Transitions:From Suburban Living (SL) To City Living (CL)

What does it take to survive and to live happily ever after in the city like San Francisco?

Well, one must have the drive to enjoy city life and have a good financial standing plus ~confidence, tolerance, social and cultural awareness, adventurous spirit, sense of humor, zest for life, open-mindedness and ability to synch with people from cross-cultural groups. Moving from suburbs to city means getting into a constant state of CHANGE and dealing with lots of it almost on a daily basis. But we are not complaining, we are learning!

Consider the following below in terms of comparison: city living versus suburban living:

1. SPACE- San Francisco is a dream city to live in and to be in North Beach is fantastic but still we have to deal with certain things that go with our transition...

Suburban Living (SL): big space, big house, big yard, 2 car-garage*
City Living (CL): small space, astronomical apartment rentals, potted plants, *no garage*

(monthly rental for parking space starts from $375.00 + for vans and $350.00 for cars!)

2. VEHICLE
SL: cars/vans are a-must to have to be able to travel, to shop, go to church, go to the gym, mall, etc.
CL: optional (public buses and cable cars are easily accessible in SFO, for yellow cabs-available by phone re: appointment).

[In our case, everything is just within walking distance to and from our flat to market (Chinatown), church, bistros, cafes, bars, park, postal office, library, museums, galleries, financial district, specialty boutiques, wharf, Pier 39, etc. So we walk all the time!]

3. MOBILITY
SL: long drive
CL: shorter drive

[Living in Ripon made me home bound mostly. Living in North Beach enables me to walk daily to different places I fancy at the moment as listed above. I am more independent in San Francisco more than when we were living in Ripon (suburbs). For moi espouse, his driving time is more bearable now (i.e. about an hour to an hour and a half to go to Napa Valley and he can be back home for supper! No need to stay in hotels for these trips].

4. LAUNDRY
SL: laundry room is part of the architectural design and all households have washers and dryers.
CL: in SFO, there are no washers and dryers in apartments due to the limitation of space therefore the cost of services at Laundromat could be high. Cost is paid by weight.

[We avail of the “wash and fold service” that is being managed by the Chinese entrepreneurs. We have never tried using the coin-operated washers as they take about 3 hours to finish the complete load of clothes (washing and drying). Ironing service is $3.75 for slacks and jeans for both for men and women; short-sleeved shirt is $1.50; long sleeved is $1.75].

On our first week here last month, we tried the ironing services and tested it- how it works, if it is any good at all, etc. So we had husband’s work shirt (long sleeved) and slacks ironed. We requested for a mild starch to be used. Guess what? When we got our laundry we had a good laugh! Husband’s shirt was super starched, super hard as steel! When he wore it he said it felt like a crisp piece of paper (haha) and we had a good laugh! Moreover, the pants could stand on its own! I told husband to be careful not to cut himself due to the crisp starch of his wardrobe! Anyhow, after this fatal experience, we changed Laundromat (this was along Union) and found a better one called May-Lee on Grant. But afraid to go through the same morbidity of the ironing experience we had, we decided just to avail the wash and fold services. I decided, I’d just iron Blue-Eyed-Lil-Boy’s work clothes…ayayay!

5. OVEN
SL: I had a nice big oven where it has a glass in the middle of the door- I could see what I was baking.
CL: I have a small 4-burner stove with oven underneath it and a broiler at the bottom. There is no way for me to see what I am baking. This oven/ stove goes with the apartment utilities.

Take note- one time I forgot to turn on the fan while broiling pork “liempo” (pork stomach- like the ham) and all of a sudden the fire alarm system was triggered! Boy it was so loud; it felt like it was going to break my eardrums! Poor husband, he had to excuse himself from his client (he was on the phone) to get rid of the batteries of the fire alarm system to shut it. The broiler was burning and I started to panic! Husband said to cool down.

“Get the FLOWERRRRR!”

“WHAT?” I asked him.

“FLOWER?" (He wante d me to get the orchid given by my gf Arn and I were just shocked. Flower to stop the fire? What the heck is that? I don't get it. Is moi husband going out of his head??? Tsk...tsk...tsk...”)

“GIVE ME THE FLOWERRRRRRR!!!” “GIVE ME THE FLOWERRRRRRRRRRR YOU USE FOR BAKING PIES AND CAKES!!!”

Santa Banana! He meant “FLOUR” and not “FLOWER!” My Filipino ears told me otherwise and my phonetic interpretation made my brain to easily translate it as "FLOWER" and not as "FLOUR" [Now who said east-west marriage isn’t filled with surprises? Ehhhhhh?] **SIGH* *EYES ROLLING* *

6. FRIDGE
SL: Big ref
[We had a huge 2-door with icemaker and water dispenser plus separate door for freezer].

CL: We have a small ref (part of the apartment rental) that could stock quite a few items!

[When we arrived here on June 18, I utilized the whole fridge just storing the pickles, olives, capers and cheese! Hardly was there a space left for poultry and fish, veggies and fruits. Mamamia]!

7. CUPBOARD
SL: We had a lot of cupboards in Ripon, huge dress cabinets and stock room (garage)
CL: We downsized to the maxim upon arriving in our flat; gave away lots of our clothes to give space for the more practical ones we often use. We have a small dress cabinet (*sulk*)

I am good at utilizing space. I used the space under the bed, dresser, bureau, kitchen cupboard and made valance and placed them to cover the things I kept in them. Above the cupboard in our lil' kitchen, I made 2 sets of café curtain (used my sewing machine for this) recycled from my spring curtains (valance). Now all looks neat and organized!

8. DISHWASHER
SL: We had a nice Viking Dishwasher that is so quiet when it is working! We left it there in our house and our tenants are enjoying the comforts of easy living in the suburbs but we won’t exchange the fun and colors we have in North Beach!
CL: All is done manually.

9. COUNTER SPACE
SL: I had a huge counter space. I miss this especially when I am making dough for bread or pies!
CL: I have a tiny one but workable. I remove the dish rack each time I had to use the counter top but it works for me! Am still able to bake weekly!

10. BIRDS
SL: We had blue jays, bluebirds, sparrows, parakeets and finch birds coming daily for feeds
CL: I only see pigeons most of the time at the park and elsewhere…

I hear the birds from our veranda but I have not seen any of them yet.

11. PORCH
SL: We had a nice one where we used to eat, drink, watch people go by as we sit in our glider

CL: We have a veranda here and just enough space to fill in my plants.

12. MAILS
SL: There is a personal touch...small parcels, huge packages are delivered with warm smiles by the mail men or FedEx, USPS guys.
CL: We have locked mailbox at lower level of our flat where our names are indicated. The mailman opens it with his key and locks it after he's done. If we have a parcel from the postal office, we get a claim stab to pick it up (ayayay!). Occasionally, we are buzzed from downstairs otherwise, it rarely happens.

[We had a Filipino mailman named Rex Reyes who is so bubbly and kind. He always has a warm smile to everyone! One time, on my year 1 in Ripon, he gave us a small bag of "kalamansi" from his backyard! Since then, we've been friends with him. Here in North Beach there is a constant rotation of mailmen that I could hardly remember the last one's face who delivered our mail last week!]

13. LIBRARY
SL: We have one in Ripon but it seemed to be far from where our house is but indeed it is just like a 15-minute walk but we were not motivated to go there regularly.

CL: We love our North Beach Library. It is open even on Sundays!

14. MARKET
SL: We drove to Costco or Marval, Walgreens and Walmart to shop.

CL: We just walk to Chinatown for some fruits and veggies. I got there Mondays to do our weekly food supply. No need to drive. All is on foot here!

15. CHURCH
SL: It was a 15-minute drive to go to St. Anthony of Padua Parish from Ripon to Manteca.

CL: Saints Peter and Paul Church is so close to our flat we hear the church bells ring every hour!

16. PARK
SL: It is a 15-minute drive from our house to the park or riverside in Ripon.
CL: We are 4 minutes on foot to Washington Park.

17. BARS, CAFES, BISTROS
SL: Again, we have to make a drive to go to cofee house of our choice.
CL: They are our close neighbors!

Overall, we love our city~ where the aroma of freshly brewed coffee dances in the air- day in and day out~ where lots of tourists walk on different roads exploring our city...our neighborhood, looking for something old and something new.... we really love it here and we are still going through changes with our life style. Despite the small space there is in the city for city dwellers like us, there is nothing like it! It's fun, marvelous and awe-inspiring. Truly, this is where our heart is…!


San Francisco according to latest survey in northern CA is the number 1 city in the USA that is voted to be the most desired tourist destination of travelers around the globe.