I Leave My Heart In San Francisco

Last night someone said to me, "Oh my gosh Natali, you're really done with San Francisco." It knocked the wind out of me.

I had just sold my TV and coffee table on Craigslist and was looking at a very naked living room so the timing of that sentence could not have been worse. Do I really want to leave San Francisco? Will I will join the Tony Bennett club and leave my heart here or will I (heart) New York just as much?

I am not about to change my mind. I wrote a very big deposit check for my New York apartment, I canceled my Dish Network. I am going. But these days leading up to the move have me in limbo with nothing but time to contemplate what I will leave behind.

As much as I try not to be, I am pensive. My heart is breaking slowly for this city as I leave it. Part of me wants to rip off the Band-AID and just go already but I have to wait. CES and MacWorld beckon, afterall. So while I wait for my much-anticipated move date, I will do my best to enjoy the things that I know I will miss about this place, such as:

• The Golden Gate Bridge


• Mexican food


• Being so close to my family


• Specialty's cookies


• Having a car, although not necessarily my car


• Running to the Hoppers' Hands


• Long walks with my book club girls


• Ambiance


• Froyo


• My supper club

While I'm at it, here are a few things that I will not miss:

• Waiting for San Francisco's free city-wide Wi-Fi network to come to fruition


• Being called a Marina Girl


• Getting my car ticketed or towed over parking


• The Triangle


• Muni

I'm sure I'll come up with a more exhaustive list as I get to packing but starting it was therapeutic. I know New York is a great place. I know this is the right move for me. I could not be more excited about my new show and my new job. But I would be remiss not to take pause and give this city a proper ode after all it has given to me.

Don't forget me, San Francisco. I'll be home soon.

Comments

[Matthew]

Well, here's a list of things you won't miss about NYC:

1. Being called "bridge and tunnel crowd". If someone calls you "Jersey Girl" you'd better slap them.
2. A Times Square full of tourists.
3. Those annoying people who want to have dinner in Brooklyn.
4. Dealing with people who won't have dinner in Brooklyn because they watched too many episodes of "Sex in The City" and think it's "far away".
5. The fact that while you can get coffee anywhere, and I do mean anywhere, it tastes like day old dregs.
6. The smell of the subways.

And a list of things you will miss:

1. Being able to hail a cab anytime & anywhere in Manhattan.
2. Times Square, when you walk outside and feel like a kid seeing the bright lights for the first time again.
3. Gawking at the skyline from the roof above your apartment (in Brooklyn).
4. H&H Bagels.
5. Knowing you just left the City That Never Sleeps.

I started with snark and now I feel nostalgic. Oh well, can't win them all.

[will]

It's cool to see this. I am moving from NY to the bay area in a few weeks, and it sounds like I am roughly your age (30 in 10 months, I guess).

Anyway, leaving on a jet plane (and a tractor trailer, I guess) is pretty crazy. I never thought I'd be out here this long. When I came out here from Wyoming - yeah, really - I'm now not sure how long I thought I'd be on the east coast.

So now, I'm trying something brand new. It's exciting. I think the most important thing is to enjoy what is cool about where you are.

And, if you get nostalgic for good mexican (which I think is tough to find in NYC) head to mama mexciana. It is nice and cozy, with great food. Otherwise, I think, you best bet are street vendors in queens.

[Doodee]

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