I visited San Francisco over the weekend. It's hard to believe I was hundreds of miles away from home a mere couple days ago. I remember sitting on the couch of my hotel room thinking, "I'm really far away right now."
But California is California. It doesn't feel like I strayed too far from my comfort zone. Despite its uniqueness, San Francisco lies under the same sun I've been living with all my life. Visit any major U.S. city and they're all fundamentally similar.
If I ever visit SF again, it won't be for the city, but for the people. I went hardcore tourist mode, checking out the Golden Gate and Bay bridges, Golden Gate Park, the Japanese Tea Garden, Fisherman's Wharf, Twin Peaks, the financial district, and Chinatown.
You gotta take the bad with the good. The layout of the city is crazy interesting but inconvenient to navigate. Walking the street is the best way to experience the town up close and personal, but you get first hand exposure to bums, noisy construction on every block, and that nasty smell of exhaust and pollution. It doesn't help when I visit on a weekend in the middle of summer during the height of tourist season. I haven't heard this much foreign language since Vegas.
I don't think I can ever live in a metropolitan area. It's just not my style. Everything's too cramped and crowded. I'm all about the suburb. Give me open space, a minimum of two lanes for every street, and plenty of sky.
