I spent a month and a half in San Francisco. Here are some observations from my time here.
Everyone’s friendly and welcoming. We landed in Castro, which helped with first impressions, but as we explored the rest of the city and met new people, these impressions proved true.
Public transport is free if you have event tickets to the Chase Center. This incentivizes people heading to the game to take public transport rather than drive, reducing traffic spikes and the frustration of the rest of the population. It also allows people to board faster after the game, as there’s no need to boop your wallet against the readers. Chase Center is big, and it cleared up pretty fast after the Warriors game we went to. Is this a thing in all cities with good public transport?
SF is a “small” city. Downtown feels like any other city when you are inside, but it is only a small part of San Francisco. The charm lies in the diverse districts, with more “European”-style blocks of residential and commercial real estate.
SF is walkable. It’s easy to be discouraged by the steep hills, but the public transport system works really well. There’s a bus to everywhere from everywhere. My rule has been to take the bus uphill and walk downhill. Blocks are small, and it is easy to explore and find interesting places. The city rewards on-foot exploration.
There are parks everywhere. I thought Singapore was my favorite “there’s a park everywhere” city. But SF clearly beats it. Props to Singapore, but the weather is much nicer year-round here. Also, the Golden Gate Park is even bigger than Central Park in New York (?).