what is your favorite thing about living there?

I just got back, and I tell you, I fell in love with the town instantly (a native told me it was a TOWN). I had visited there once after college, but that was (eep) some time ago.

I'm already making a list of things to do on my next trip. I hear September/October is the best time to visit?

and I do realize I am posting very early for anyone who does live there! I expect I will be topping this later today...

to the top!

I don't live in SF anymore but I did for 5 years. It's really hard to say what I love most but I'll try. The diversity of the people living there is one thing, lots of great art and music. The weather is another plus. Yes there is the fog but I'd take that over high heat and humidity any day. The fall is THE best time of year but we can get a surprise heat wave in January too.
Great food and restaurants.
I love being so close to so many different kinds of places. I'm within few hours drive to the Wine Country, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite Valley. Los Angeles and Disneyland aren't too far away. Plus the City is just so beautiful!
Some big drawbacks are the high price of housing and the job market has been really poor for the past 3 1/2 years but we're hoping things will improve.

In a word, diversity. You can find anything in SF; any food, any culture, any sport, an politics, any music.... You will never get bored. We've got water, mountains, forests, beaches, vineyards, tidepools.... And good weather. I think there is also more acceptance of differences here than almost anywhere else I've been.

What is my favorite thing about living in SF? Wow, tough question to answer because what I love about my adopted home time is an amalgam of things. It's not just the location, the views (which now I take for granted), the great dining, the easy access to other gorgeous areas, the moderate weather because I really dislike extreme weather, the diversity of the people--it's the attitude, the tolerance. I know many people roll their eyes and say only in SF and say we are out of step with the rest of America, but it is great in live in a city where seeing someone "different" does not cause consternation.

The hills and views, the fog and foghorns, no rain from May through October. The proximity of the ocean and the clean, clean air it provides. The wide range of foods and excellent produce and near-perfect coffee served almost everywhere.

In the 50's, friends of my parents who were mixed-race couples moved here and experienced the bare minimum of harassment or discomfort. In 2004, my gay friends can walk down the street holding hands and it's not an occasion for comment.

I'll leave San Francisco only to go to the next life.

My children are around, so I stay. Just the benefits of a large city, I guess, always some activities, theaters, etc... Otherwise I'm not especially attached to San Francisco.

Loved your comments dovima! I have never been to SF but really hope to one day.

Being Canadian, it has been my experience that there is a higher level of tolerance here than there is in many other places, I think SF may be the exception to that though.

Dovima, I have to say, the best coffee I think I ever had was this past weekend! I went back the next morning to have it again - even though it was all the way across town!

I found the people there to be extremely friendly.

I just loved it! it was GORGEOUS.

I don't live in San Francisco, but a heartbeat away.

Let's see now, one weekend recently went in to the opera - world class! - then retired to our favorite boutique hotel, our "pied-a-terre" in SF, had a HUGE room and luxuriated there.

Next morning, went to see the special "geisha" exhibit at the Asian Art Museum. All the way through, I was thinking: "I didn't know that!" "Hummm, very interesting!" Great learning experience!

Walked out of the Asian Art Museum right into the (Gay) Pride Day booths. People of every sexual persuasion - another educational experience! Glorious day and visited longer than planned. A great diversity of food as well!

The others have said it all - dovima most of all! It's a great city! A unique city! Weather, culture, diversity, and just the ATMOSPHERE of leisurely sophistication and tolerance - what a combo!

Easy, I want to see the Geisha exhibit... is the museum's cafe any good? Where did you have lunch, there will be no Pride booths by the time I'll get there

Hi, Faina! How are you?

I've eaten a couple of times at the Asian Art Museum cafe and trying to remember what the menu was like... kinda Asian, I seem to recall. Not too expensive either. Good food. In San Francisco, it'll be ordinary. In the Midwest, this kind of Asian food would probably be considered great. Sorry, really fuzzy memory.

That weekend, at the Pride booths, we sampled our way through a number of booths. All kinds of ethnic food! My favorite was ice cream at the end! Yummm!

Sorry you missed the food booths! They were very interesting! Next year - perhaps?

The Museum cafe is pretty darn good. Well prepared food for a moderate cost, and there is something for everybody.

I love SF for the Ocean, Golden Gate Park, the difficulty in finding a bad shot of espresso, the incredibly wide range of different things to eat and the high quality of produce. I love the beatuiful architecture, the general lack of huge American (non SUV) cars, bookstores and other consumer goods stores that are original and unique, Cole Hardware gets a special mention.

I love that no particular race is dominant and that there are so many gays & lesbians that you don't even really notice them on the street, instead of the gawkfest that happens elsewhere.

I like the neighborhoods that only lucky tourists find: Potrero Hill, Bernal Heights, West Portal and that area over by Clement Street and Arguello.

More than tolerance. It's acceptance of diversity. Live and let live. When our mayor started this gay marriage thing, I met only one guy, only one, who thought it's bad. He doesn't even live in the city proper. Everybody else I talk to, most of them straight including myself, said it's about time. Where else but San Francisco? That's what I love about this city. And opera and symphoney. It's not Met, but it's pretty good. The art and music scenes aren't the very best in the world. People are sophisticated, but not as sophisticated as they'd like to think they are. But it's good enough. It's getting crowded but nothing like New York yet. Once you live here, you realize it's a small town with big city amenities. With clean air and the mild climate, it is a very livable city. I like going to my grocery store and have the pick of fifty different kinds of bread, and any weird spices from around the world.

I love it all!

Good/bad smells.
Fog/cold in the summer, sunny-warm in Oct/Nov/Dec.
The VIEWS.
The walking
The Food.
The people.
The Embarcadero.
The Sunday Chron/cuppa Italian roast at Cafe Puccini's.
Unfortunately, the Giants and 49ers!
Cable/Street cars.
SF taxi drivers. A strange breed!
Tai Chi eary mornings as WashSq.
The WashBag.
Aquatic Park.
Renovated Union Square.
Belden Place.
Memories from the 60s/70s.
KGO/KSFO/KFOG/KNBR.
My buddies at Shanghai Kelly's.

BUT being my typical contrarian self, how tolerant and accepting of diversity would an SUV with BUSH/CHENEY bumper stickers on it be dealt with in SF?
O

Now, where's that icon of someone ducking?

Interesting point, Kal! I attended a Board meeting for my Home Owner's Assoc. in Colorado this past week. One of the members is in new to that club in SF, and talked about living a very high profile business life under the radar. I thought it was funny because I am flying under the radar in the very conservative conclave in Colorado. I think he pulled off his bumper sticker.

G'hop,
I hear yah!

I used to have a bumper sticker "Welcome to California-Now GO HOME". I had to do some temp duty in our Reno office...pulled out the ol' exacto knife and started scrapin' that puppy off. :-"

Now, most people give me either a thumbs up when they see my license plate or the "hang loose" hand signal when they see my license plate frame and bumper stickers. >-

Take care and hang loose, sistah!!!

The Sunday papers and a cup of coffee any cafe in North Beach area

Yeah! Kal! Way to go!

And people watching too - in between

Ok~I'm in and would ditto everything most everyone has already said. Regarding the "tolerance" issue of the SUV sporting a Bush/Cheney bumpersticker..Kal, there is simply no excuse for bad taste. It's not about "diversity" For some practical suggestions:
a bowl of mussels and an order of fries at Plouf
espresso at Cafe Trieste
City Lights Bookstore
A bowl of steaming hunan dumplings at Henry's Hunan
Dim Sum at YanK Sing or Kong Tiang
Crab cocktail at Swan's
The Mexican Museum
Coit Tower
A grand marnier souffle at Cafe Jacqueline
A walk through the Presidio
Breakfast at Ella's
A movie at the Bridge or the Clay
A movie at the Castro-especially when either Betty Davis or Barbara Stanwyck are involved and the hoots of "Slap her.slap her now" from the audience
An Irish Coffee at the Buena Vista
Another vote for watching Tai Chi in Washington Square Park
A meatball sandwich at Mario's Bohemian Cigar Store while watching the Tai Chi folks in Washington Square Park
Lighting candles in Saint Peter and Paul
Grace Cathedral
The Plush Room- especially when Weslia Whitfield is back in town


A walk along Chrissy Field as close to Fort Point as when can get

a walk along
Washington,Pacific,Sacramento or Clay from Divisadero to Arguello or thereabouts.
A bike ride out Lake to Baker Beach(with a peak at Seacliff).

Find out if the "Weddings in SF" exhibit is around to see photos of a few weeks that changed something in the hearts of many.

Ferry Plaza
A ferry ride to Angel Island and a walk through its museum and its environs.

and, flygirl, that's just for starters.