In lovely FAQ form:
THE WHERE
The city by the bay; the city built on rock 'n' roll; home of The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Journey, and close to a naval base in Alameda where they keep the nuclear wessels:
San Francisco, CA
THE WHY
This part will be filled in when IT isn't sniffing my packets (or picking my snackets).
THE WHEN
Probably within the next month or so. "Soon" doesn't even begin to cover it. Of course, being a geek, my first thought was "Finding the time to get a PSP at launch just became a huge pain in the ass."
THE HOW
Probably with a lot of stress, anxiety, and frequent flyer miles. Looking for an apartment isn't easy, nevermind from 3,000 miles away.
But seriously, it took about two months of detailed planning. Special thanks to Jinx and other friends outside of GAF for giving me a crash course in how to talk to people entreanched in bureaucracy. It was a little bit practical, a little bit following through on a long-standing goal of escaping winter.
Without getting into too many details, this was a win/win situation. My department, after reviewing my proposal, agreed that having someone in California physically - instead of controlling nearly everything remotely - would be a smart idea, and I never see winter again outside of holiday visits.
My Republican, politics-as-football friends do joke that it's because I saw a chance to live in a city "bluer" than New York, and went for it. That couldn't be further from the truth, although it's a rather astute observation.
You're not just moving out there without a job, are you?
Not a chance. My company has an office in San Francisco, and I'll be working out of there. Thanks to the nature of what I do, the only thing that's really changing is the location of my desk.
Anyway, to paraphrase a massive e-mail I sent out late last week: I'm excited, but I'm also scared shitless. Show me someone who didn't have even a token amount of anxiety about a move as drastic as this, and I'll show you a liar. This isn't a cross-town move, this is a cross-country move. I do know some people from school (both college and high school) in San Francisco and the bay area, but not nearly as many as I do here in New York. It's going to be an adjustment, to say the least.
But let's not get too heavy here. Grief is best served to family members. I know as much about San Francisco as a few short vacations long ago and Google can tell me. But I'm more interested in the other, non-Chamber of Commerce stuff. Good bars, good nightlife, how to play San Francisco Rules "Good Block, Bad Block," etc.
Anything and everything. Visitor to, or resident of San Francisco or the bay area? Dump it in this thread. I haven't been there since....Christ, Clinton was still in office. Hell, if you've moved as far as this, general pointers for keeping ones' sanity during the process will also be appreciated.
THE WHERE
The city by the bay; the city built on rock 'n' roll; home of The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Journey, and close to a naval base in Alameda where they keep the nuclear wessels:
San Francisco, CA
THE WHY
This part will be filled in when IT isn't sniffing my packets (or picking my snackets).
THE WHEN
Probably within the next month or so. "Soon" doesn't even begin to cover it. Of course, being a geek, my first thought was "Finding the time to get a PSP at launch just became a huge pain in the ass."
THE HOW
Probably with a lot of stress, anxiety, and frequent flyer miles. Looking for an apartment isn't easy, nevermind from 3,000 miles away.
But seriously, it took about two months of detailed planning. Special thanks to Jinx and other friends outside of GAF for giving me a crash course in how to talk to people entreanched in bureaucracy. It was a little bit practical, a little bit following through on a long-standing goal of escaping winter.
Without getting into too many details, this was a win/win situation. My department, after reviewing my proposal, agreed that having someone in California physically - instead of controlling nearly everything remotely - would be a smart idea, and I never see winter again outside of holiday visits.
My Republican, politics-as-football friends do joke that it's because I saw a chance to live in a city "bluer" than New York, and went for it. That couldn't be further from the truth, although it's a rather astute observation.
You're not just moving out there without a job, are you?
Not a chance. My company has an office in San Francisco, and I'll be working out of there. Thanks to the nature of what I do, the only thing that's really changing is the location of my desk.
Anyway, to paraphrase a massive e-mail I sent out late last week: I'm excited, but I'm also scared shitless. Show me someone who didn't have even a token amount of anxiety about a move as drastic as this, and I'll show you a liar. This isn't a cross-town move, this is a cross-country move. I do know some people from school (both college and high school) in San Francisco and the bay area, but not nearly as many as I do here in New York. It's going to be an adjustment, to say the least.
But let's not get too heavy here. Grief is best served to family members.
I know as much about San Francisco as a few short vacations long ago and Google can tell me. But I'm more interested in the other, non-Chamber of Commerce stuff. Good bars, good nightlife, how to play San Francisco Rules "Good Block, Bad Block," etc.Anything and everything. Visitor to, or resident of San Francisco or the bay area? Dump it in this thread. I haven't been there since....Christ, Clinton was still in office. Hell, if you've moved as far as this, general pointers for keeping ones' sanity during the process will also be appreciated.