Thursday, June 4, 2009

The Verdict?



So are Dan and I packing our bags and moving to San Francisco?

We both agree that we really like the city. I loved the food scene there. A lot of the food we ate was amazingly good and creatively put together, you could be inspired and well fed every day. The fact when we went to the grocery store, you could actually smell the fresh produce was amazing (on the east coast, you don't really smell anything since everything gets shipped there from afar).

I liked when Heidi and Wayne talked about the entrepreneur attitude of the city, how the people here feel like they can create their own business and their own lives, their way. I could help but smirk when Heidi called New York corporate America "dinosaurs." Yes I know!

The people here are so cool and it would be great to see them all the time. And you get so much so close...the ocean, the mountains, Napa, Tahoe and of course, V-town.

And yet, and yet...

It's not like we would be saving any money moving here. Apparently it is more expensive to live here than New York.

It was so freakin' cold. Not that New York City is super warm right now (WTF?--it's JUNE and it's 60 degrees!) but it was really chilly there and everyone around us was telling us how nice the weather was. Really? A bone tingling breeze in summer time is nice? At least New Yorkers acknowledge that our current 60-degree weather state is awful. It kind of made me sad to imagine that it would always be too cold to eat al fresco in the evening, one of my favorite things to do anywhere and I would never get to wear my cute summer dresses unless I left the city.

You might think this funny coming from a big city girl, but I feel so much safer in New York City than San Francisco. There are some crazy riff raff over there. At least our riff raff here keep to themselves. The city was pockets of really nice areas and then two blocks later, it's not nice at all. It actually reminded me of Brooklyn.

Lastly, because it's got to be more about weather and safety, I just didn't feel that excited about the city. I liked it. It was fun. I enjoyed everyone's company. But I want the feeling of butterflies in my stomach. I want to be in love. I still feel that way about New York sometimes (even after all these years), but I didn't really feel that connection.

So if the right opportunity came along, then we might change our mind and move to San Francisco. Never say never. But we're still going to look for our next landing spot.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey Yvonne,
I had the exact same feeling about San Francisco in terms of security, while in NY I seemed to know my arieas, in San Francisco I would turn a corner and feel creeped out all of a sudden.
In terms of looking for places to live, have you considered my all time favourite Seattle?
Greetings from Berlin
Katrin

Willy The Prince said...

I agree. Seattle or bust!

Susan said...

It RAINS all the time in Seattle. In all our visits to SF, we've only had rain once, well maybe twice.
We've never felt unsafe in SF -- even when we've walked in sketchy areas late at night -- and we're OLD.
You'd be close to Monterey, Yosemite, Tahoe (beach, mountains, lake)
SF was recently listed (again) as one of the best places to live...
If you got too cold in July, you could come to V-town and warm up, watch a baseball game and have some tri-tip!

laurabeggar said...

PORTLAND! I'm telling you. If you ever want a test visit, please come. I don't know if you know anyone else out here like in San Fran, but we can share our friends with you.