Souls of Society

“Do you live in this neighborhood?”

“Yep, my whole life. Me and a lot of my friends don’t leave the city unless they have a baby because then you can’t afford living here, but it’s a great city to live in. I travel a lot, but I always love coming back because it’s really hard to beat, besides Europe or New York.  How long have you lived here?”

“A little over 6 years. It was love at first sight for me too but my relationship with the city has changed. I’ve lived in lots of neighborhoods, most recently Hayes Valley, which isn’t a very diverse place, so I’ve started to crave different things. I just moved to Oakland and I love it. It seems more grounded, more affordable, more artists have moved that way. How do you feel about the way San Francisco is changing?”

“It’s more expensive for everybody so that’s my thing…I’m pregnant right now so I can’t think.”

“Oh, how long?”

“6 months.”

“Congratulations!”

“Thanks. Yeah, so this has always been a place where people want to come but it seems like now there are less San Franciscans because new people are coming in pushing everybody out. But I still love. Like, this neighborhood just opened a farmer’s market on Sunday, and I see all the people coming in bringing in new people and business. The neighborhood has evolved a lot. Still a lot of good Chinese food restaurants around here.”

“What’s your favorite one?”

“Uh..for  Thai food I like ‘Thai Time’. There’s a chinese restaurant called ‘China First’. It’s basic good homestyle stuff, like steamed egg custard with a 1000 year old egg. It’s something you would get at home but you get it there. Um…there’s a Japanese place called ‘Halu’, I like it there too.”

“Cool, I’ll have to check those out. So I know you’re about to be a mother but I’m sure you have some crazy stories from the wild days…”

“I have a lot, I was a wild child. I’m 38, I didn’t started chillin till I was about 35. It’s only cause my boyfriend at the time was like ‘What is wrong with you?!’ Then I thought ‘Ok, you’re cool. Maybe I’m ready for a relationship now. Like…a real one.”

“I feel like that’s how this city is…it’s a playground for adults.”

“It really is, it’s a great places for singles.”