# Getting tired of San Francisco **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 6, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641 "2019-07-06T22:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/41 "2019-07-10T17:58:09Z")
> [@Reply](#): > > How about Fairfax, CA? Not very far from SF, but far enough that it feels very different and still suburban/borderline rural. Lots of open space nearby for driving or whatnot, but close enough to Lyft/Uber into town if you need to. > > If you’re willing to move 5 hours north, Humboldt County, CA has great quality of life (especially in Arcata) if you’re well off enough to retire here. Very few careers, sadly, so most people leave after college. Similar climate to San Francisco, very gay-friendly, lots more culture than a town of this size deserves. Ashland, OR is another place to consider, but it’s very rapidly gentrifying. > > Also, wherever you are, it’s a good time to start lobbying cities to subsidize Lyft/Uber rides for elderly passengers to fill that gap in transit. I was going to suggest suburban Marin County as well. Not Sausalito (which is over-run with tourists), but Mill Valley, Fairfax, Ross, San Anselmo, San Rafael, Novato: all seem less intense that SF, but within a hop-skip-jump from all the amenities of the City. All have, more or less, pedestrian-friendly downtown areas and decent public transit. Cost of living is probably comparable to SF or maybe a little less, but without the hassles and irritants the OP mentions, and with the climate the OP is accustomed-to. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/42 "2019-07-10T18:10:32Z")
Moved to Alameda from SF a few years ago. I can be in downtown SF faster than when I lived in SF. Cheaper. (Not cheap. Cheaper.) Love it here. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/43 "2019-07-10T20:59:59Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > You ought to google gay retirement homes in northern California. WTF!?! Seriously dude, what is wrong with you? Given your logic, why are you not on some redneck version of the SDMB? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/44 "2019-07-10T22:50:39Z")
In the vein of SLO (where I went to college, and would love to retire to) consider the Santa Barbara/Ventura/Ojai area. I grew up in Ojai until I was 18. It’s a beautiful little town, and only half an hour from Ventura, which is a reasonable-sized town. Santa Barbara is very nice too. The weather’s pretty good since all three towns are relatively close to the ocean, though it can get pretty hot in Ojai during the summer. The area is expensive but if you’re used to SF and don’t balk at SLO prices, you should be fine. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/45 "2019-07-11T04:09:42Z")
> [@Omar\_Little](#): > > WTF!?! > > Seriously dude, what is wrong with you? > > Given your logic, why are you not on some redneck version of the SDMB? Thanks for inviting him back here. I guess you just couldn’t resist. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/46 "2022-07-03T16:01:56Z")
For those of us who live in poor rural America this comes across as absolutely crazy: > **[SF couple gets $1,500 fine for parking in their driveway despite doing so for...](https://abc7news.com/san-francisco-parking-violations-driveway-carport/12009975/)** > > The city said there was a chance they could be grandfathered into being allowed to park in front of their house -- if they could find a historic photo showing a car (or horse-drawn buggy) parked there. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/47 "2022-07-03T16:25:27Z")
If they don’t want people to own cars, this ridiculous corrupt bullshit is obviously not the way to go about it. Instead, just charge a sufficiently high congestion charge. I think it’s supposed to be about $20 per day now in New York City? It’s not “absolutely crazy”, though— the difference with poor rural America is that there traffic congestion may not be a main problem, and there may not be public transportation alternatives obviating the need to own a car. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/48 "2022-07-03T16:34:23Z")
Petty officialdom never ceases to amaze, though the busybody anonymous complainant deserves a good kick in the butt. At least their HOA (if there is one) hasn’t dragged them into court yet. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2022, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641/49 "2022-07-03T18:47:09Z")
I’m not familiar with the particular ordinance they were violating; lots of people get regular parking tickets for parking in front of their garage when they are blocking the sidewalk, but apparently that’s not the issue here. If I were them, I would be working with my district Supervisor to get the ordinance changed or repealed. Lots of rules around housing and parking have changed in the past decade or so, due to increased population density. I once parked my car in the space between my house and the sidewalk, while we were on vacation and I didn’t want to get a street-cleaning ticket and I didn’t want to pay to park it for two weeks. Fortunately, no-one complained. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-tired-of-san-francisco/836641.md?page=2)