10 things I’ve learned about life in Northern California

Its officially been 3 months since I touched down in the city by the bay. Even though I didn’t have the most graceful entrance into my new life in California, I was lucky enough to stay with my cousin while I got settled and have already accomplished so much in a short amount of time.

Since October 9th, I’ve been fortunate enough to have been welcomed into 6 yoga communities including 2 of the most reputable studios in the area, Yoga Tree & Yoga Works! Check out my regular teaching schedule here.

I have hosted a few Après Yoga events in the East Bay, Sacramento and Tahoe and still have a thriving mobile #yogawithbenefits business in Denver thanks to my outstanding teacher team.

And today, I start the move into my new studio apartment in Pac Heights! That’s right, I’ve committed to life in San Francisco for the entirety of 2018 so I can really give it a fair shot!

Because I miss my Rocky Mountain hOMe so damn much, I find myself comparing everything I experience here to my life in Colorado. So I figured I would highlight the top 10 things I’ve learned so far about life in Northern California. Good or bad, here is what I’ve learned.

1) Diversity!

Hallelujah! As a Native New Yorker, I celebrate diversity of all kinds and San Francisco has it! French, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, African-American, Japanese, Spanish, Iranian…the list goes on. How lovely to be immersed in this melting pot of community, culture and cuisine!

2) San Francisco is more of a driving city than I thought.

While there is much more access to public transportation here than other major metropolitan areas, I still find myself using a car to make my way around town. The MUNI is the seventh largest transit system in the U.S but it is also the slowest and one of the most expensive to operate. It works great when traveling to certain areas of the city but I find myself driving a lot more often or using Lyft/Uber rides. My lease on my car is up next week so I’ll have to get used to the daily commute soon enough.

3) It takes so much time to get anywhere.

Because there is so much more drivers on the road, it takes at least 20-30 minutes to drive 2-3 miles. I walk A LOT and I may just have to dust off my road bike and give those hills a whirl.

4) Tahoe is way further away than I thought.

Damn, I love going to the mountains and I realized how spoiled I was living in Denver. Tahoe is a 3-hour drive from the city at the very least. Throw in some serious ski weekend commuter traffic and I’ve heard it could take up to 12 hours to get there in the car. I do have some flexibility with my teaching schedule so I sincerely hope I can work my way around that.

5) Everybody is a wine snob.

I took a wine class in college pass/fail and I’m thankful that I know even the smallest amount about grapes and varietals. Everybody seems to know anything and everything about this holy drink and they certainly drink it often.

6) Power Vinyasa Yoga has taken over.

Holy cow pose! Power Yoga is everywhere. Yogis of all shapes and sizes flood into these classes because that style has become so commonplace and accessible to the masses. I see poor form in chatturanga and I cringe at the thought of what is happening to the student’s shoulders. And while I’m happy to step in to sub Power Flow classes, I do my best to weave in the Integrated Vinyasa^TM Yoga offering so hopefully I plant the seed and show the students there is something to learn about proper alignment and safety in yoga asana. Only time will tell.

7) It rains a lot.

Since Colorado doesn’t really have excessive rain fall, I spent the last 10 years barely using my umbrella or wearing my rain boots. I would welcome the intermittent Mile High summer rain storms as they were a pleasant surprise. Last Friday, it rained all day in the city and I experienced a rude awakening when I tried to walk to the gym in my running sneakers and light rain jacket. My socks and shoes were soaked and I experienced that bone chilling type of cold that I don’t miss from life back east. Looks like it might be time to break out the galoshes.

8) Earthquakes happen and I still sleep through them.

Yup, its true. I lived in LA during the 6.6 earthquake in 1994. At the time it struck, I was at a girl scouts sleepover and completely slept through the entire thing. Early last Thursday morning around 2:30AM, there was a 4.4 rated earthquake in the bay area and I didn’t feel a thing!

9) Opportunities to explore are endless.

While I am no longer surrounded by mountains ranges as far as the eye can see, there are so many new sights to explore. I’ve already driven to Sacramento, Tahoe, Santa Cruz, Point Reyes and Garlic Country U.S.A. I’m looking forward to returning to Tahoe for a few more ski days and sampling some of that fancy wine in Napa and Sonoma too.

10) Its called SF, not San Fran.

Heads up! Locals call it SF, tourists call it San Fran. But like always, you do you!