Reiki are quite popular and yoga studios are as ubiquitous as Dunkin' Donuts back in Boston.
Of course, my life here would be incomplete without my shamanic study. In May, my 16-month course, The Shaman's Way, will come to a close. We've been walking the Medicine Wheel and learning all sorts of technologies that, when utilized, can invite spiritual protection and put one on a destiny trajectory. Shamanism, of course, is not just healing for the practitioner, but also healing for the client, the community and the planet. More of this later in a future blog post.
6.) The City may not be as hippie as Maupin's days but San Francisco still thrives on his interconnections.
Armistead Maupin, even more so than Charles Dickens, showed us a world in which we are interconnected in so many different ways in his seminal Tales of the City series. Somebody's dog walker may just be the ex-lover of a neighbor you always see at the laundromat. The barista at your neighborhood cafe may also moonlight as a DJ and also be the latest fling of the city councilman who lives just down your street. Your old college friend may run a yoga studio that is patronized by half of your dogwalking clients. San Francisco operates like one giant village. The longer I stay, the more I fall in love.
7.) You don't have to be ruthless to get ahead.
Each city has its original sin. For Boston, in the hopes of establishing a theocratic "Shining City Upon a Hill," that sin became intolerance. Greed was the original sin here as thousands pillaged the nearby Sierras for gold nuggets and used San Francisco as a base camp for banking, trading and frivolity. On the other hand, the city has always attracted a lot of odd-balls and free spirits who desired adventure above money. In "The Bohemians: Mark Twain and the San Francisco Writers Who Invented American Literature," author Ben Tarnoff makes the case that San Francisco was a safe, nurturing place of reinvention and experimentation for the few early settlers here who took art, literature and poetry very seriously.
Pushiness and meanness doesn't work as well here as it would on the East Coast. As a whole, the West Coast is more dovish in foreign policy and the Western U.S. in general has higher proportions of people claiming greater well-being (see # 4).
8.) It's the most free society on Earth yet there is a civic program or non-profit that will have your back.
I've never felt so comfortable in being a gay man as I do in San Francisco. Straight folks, even ones with families, don't look away when you bring up your partner, your latest bit of activism or crack a tawdry joke. If anything, there is still an active admiration for all things LGBT here and the role of gay male is still a dominant one. Even Mayor Ed Lee, controversial in many respects, was one of the first mayors to prohibit all official city travel to the state of North Carolina, which just days ago passed the most draconian, LGBT discrimation law. Similarly there are strong protections and programs here for women, Chinese and Mexican immigrants, English-language-learners, the disabled and the homeless. The irony is the taxes needed to sustain all this compassion are procured from the "high earners" who are pushing out the people who require these services, as explained by this New Republic article from 2013.
This city isn't perfect; I'm actually surprised that it doesn't completely fall apart on certain days. Serious doubts arise that San Franciscans will be able to pull together in the strong likelihood of a calamitous event because of the city's long emphasis on hedonism and self. But the longer I stay, the more I like it. Even with all the inflow of money (which I hope I've explained is a mixed blessing), the place still has tremendous character and special appeal. So please visit and, when you do, let's enjoy a meal together.
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