San Francisco
California, USA
  • San Francisco Taking a ride on hilly San Francisco's iconic cable cars is almost like being in an amusement park.  San Francisco
    Taking a ride on hilly San Francisco's iconic cable cars is almost like being in an amusement park.

If you think about movies and San Francisco, it won't take long to imagine a car chase along hilly streets that cause speeding vehicles to go airborne before crashing down.

Iconic landmarks are everywhere

One of the world's top tourist destinations, San Francisco is known for its cool summers, periodic fog, hills, liberal politics, zany architecture, great food and landmarks like the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, cable cars and Chinatown.  You can watch sea otters and walruses at Fisherman's Wharf, where an active fishing industry and restaurants thrive.  And you can visit hip neighborhoods like the Mission District, Little Italy or the Castro, a center of gay life in the city. 

But San Francisco is more than a great place to visit.  It is one of the country's leading financial and cultural centers, as well as the metropolitan mother ship to global high technology companies like Google and Yahoo!  With area education leaders like the University of California at Berkeley and Stanford University, San Francisco's collective brain power can match any place in the world.

Climate

  • Mediterranean

Physical Environment

  • Beaches within 25 miles
  • City with at least one 50-story building

Culture

  • Ethnic restaurants
  • Fine art museum
  • Local professional ballet
  • Local community theatre
  • Local film festival
  • Local professional symphony
  • Major public college in downtown
  • Active club/bar/music scene

Politics

  • Liberal

Economy

  • $$$$ -- Things cost more than you'd expect

Recreation

  • Nearby surfing
  • Biking, hunting, running trails
  • Professional sports
  • Downtown yoga studio
  • Year-round fitness swimming center
  • Public golf course

Infrastructure

  • Public squares
  • Vibrant public transportation system
  • Lots of downtown living space
  • Mixed-use, mixed-income neighborhoods
  • International airport
  • Working farms within 25 miles
  • Safe bike corridors

Health

  • Community senior center
  • Emergency medical services within 25 miles
  • University teaching hospital
  • Community swimming pool