# Isn't San Francisco (CA) part of a peninsula? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 7, 2009, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969 "2009-06-07T01:36:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/21 "2009-06-07T17:30:28Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I can see that being considered the case in San Jose, which is bigger than San Francisco, but I grew up (age 8-18) in Petaluma, and references to the city were very common. (“Where does your mom work?” “In the city.”) I think it’s just because it’s a shorter phrase. > > Capitalizations are a different issue. San Jose. Now there’s a city with an ego problem. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/22 "2009-06-07T18:01:34Z")
I lived for many years in Mountain View and always identified myself as living on “The Peninsula” even though technically it is probably not. Go figure. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/23 "2009-06-07T18:11:32Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I can see that being considered the case in San Jose, which is bigger than San Francisco, but I grew up (age 8-18) in Petaluma, and references to the city were very common. When I was around 18 I spent a lot of time in the San Jose area and can confirm that everyone there referred to SF as “the city”. In fact the term is used as far away as Santa Cruz, or at least it was then. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/24 "2009-06-07T18:24:24Z")
[hijack] Since the County of San Francisco and City of San Fracisco are the same geographical, is there any pragmatic distinction between the two? [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/25 "2009-06-07T18:27:52Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > I lived for many years in Mountain View and always identified myself as living on “The Peninsula” even though technically it is probably not. Go figure. I include it. I’m in Cupertino, and consider Mountain View / Los Altos to be “Peninsula”, with Sunnyvale / Cupertino being the start of the “South Bay”, so I identify myself as living in “The South Bay” or “Silicon Valley”. Of course it’s rather arbitrary, and they overlap. If you look, you find businesses called “South Bay” this and that in Redwood City, and businesses called “Peninsula” this and that in Santa Clara, both of which seem a stretch. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/26 "2009-06-07T18:28:50Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > When I was around 18 I spent a lot of time in the San Jose area and can confirm that everyone there referred to SF as “the city”. In fact the term is used as far away as Santa Cruz, or at least it was then. Say that there now and hizonner Chuck Reed might have you tossed into the hoosegow. I pick on San Jose because I never did get to go down there to see the Gran Prix. Dang! ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/27 "2009-06-07T18:34:07Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > [hijack] > Since the County of San Francisco and City of San Fracisco are the same geographical, is there any pragmatic distinction between the two? > [/hijack] Not really a hijack, imo. I don’t think you can be the mayor of a county. Other than that, I don’t know. They can ban guns. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/28 "2009-06-07T18:47:13Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > I include it. I’m in Cupertino, and consider Mountain View / Los Altos to be “Peninsula”, with Sunnyvale / Cupertino being the start of the “South Bay”, so I identify myself as living in “The South Bay” or “Silicon Valley”. Of course it’s rather arbitrary, and they overlap. If you look, you find businesses called “South Bay” this and that in Redwood City, and businesses called “Peninsula” this and that in Santa Clara, both of which seem a stretch. I went to m-w and found this for “peninsula”; > [@](#): > > a piece of land jutting out into the water whether with or without a well-defined isthmus I did so because I couldn’t see a real isthmus on the map. They should cut a canal accross and make it an island. 🆒 But then San Francisco would insist that the canal follow _their_ border. I hope the hell Newsom isn’t reading this. BTW; I love SF. But for money I’d live there. I’d have a vacation flat in Manhattan. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/29 "2009-06-07T19:13:36Z")
I grew up in Palo Alto, and we lived on the Peninsula. My mom worked in the City. To me, the Peninsula includes all the cities on the west side of the bay between San Francisco and San Jose. Now that I live in San Francisco, I find that it’s the people from outside the city who refer to it as “the City” to differentiate it from the various suburbs. I always say that I live in “San Francisco”. I like to think of the Peninsula as a thumb, and San Francisco as the thumbnail. (After trying unsuccessfully for some time to explain how to use your hands to make a map of the Bay Area, I found this [handy representation](http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/313-a-handy-map-of-san-francisco-bay/).) > [@](#): > > Since the County of San Francisco and City of San Fracisco are the same geographical, is there any pragmatic distinction between the two? No, the official name of the political entity is “The City and County of San Francisco”. We do have institutions that reflect our dual nature – a Sheriff as well as a Police Chief, a Board of Supervisors rather than a City Council, etc. Our Sheriff is a San Francisco institution. He was first elected in 1979, and has been continually re-elected ever since. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/30 "2009-06-07T19:14:11Z")
> [@SaintCad](#): > > [hijack] > Since the County of San Francisco and City of San Fracisco are the same geographical, is there any pragmatic distinction between the two? > [/hijack] Nah. It has a rather unusual civic government setup (no city council, just a county board of supervisors), but practically speaking, it’s not a big deal. Although I do believe this arrangement is what allowed Gavin Newsom to declare that gay marriage would be legal in the city. I could be in error, but I believe that marriages are recorded by the county, and in most counties, the recorder wouldn’t be directed by a city’s mayor. Since here, they are the same thing, the mayor was able to take some rather unusual steps (which were eventually overruled as unconstitutional anyway, but I don’t think would have gotten off the ground at all in most places). ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/31 "2009-06-07T20:56:49Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > This seems similar to common usage in New York, where, in Queens, the city always meant Manhattan, even though we were officially part of New York City. And Long Island means Nassau and Suffolk even though both Brooklyn and Queens are on that same island. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/32 "2009-06-07T23:04:21Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > I grew up in Palo Alto, and we lived on the Peninsula. My mom worked in the City. To me, the Peninsula includes all the cities on the west side of the bay between San Francisco and San Jose. > > Now that I live in San Francisco, I find that it’s the people from outside the city who refer to it as “the City” to differentiate it from the various suburbs. I always say that I live in “San Francisco”. > > I like to think of the Peninsula as a thumb, and San Francisco as the thumbnail. (After trying unsuccessfully for some time to explain how to use your hands to make a map of the Bay Area, I found this [handy representation](http://strangemaps.wordpress.com/2008/09/23/313-a-handy-map-of-san-francisco-bay/).) > > No, the official name of the political entity is “The City and County of San Francisco”. We do have institutions that reflect our dual nature – a Sheriff as well as a Police Chief, a Board of Supervisors rather than a City Council, etc. Our Sheriff is a San Francisco institution. He was first elected in 1979, and has been continually re-elected ever since. Okay San Franciscan person, how do you feel about “Frisco”? I’ve heard the word used over there, but couldn’t tell if the speakers were residents or tourists. I rarely, if ever, hear it around here. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/33 "2009-06-08T01:19:15Z")
Every place has these regionalisms. Both Chicago and Cleveland (and probably a buncha other Great Lakes cities as well) have a distinct area they call the “lakefront” – although the lakefront is one entire border of the city and extends far beyond it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/34 "2009-06-08T04:56:58Z")
> [@ruadh](#): > > When I was around 18 I spent a lot of time in the San Jose area and can confirm that everyone there referred to SF as “the city”. Not any longer. Really, people from around San Jose give an eyeroll to dudes who say “The City”. “Frisco” is pretty much hated but “esseff” is pretty common. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/35 "2009-06-08T06:40:25Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Like most of the regional Bay Area designations, “East Bay” is flexible, depending on who you’re talking to. I would include Hayward in “East Bay”, and possibly Fremont, Newark and Union City as well, simply because there’s no other convenient regional designation to place them in. Some people would restrict to the region to something like the area from San Leandro up to El Cerrito or Albany. Wiki gives a very large area for “East Bay” which I really don’t agree with, including Contra Costa county: > > [East Bay - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Bay_(San_Francisco_Bay_Area)#Cities) > > When I first moved to the Bay Area, I lived out in Hercules (cheaper out there). I would consider that “West Contra Costa”, not “East Bay”. We have Cal State East Bay, formerly Cal State Hayward, but the traffic reports for the East Bay never cover south of Oakland. (On KCBS, at least.) Since I’m a traffic junkie, that is where my definition comes from. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/36 "2009-06-08T06:43:46Z")
> [@PBear42](#): > > Another geographic disconnect I’ve always found amusing is that few people think of Brooklyn and Queens as being situated on Long Island, though of course they are. Psychologically, though, the g’Island is further out. Again, IIRC, there’s an undeveloped swath of real estate between the two. I think you remember incorrectly. I grew up in Queens not very far from the Nassau County border, and it was pretty well developed when I left, 35 years ago. I suspect the difference is that it was much easier to get into the city from the outer boroughs using public transportation. Going to Long Island required a car or the dreaded LIRR. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/37 "2009-06-08T15:03:03Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Okay San Franciscan person, how do you feel about “Frisco”? I’ve heard the word used over there, but couldn’t tell if the speakers were residents or tourists. > I rarely, if ever, hear it around here. Don’t use it. We dun like it. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/38 "2009-06-08T15:22:13Z")
Don’t say “Frisco” unless you mean [here](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=frisco,+co&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=DCktSuHwF5SStAPAoenvCg&z=13). Or, unless you’re one of [these dudes](http://www.friscohellsangels.com/html/links.htm), in which case most people won’t care to argue the point with you. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/39 "2009-06-08T17:32:45Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > Don’t use it. We dun like it. Musta been tourists then. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969/40 "2009-06-08T17:33:53Z")
> [@yabob](#): > > Don’t say “Frisco” unless you mean [here](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=frisco,+co&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&split=0&gl=us&ei=DCktSuHwF5SStAPAoenvCg&z=13). Or, unless you’re one of [these dudes](http://www.friscohellsangels.com/html/links.htm), in which case most people won’t care to argue the point with you. Bring 'em _on_. anon [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/isnt-san-francisco-ca-part-of-a-peninsula/498969.md?page=3)