Overview

Over the past year, I’ve had the privilege to live in San Francisco with two of my best friends, Henry and Rhian. I’m currently writing this on the commute back home for Thanksgiving to Cincinnati. After that, I’ll fly to New York, where I’ll get the perks of living with two other close friends, Nick Bookout and Tommy Kelley. So if you’re in New York, and ever want to hang out, please hit me up.

Thoughts

What to say as a reflection over my past year. It went quick is probably where I’d start. The year ripped by. Filled with other travel plans, bouncing all over the US and the world, onsites and offsites for work, and the general pace of life.

I’m trying to have a very Virginia Wolfe stream of consciousness with how I approach this article.

Wildlife

We were lucky enough to live in the Presidio which felt like a consistent dream being surrounded by that much nature. I’d fall asleep to owls hooting in the trees outside our apartment (we named them Hoot and Dey (go bengals)). I could hear the waves crashing on the shore down at Baker Beach. Raccoons would occasionally investigate our trash and recycling. There was a constant stream of dog walkers brightening up my days whenever I’d sneak out of the apartment to get some sun. We all saw coyotes basking in the sunlight or close to the golf course standing surveying their land.

The highlight for wildlife had to be seeing two whales playing while Helen (Henry’s sister) and I were out surfing down at Pacifica Beach one morning. A regret of mine that I didn’t make that excursion a bit more.

Terrain

A ten minute bike ride to the Golden Gate bridge plus another ten minutes over the bridge would put as at Hawk Hill, one of the more stunning views of the city in my opinion. We were probably a 15 minute bike ride from Ocean Beach. It truly doesn’t get much better than that.

Roommates

Henry and I have known each other (and been best friends) since pre-school. Kindergarten really. We were both Overland leaders together.

We both love the outdoors very much. And so given all of the bullet points above, I think the Presidio was a mecca in terms of wildlife and outdoor activity. Biking, running, surfing, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, strong cyclists (shoutout Fat Cake). The outdoor time was a welcome breath of fresh air from the stream of screens and tech that has become my daily life.

So given our love for the outdoors, I think Henry and Rhi did a good job of encouraging me to not miss it - and honestly, to not work too hard. That’s a trepidation of mine as I move towards New York where the culture and grind can be pervasive and ubiquitous. My year in SF - and more specifically - my year of living with Henry and Rhian will be a good reminder of making sure to take the time and space I need to get some outdoors time and give myself the mental break I need.

Henry and Rhi were lifesavers throughout my San Francisco time. Quite literally, I think I was going through some dark periods at times there and I leaned hard on them as core support and friends. And I will forever be appreciative of them.

I think they also encouraged me to not work too hard, which I personally think is a trope of my entire type-A family. They maybe pushed and called into question how much I was working, if I liked work, if I was using work as a way to block out struggles. All good questions, and all good things for me to consistently think about.

Summary

San Francisco is a wonderful city. I’m not sure if I’ll be back given how much of my life I still feel like is connected to the Midwest or to my family. The outdoors and scenes that I was able to see - from whales playing while surfing to sunrises over the Golden Gate bridge - were scenes that I’ll always cherish and appreciate.

I’ll forever keep San Francisco close to my heart. I don’t think it’s exactly the right city for me, but I’m already looking forward to visiting.

Here’s a couple of my favorite images from the past year.

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