Moving to San Francisco

The time has finally come! I am off to the big City. I have settled in a well known neighborhood of Pacific Heights; a very scenic area with views of the Bay and Golden Gate Bridge. The neighborhood is loosely boarded by Van Ness and Presidio avenues and Pine and Vallejo streets with the cable car running throughout. The area is generally calm and residential with great sights and culture including Lafayette Park, quintessential San Francisco style apartments, and Victorian Mansions. The majority of activity is surrounded around Filmore Street; a street full of boutiques, coffee shops, restaurants, nightlife, and did I mention shopping, shopping, shopping! Great for browsing, Saturday brunch, and people watching.

As I started packing up my apartment and getting ready for the move, I realized I needed some essential items to get me started off on the right foot. Here are some of the things I came up with:

1. downloaded several I-Phone applications to help me get around the city; I have San Francisco Exploration Guide and San Francisco At a Glance (both free). Along with easy access guides on my phone, I know I’ll have to pick up a traditional map, although I’m going to look like a tourist for a couple of weeks!

2. As I try to make my way around town, aka getting lost, I will need some ‘walking shoes.’ I put that in quotes only because I don’t know what walking shoes are… if you’ve never lived in a city, walking shoes are not really necessary. However, my flats were put to test in New York, and let’s just say my feet were swollen and bright red! Since I can’t wear running shoes (jeans+tennis shoes=NO bueno), or flats, I was thinking something casual like TOMS (durable yet cute). I will be making an uphill trek every time (shopping, eating, coffee, bank, etc) I walk to Filmore from my apartment which means I need some decent kicks.

3. Also, since I will be outdoors more then ever, sunglasses are  must have (I’m a huge fan of sunglasses...even when it’s raining I always seem to need something to protect my eyes). Thank goodness I just picked up several different styles!

4. The most important and most asked about question is parking. I don’t have assigned parking, so like the rest of the City, I’ll be spending a great amount of time finding a place to park. But the great thing is, I can go down to the DMV, show proof of being a San Francisco resident and pay for a parking permit. This allows you to park on the street without having to move your car every 2 hours (this is huge). Other restrictions do apply, like street cleaning.

If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave me a comment. I can use all the advice I can get! Alrighty I am off, wish me luck!