When I was a kid, growing up in the suburbs of the Bay Area, San Francisco was THE CITY for me. I used to dream of living there one day. Fast forward a gazillion years later. I did it! I’m now grateful to be able to call this beautiful city home. San Francisco, however, has its idiosyncrasies. Here are 5 tips you need to know before you visit San Francisco.

San Francisco has a Microclimate

Karl the Fog

We have a name for the city’s iconic fog. Karl. “If you don’t like the weather, walk a few blocks” is a statement often used to describe San Francisco’s weather. I’ll be walking down a street in Financial District and I could turn around a corner and walk a block and suddenly be hit by a gust of wind that will whip my hair out of shape faster than it took for me to do my hair. This wind can continue for a block or two until I turn another corner and voila, everything is calm once again. It’s a city with a variety of microclimates. San Francisco is surrounded by water on three sides from the Pacific Ocean to the west, the Golden Gate strait to the north and the San Francisco Bay to the east. The city is in the direct path of cool ocean currents and parts of the city are often shrouded in fog. But not all areas are afflicted with Karl the fog, that’s a misconception.

Tip #1 you need to know before you visit San Francisco: Neighborhoods such as SoMa, Mission, Nob Hill, North Beach get the least fog per day. So if you want to sit out with a cup of coffee or a drink you now know where to go and how to plan accordingly.

San Francisco’s Terrain

The city’s land area of 46.89 sq mi includes terrain that varies greatly by neighborhood. This is in part thanks to a number of hills in the center of the city. The Twin Peaks include Mount Sutro and Mount Davidson and are the highest peaks. The hills are part of the coastal mountain ranges in California. Neighborhoods bordering the Pacific Ocean, like the Sunset District will have more cool, foggy weather. In contrast if you go to Noe Valley, you’ll experience warmer climate, as its located east of the Twin Peaks and these hills end up blocking the fog and cold winds. Now the cold winds and fog can also travel to other parts of the city. Take for example Candlestick Point. Even though it’s the farthest from the Pacific Ocean, it can get quite foggy and chilly, thanks to the Alemany Gap. This is a mountain pass between the San Bruno mountain and the Twin Peaks area. The wind and fog flow through this gap towards Candlestick Point.

Know before you go: You need to always have layers and don’t bother styling your hair!

From Hippies to Yuppies

San Francisco is now synonymous with Technology. But not so back in the day. The city, that gave us Summer of Love in 1967 was a symbol for all those in search of a free and self-determined life. That’s what attracted me to the city as a child. The notion of “you can be anything in San Francisco, no body cares”. It seemed possible to lead an alternate lifestyle here, free of conventions, social obligations, and consumption. Don’t get me wrong, San Francisco certainly had its share of tech companies in the city back then like Dolby Laboratories or Lucasfilm. But recent tax incentives enabled many other tech companies to setup shop in the city versus further south in the Silicon Valley, the original tech hub of Northern California. Today, while you can see still catch glimpses of the old San Francisco scattered here and there in the architecture, people, festivals, bookstores and bars, tech yuppies have replaced the hippies.

Tip #2 you need to know before you visit San Francisco: Look for a calendar of events so you can time your visit to coincide with some of the festivals mentioned here. For hippy vibes, check out Hippie Hill, Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, Amoeba music record store, City lights bookstore, Vesuvio cafe, 420 park for weed fueled chaos, Bay to Breakers (be prepared for costumes and naked people), Annual Festival of Chariots, How Weird Street Faire.

Yes, the city has a visible homeless population

The #1 Problem in San Francisco is the homeless population. I’m not kidding. This is what residents may say when asked what the number one problem across the city is. The opioid epidemic has added more addicts onto the street, shooting up in public. This is a pretty common sight now. The number of tents you can see on pavements across the city has increased compared to before. Did you know the waiting list for beds in the city’s homeless shelters is almost always 1,000+? The tech boom also revitalized many previously homeless hangouts, causing the displaced people to move around. For many not used to seeing homeless people, this can come as a shock. Residents will also regale you with stories about the smell of urine and the sight of human feces on sidewalks. I thought this was a gross exaggeration until I started experiencing this myself. Needles on the sidewalk? I’ve seen a few of those and almost stepped on one until I spotted it at the very last minute and managed to stumble my way around it.

Tip #3 you need to know before you visit San Francisco: Watch where you walk, avoid certain areas at night such as Tenderloin, Bayview-Hunters Point, Sunnydale, and avoid public transportation at night.

Parking spots are near-impossible to find

The city is NOT parking friendly. When I was living in the suburbs an hour away, I drove up to San Francisco one day with a friend of mine. We were trying to go to a cafe in North Beach. We drove around looking for parking for 45 minutes, gave up, and drove all the way back home to the suburbs. That was 10 years ago. During our shelter-in-place, I stopped right in front of a cafe wanting to get lunch one day to support the small businesses in the city. I parked my car with the blinkers on for a less than five minute curbside pick up. A few days later I got a parking ticket via mail fining me $100 for stopping in front of the restaurant. Even during our lockdown, when there is no traffic, it’s impossible to find an actual parking spot to park in. On most days, I’ll walk, ride B.A.R.T, take a muni, or a ride-share before driving myself through this city.

Tip #4 you need to know before you visit San Francisco: Walk as much as you can, plan for Muni delays, avoid the B.A.R.T at night and utilize car pool ride-sharing

Public Transportation is limited

San Francisco is a city but it’s not really known for public transportation. The Bay Area Rapid Transit or B.A.R.T is an underground subway system but doesn’t have tracks throughout the city. The Muni that runs above and below ground is often delayed. B.A.R.T often smells of all kinds of stuff I can’t identify. I’ve seen people drooling, spitting, throwing up on a B.A.R.T and for the ones that still have the cloth seats, this is downright disgusting.

Tip #5 you need to know before you visit San Francisco: Try to avoid public transportation at night. Stand if you’re on a B.A.R.T that hasn’t upgraded its cloth seats. Walk if you have the time. Plan ahead for Muni delays. Carpool with a ride-share.

I hope these tips help you plan your next visit to San Francisco! Please let me know if your experience has been different from what I’ve listed here, would love to hear your comments!