i don't know if people know this, but i was born & raised in san francisco.
i genuinely think it's the greatest city in the world.
here's some thoughts / my love letter to this city:
> i love public transit. this is unironically the #1 tip. tech bros vastly underrate muni / bart, especially when paired with an e-bike or a scooter. i have a car, but i basically do not use it. you can basically get anywhere in <30 minutes if you take the right path.
> do not spend your entire life in rincon hill, dogpatch, or another one of the tech bro pockets. get out and explore! eat at small restaurants in the mission. go find some cute clothes in haight-ashbury. balboa, west portal, potrero, richmond, outer sunset, castro… the city has tons of little quirks and pockets of culture.
> on the other hand, san francisco is basically the #1 city for like-minded serendipity. do spend working hours near people working on interesting problems! i find myself running into people i know, and more recently, running into people who recognize me from twitter (weird but cool??). the best part about being in a city where everybody is hacking on their own cool things is you get to meet a lot of cool people. use that to your advantage!
> san francisco has a lot to do if you like nature. go out and spend time in nature. growing up here, i went to a lot of parks all the time. you should go explore the pockets of greenery that are all across the bay. golden gate park is huge (significantly larger than central park), mt. tam, mission dolores, all the beaches, half moon bay. take in the scenery. it’s calm, it’s beautiful, and it’ll remind you of your place in the world.
> it also has a lot to do if you like things like trying great pastries, making pasta, going to museums, anything athletic, thrifting, meeting people, etc. there are good bars and clubs as well... but the tech bros aren't onto them yet and i'll leave you the fun journey of finding them!
> some of the best restaurants are here. the bay area has more than half of the U.S.’s michelin three-star restaurants (and is #1 in the US). but it also has a ton of good food overall. go out and try restaurants- walk down a random street and pick one. that’s how my friends and i have found the best restaurants.
> everybody who says san francisco has no culture has basically never been outside. san francisco has a lot of culture. learn about the history. learn about the architecture. learn about what type of city this is. because it isn’t just b2b saas memes. go enjoy abstract art and underground music and thrifted fashion. this is the home of the grateful dead, train, green day, journey, and many more. this is where blue jeans, popsicles, the jacuzzi, cable cars, and motion picture graphics were invented.
welcome! enjoy your new home. it’s a wonderful, wonderful place. and we’re quite lucky to be here, to be honest.
“This gold and white acropolis rising wave on wave against the blue of the Pacific sky was a stunning thing, a painted thing like a picture of a medieval Italian city which can never have existed. I stopped in a parking place to look at her and the necklace bridge over the entrance from the sea that led to her. Over the green higher hills to the south, the evening fog rolled like herds of sheep coming to cote in the golden city. I’ve never seen her more lovely. When I was a child and we were going to the City, I couldn’t sleep for several nights before, out of busting excitement. She leaves a mark.” — John Steinbeck
SF residents: What advice would you give to someone who just moved to the city?