Archived in 2022

Originally posted on 27 Jun 2011

The commute had become a drag. A walk/ride to the BART station followed by a bit of a train ride and then either bus or bike to the office. All told it could take as much as ninety minutes each way. The cost wasn’t exorbitant but did add up after a bit. There was the option to drive my car but it didn’t really save much time and cost more. Plus there was the issue of parking.

OK, that was one point in favor of moving. Another was my then-current neighborhood. My flat was lovely. Scads of space. A large kitchen. A backyard. Central heating (which actually worked). Obscenely low rent. Crack dealers kicking back on my front steps. Lovely! In truth they were very friendly gentlemen and took good care of my house. There was never any fear of burglary with the boys around, that’s for sure. Yup, they were the best of criminal neighbors, nothing but the finest thugs. Er…right… As much as I love Oakland it was time for a change.

San Francisco? Don’t mind if I do.

Over Memorial Day weekend a collection of mind blowingly generous friends helped move me to my new neighborhood, filled with restaurants and pubs and shops and right next to Golden Gate Park.The apartment is much smaller than my place in Oakland but I like it that way. I’ve off-loaded a lot of dead weight possessions so the space is now open and uncluttered, even with the boxes which yet remain. The cats transitioned well, helped by the abundance of sunny nap locations and plenty of pigeons for their viewing pleasure.

And the commute? Now on a bad day it takes about half an hour, but that time is mostly spent walking through Golden Gate Park. If I’m in a hurry I can ride my bike and get to the office in about ten minutes. Or, if I’m feeling lazy, there’s a nearby Muni that will drop me a block from work.

It’s only been about a month (and a busy month at that) but so far I’m very pleased with this new living arrangement. San Francisco suits me. It’s a highly walkable and rideable city, which is good since right after I moved I sold my car.

See what I did there? Yeah, I just set up the next blog post.