Union Square is a square in the center of San Francisco
The very first large wave of Russian-speaking immigrants arrived sometime in the 1930s and consisted of former White Army officers, their families, and other refugees who, after wandering through the Far East, moved to America via China. Then, as in New York, there were several immigration waves from Soviet times. And finally, today's migrants — it's hard to call them a wave; rather, they are disparate groups of young people coming for various, but mainly economic, reasons from countries of the former USSR and staying for study or work. Which, in fact, happened to me as well.
Most newcomers settle in the suburbs, closer to Silicon Valley or in the Sacramento areas, where it is cheaper. Except for the impressive Orthodox cathedral on Geary Street, the Russian presence in San Francisco itself is not as noticeable as, say, in Brooklyn. There are only a handful of Russian cuisine restaurants.
On the other hand, if you like Asian or Latin American cuisine, San Francisco is a real paradise. Inexpensive Thai and Mexican restaurants are especially popular. On almost every corner there are also Chinese or Vietnamese establishments, many Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Pakistani ones.
In San Francisco, the culture of online reviews of everything is very developed, because most review websites originated here (more on that later), and restaurants certainly get their share of both positive and negative reviews. Sometimes, however, the system malfunctions. Cult food establishments constantly appear in the city, where queues almost always form because they are at the peak of online reviews, while you can walk into almost identical quality but less popular places without any wait.
People also like to drink in San Francisco. Despite the small size of the city, it has hundreds, if not thousands, of bars and drinking and entertainment establishments of various kinds. It is believed that the art of 'mixology' originated here — mixing various exotic drinks into single cocktails, which are invented and served by the most skillful bartenders and become local legends.
According to one such legend, the Martini cocktail and Irish coffee were also invented in San Francisco. This is fueled by the hipster subculture, which, if it did not originate in San Francisco itself, gained enormous popularity here. After all, the city itself, with its mild climate, liberalism, and sybaritic spirit, contributes to hipster values through a combination of comfort and style, hedonism, disregard for old norms, obsession with healthy food, and the desire to live for pleasure regardless of income. In this, by the way, lies one of the main advantages of this city — both rich and poor can enjoy San Francisco. Housing is another matter, but more on that a little below.
And it is quite possible that it was the hipster free-spirited atmosphere of San Francisco that largely contributed to the city's status as an innovation center and the capital of all startups. After all, how great it is to be struck by an idea, find like-minded people, slave away for a couple of years to bring it to life in some rental apartment, and then bam — get fabulously rich. This is exactly what the new 'American Dream' San Francisco-style is. And examples include Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.
Of course, such stories are exceptions to the rule; about 90 percent of startups fail, but this does not stop thousands of people wanting to come to San Francisco and 'make a quick buck'. So-called startupers, novice technology entrepreneurs, are everywhere here. They are joined by young millionaires from Google and Facebook, who, although they work in Silicon Valley 80 kilometers to the south, prefer to live in this city.
This circumstance, by the way, has wildly driven up housing rental prices: in the most prestigious areas of the city like Hayes Valley, Mission, Marina, Pacific Heights, a one-bedroom apartment can easily cost from $3,500 per month and up. And even in more affordable areas like Richmond, Sunset, or Twin Peaks, it's already practically impossible to find an apartment cheaper than $2,500 per month.
This causes some fermentation in society, as the opinion is widespread, especially among San Francisco liberals, that the rich 'techies' are gradually squeezing out of the city not only the working class but also the ordinary middle class, for whom living within the city limits becomes unaffordable. And there is a large element of truth here: not every millionaire can afford to buy real estate in San Francisco, let alone teachers, shop assistants, municipal workers, and ordinary clerks.
One cannot fail to mention the homeless in San Francisco. For many visitors, it is a real shock, almost the first thing that catches the eye. In the city center, at every intersection, there is one or even several beggars. There are thousands of them in the city, it is a real problem for which no solution is yet in sight. Moreover, homeless people flock to San Francisco from all over the country, because the soil for idleness in the city is the most favorable. The climate allows them to feel quite comfortable on the sidewalks almost year-round, there are enough tourists to 'shake down' for handouts, and the city does not want to lose its reputation as a flagship of liberalism by taking any harsh measures.
Among the homeless, there are many young people, often runaways. They gather mainly on the sidewalks of the former hippie district Haight-Ashbury. However, these rather aggressive young idlers have little in common with those real hippies who lived here in the 1960s. Largely due to the homeless problem, San Francisco has a relatively high crime rate — mainly car break-ins, robbery, and apartment burglaries. The police, of course, are making efforts, but so far they are insufficient.
Returning to real estate: its high cost is largely due to the size of the city – it is small and, as they say, not made of rubber. San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides, and on the fourth side it is adjacent to Mount San Bruno. Therefore, new construction cannot solve the housing shortage problem, although building is in full swing, especially on land reclaimed from the sea by landfill.
But we must not forget that San Francisco is located in a highly seismic zone and small earthquakes are quite common here. There are also serious tremors, like in 1989, when a significant part of the Marina district, built precisely on such unstable reclaimed land, was destroyed. All this, however, worries real estate developers little. And yet another serious earthquake is only a matter of time for San Francisco. The future does not seem to trouble the nearly one million residents of this wonderful city, either.
Why worry about what might happen or might not. Better to just enjoy the wonderful weather year-round, stunning sunsets over the Pacific Ocean, surfing and running on the beach, excellent coffee in cozy coffee shops, exotic food and cocktails? Being at the cutting edge of the world's technological developments and hoping that your startup will soon make its first million?
The nature in the city is indeed unique in many ways. It is practically eternal spring here – there is no winter as such, snow never occurs. But heat is also rare. The temperature year-round fluctuates between 10 and 25 degrees Celsius. Moreover, the coldest months are, oddly enough, July and August. This is due to the cold ocean current off the coast of California. It creates the famous summer fogs that cool the city.
Air conditioning is not needed in San Francisco, but heating may be needed even in summer. Mark Twain is credited with the phrase: "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco." And although he didn't actually say that, there is some truth to it. Especially considering that the rest of the country is usually hot in summer. Because of the cold current, only "walruses" can swim in the ocean.
But the beaches in the city are beautiful, and on any sunny weekend they are packed. The cold water does not stop surfers, windsurfers, and kitesurfers in wetsuits, of whom there are many in the city. In general, it seems that the influence of the surrounding water on the city is simply enormous, which is not surprising. Naturally, this translates into an abundance of seafood in almost any restaurant. Those who are not interested in water can enjoy "land" attractions: there are many parks in the city, including the famous Golden Gate Park. There are interesting museums, an excellent opera house, galleries, and, of course, shopping.
Those who consider San Francisco their home simply call it The City. And even though it is not large in area – after all, somewhere in China or India there are probably regional centers of the same size – San Francisco continues to attract with its charm, magic, and unique character.
And that is why, despite all its shortcomings, I like living here. And I am not alone.