By Donna Berry Glass, Senior Counselor
It’s summer, and summer means fun, so when I read this entertaining article in the San Francisco Chronicle the other day titled, “What San Franciscans Love to Hate,” it inspired a creative idea for this blog post.
There are many many reasons to love San Francisco. The architecture, the views of the bay, the amazing cuisine, the cable cars rumbling up and down the hills. It’s one of, if not the most, international cities in the US. It’s what capitivated me to move from Texas nearly 15 years ago.
But with every ying there is a yang. There are things that drive us nuts about our fair city too. In light of the Chronicle article, I thought it would be fun to poll the LCI staff on their #1 like and #1 dislike about San Francisco. Below are my findings:
David Landis, President
Loves to Hate: The fog, especially the swirling fog that gets under your skin
Loves to Love: In San Francisco, everyone is extremely accepting of other kinds of people, lifestyles, cultures, races, etc.
Hilary Burns, Assistant Account Executive
Loves to Hate: San Francisco has the most unpredictable weather. I live in Haight-Ashbury and in a one-day period we can experience fog, sun, heat and even mugginess. It’s so hard to dress appropriately for the weather.
Loves to Love: The geography of San Francisco. It’s amazing that you can feel a part of a major metropolitan city in one minute and then within 25 minutes, you can be at the beach or hiking the Presidio.
Sean Dowdall, General Manager and Chief Marketing Officer
Loves to Hate: The bone-chilling fog, not the morning kind – the wet fog that comes blasting in with wind some afternoons – you can see it blowing right in front of you.
Loves to Love: The way people think and care about the future and our community. Often, incorporating everyone’s opinion really slows down the process or creates mediocrity, but it is the fact that people really care and want to make things better.
Gretchen Krueger, Senior Counselor
Loves to Hate: Too many great choices for food! I can’t decide where to go.
Loves to Love: Wonderful views from every part of the city.
Tarah Beaven, Senior Account Executive
Loves to Hate: Nothing trumps my disdain more than cyclists. They don’t abide by the rules and overall are a complete nuisance on the road. If cyclists weren’t so entitled on the road, obeyed traffic laws and had common courtesy, I think it would save lives.
Loves to Love: The city’s diversity. The people, activities, micro-cultures , everything. I feel proud when I say I’m a San Franciscan because it means I’m part of a city that is notoriously unique and quirky.
Donna Glass, Senior Counselor
Loves to Hate: SFMTA, the entity which manages parking in San Francisco. The whole parking (and ticketing) system in this city is a racket designed to relieve people of their hard earned money. I barely escaped getting my car towed the other day because the signs were covered by a tree. I still got a ticket.
Loves to Love: The San Francisco Ferry Building. Where else can you sip a Blue Bottle latte with views of the bay, pick up fresh produce at the farmer’s market and sample just about every cuisine imaginable under one historic roof?
What do you love – or hate – about San Francisco? Please post your link in our comments section below or email me at: [email protected].
Thanks, Donna. And when we weigh the pros and the cons, living in San Francisco is still the best place to be on the planet. Cheers, David
David, I agree. I still get a slight tingle every time I drive over the Golden Gate Bridge, especially on a sunny day. We sure are lucky to live in a place that is this gorgeous!!
Love to love: the Golden Gate bridge, the bay, Lombard Street, cable cars, the Japanese Tea Garden, Pier 29, the open minded culture, organic food everywhere, great wines, but especially my PRGN friends and colleagues David and Sean, and their outstanding PR firm LCI.
Love to hate: the fact that San Francisco is so far away from Italy 🙂
Alessandra – we wish we were closer to Italy, too! Thank you! Cheers, David and Sean