emptyage : Are You Going to San Francisco
http://emptyage.honan.net/mth/2009/07/are-you-going-to-san-francisco.html

e that a lot of people go through that starts when people go a little crazy as a result of all that, gradually realize that it's all a little illusory and that what they have instead of friends is a lot of the same awkward party conversations over and over, start working a little too hard to recapture the former glory, and end up burnt out and jaded. I'm not saying all of this can't be avoided, but to do so, I think you have to come in with more skepticism and awareness than the typical wide-eyed SF hipster-techie transplant does. Perhaps if I had come to SF with Caroline's wariness and your advice, I would have had a better time.

I don't think the world should look like San Francisco, nor do I think that it should be home for everyone. But if you're going to come here, even if it's only for a year, you should make the most of it. And to do that (and this really goes for anywhere) you need to embrace what's unique about it.

http://emptyage.honan.net/mth/2009/07/are-you-going-to-san-francisco.html

How to make the most of living in SF. Wouldn't that be very lovely? Anyway, I think these could probably be generalised as to how to enjoy any city. (via Kottke)

Writing about a place is difficult. You can spend months, years, even a lifetime in a city and still not really know it. More challenging still, everyone experiences a place differently. Two people who’ve grown up in the same place might fundamentally disagree on what the most scenic landmarks are, if the locals are friendly, the best places to eat, and so on.

I’m going to skip right to the heart of what I want to say about this city: if you’ve never lived in a major city before, you’ll probably like San Francisco. However, if you’re coming from another notable city, you may be disappointed. Hopefully, that’s pretty uncontroversial.

sive, and cold. As above, it’s easy to meet people through work or a common

Alex describes why he will leave SF when he can. Me, I'm leaving for these and more complex reasons. He's so in the tech bubble and the world of food and art, he never mentions California's political mess, or the desertification going on. He's the sort of person he is warning us about: "oung white men with high technical proficiency and lots of disposable income."