Keeping my Heart in SF

Sometimes I still can't believe that I've lived in San Francisco for 5 years (California for a total of 7). In 2002, I moved out to the West Coast to attend grad school in San Diego; what an absolute culture shock that was! Coming from Boston, San Diego epitomized a lifestyle counter to anything I'd ever experienced. Don't get me wrong, I lived in the lap of luxury in my aunt & uncle's guest house in an esoteric gem of real estate (see Forbe's "most expensive places to live in the USA...Rancho Santa Fe".) Despite the inherent beauty and serenity of that sleepy Ritz town, something was always missing for me.

There were some nights that I cried myself to sleep, yearned to be back East, and longed for the culture that I'd left behind (Red Sox Fanatics, generations of local family ties, Cape Cod, red brick sidewalks, romantic winter fires, etc). It goes without saying that I missed my dear friends and family (I'd never lived more than 100 miles away from home), but there was more behind my discontent. San Diego was a veritable no-man's land to me - a big beach spread out community that stretched on for miles, with nothing reminiscent of a "real" city. Rather than being awoken by a cocophony of garbage trucks and garbage men tossing the recycling bins into the front yard afer disposing of their unwieldy contents, I was softly awoken by the cadence of birds gleefully chirping outside my window. There is an inexorable list of striking contrasts between West Coast Eutopia and East Coast "reality"...and I wanted was excited to leave...WHY?

All along, I thought I was going to return to Boston after grad school. Not only was there the draw of my (now defunct, thankfully) ex-boyfriend, my wonderful family and childhood best friends, but it was what I knew. Furthermore, I wanted to be in a "city"...one with politics, culture, education, diversity, art...LIFE. I had been to visit San Francisco once during the course of the 2 years I lived in San Diego, and I just fell in love with it right away. In addition to being the most beautiful place I'd seen, it had all of the components of a city I yearned for. As soon as I got my Master's Degree, a culmination of factors lead me to realize that if ever there was a time to move to San Francisco, it was then.

I packed up my car with every possession I could fit (see: cram), and hit the road for a 600 mile drive North to my next unknown adventure.
It was a bit of a bumpy start, given that I didn't know a soul in SF and I found a job that required me to travel every single week, however, I hung in there, having enough insight at the time to know that there would be a light at the end of the tunnel if I just gave it that shot. I have come to absolutely love this city like I was meant to be here. The rolling hills, the gorgeous bay, the temperate year-round climate, the unique architecture, the ecclectic culture; all of it lends itself to a life full of exciting things to see, learn and do. I have developed a wonderful circle of friends, my "West Coast family", found an incredible place to live, and savor each and every day I am fortunate enough to be here.

In Kurt Vonneget's famous 1997 MIT Address (that never really was - what a great hoax), "Sunscreen", he advises us to "live in New York City once, but explicitly leave before it makes you hard; momentarily live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.". Of course there are times that I am nostalgic for the East coast, and every so often I wonder if I'll end up back there. For now, however, I have not become too soft, and I am keeping my heart in San Francisco...