Of late I’ve been inveighing about the many inconveniences, difficulties, and upsets of living in San Francisco. Now that I’m on the threshold of moving to Far Outerburbia and becoming a three-times-a-week commuter into SF, it would be churlish of me not to bring up some of the pleasures of life in San Francisco.
I begin with a simple disclaimer that I’m not going to bring up those aspects of San Francisco that are equally available to resident and commuter alike. Thus I needn’t mention the joy of all the City’s cultural institutions: symphony, opera, ballet, theaters, chamber music. They remain tremendous advantages. I don’t think I really need to bring up the panoply of world-class restaurants, since they remain fully available to me. That’s even true for my lunchtime jaunts into Hayes Valley, within easy reach of the SF Conservatory, since I’ll be in that neighborhood just as much as I am now—i.e., during work days.
Instead, I’m thinking about those aspects of SF life that I will be unlikely to revisit once I’m no longer living here—the sorts of things I have truly enjoyed, but won’t be travelling into the City to experience any more.
The Corona Heights Walk
One of my favorite walking paths, albeit it high-exercise and not soothing in the slightest, is a path leading up to Corona Heights above the Castro district. It’s a stiff uphill clamber, getting from my house to the park that surrounds the Randall Museum, then up around the edges of Corona Heights itself, then out on the other side on Roosevelt Way. Depending on my schedule and remaining energy, either I continue up to Buena Vista Park and huff/puff my way to the top, or else I head downhill via the magical Vulcan Steps down to Ord Court, and then head back up a hidden short staircase to States Street. I cross States and return to the park around the Randall Museum, then retrace my steps—now sharply downhill—home. Lots of great views and abundant flowers and trees along the way.
The World’s Greatest Wash ’n’ Fold
It may sound odd to put something as prosaic as a wash-and-fold laundromat on my list, but the simple fact is that Steve and June’s thriving family business on the corner of 17th Street and Sanchez is one of San Francisco’s jewels. They do wonderful work with my laundry and they’re incredibly fast about it all. I won’t be needing a wash ’n’ fold in the future since I have my own laundry room in my new house. But for the past eight some-odd years, that shiny-clean and well-maintained laundromat around the corner with its expert wash ’n’ fold service has been a priceless time and energy saver for me. Drop off in the morning, pick up in the afternoon. I’ll miss them.
Golden Gate Park
There’s no exhausting of this gigantic park, no amount of time you can spend there that dulls its appeal. You can always find a quiet place in Golden Gate Park, even if that may be farther out towards the ocean. I’ve never been all that attracted to the big park institutions such as the De Young Museum or the Academy of Sciences, but I do love the many meadows, ponds, and out-of-the-way surprises that never end. When I lived out in the Avenues I had a favorite little duck pond I visited almost daily during the summer. Nowadays getting to the park takes a bit more planning, but it’s always worth it.
Outdoor Staircases
Even if I have become a zaftig guy who has to approach physical exertion with caution thanks to coronary artery issues, I still love the outdoor staircases that pepper San Francisco. The Vulcan Steps down to Ord Street are my all-time favorite, but I enjoy many others, such as the Liberty Street steps or that huge multi-block staircase that traverses a big chunk of Twin Peaks and ends near Tank Hill. Even little ones, such as the stairs you encounter along Sanchez at 19th St., can be a lot of fun. I may need to take my time and ascend slowly, but that makes them even better somehow. The views become ever better as you ascend, of course.
Noe Street
I refer here specifically to the stretch between Market and Duboce, lined as it is with fully-mature trees that form a gorgeous soothing canopy, mute the traffic sounds, and bring a general sense of peace & well-being to an otherwise cacophonous and tension-wracked neighborhood. It is also flat, and thus lends itself to casual strolling without having to brace for the usual uphill/downhill orientation of many SF streets. I always enjoy that four blocks or so.
That’s my list for now. I’m exchanging all of them for what I consider to be improvements: safer and better parks, less hilly terrain, my own laundry room, and the like. And it’s not as though I’m leaving the Bay Area; everything that I prize about San Francisco remains available to me, in most cases just as easily as it has always been since I work here a minimum of three days a week. But I will miss some of those nifty out-of-the-way places. I’ll find new ones in my new home town, of course. But memories will remain fond.