#91 San Francisco
March 23, 2008 by clander
San Francisco is one of the top US destinations for white people in terms of both travel and living. It is universally agreeable and is a safe discussion topic for any situation.
The city is considered one of the world’s premiere locations for white person research.
White people like to vacation in San Francisco because it has beautiful architecture, fantastic food, and it is near the water. They like to live in San Francisco because of its abundance of Non Profit Organizations, Expensive Sandwiches, Wine, political outlook, and most importantly its diversity.
Since many white people either live in, plan to move to, or closely identify with San Francisco it is imperative that you know how best to deal with them.
The City of San Francisco has a very multicultural population that ranges from white to gay to Asian. Within white culture this known as “ideal diversity” for its provision of exotic restaurants while simultaneously preserving property values. The presence of gays and Asians is imperative as it two provides two of the key resources most necessary for white success and happiness.
However, it is important to be aware of the fact that regions outside of San Francisco feature many people who are not white, gay or Asian. They are greatly appreciated during the census, but white people are generally very happy that they stay in places like Oakland and Richmond. This enables white people to feel good about living near people of diverse backgrounds without having to directly deal with troublesome issues like income gaps or schooling.
Still, the presence of other minorities are welcomed by white people for so many more reasons than just statistics! Much in the way that white people in Brooklyn feel a strong and unfounded connection with The Notorious BIG, white people in San Francisco feel the need to identify with rappers from the East Bay. Interestingly enough, the further they venture from San Francisco, the stronger their need to represent their region.
“Oh man, I went to the Too Short show last night. So hyphy man, so hyphy. You should come by some time and we’ll ghost ride the Prius.”
When you are presented with statements like this, the best response is to say “Berkeley is close to Oakland,” and the white person will likely nod and throw up some sort of west side hand sign.
Though it is exceptionally easy to put someone from San Francisco in a good mood, there are some caveats. When talking to a white person who lives in San Francisco, it is best not to bring up New York City. Though they live in a world class city, San Franciscans have a crippling inferiority complex about New York and even hinting at that will make them very sad or very defensive.
Fortunately, there is a fool-proof method for quickly returning the conversation to a positive, trust-building tone. No matter how much you have offended someone from San Francisco, you can always make them feel better by asking them how they feel about Southern California. They will instantly talk of how it is filled with crime, pollution, hegemonic culture, and the wrong kind of white people: “I swear California is like two separate countries, and I am so thankful that I live in the cultural center of the West Coast.” This will allow them to reassert their superiority and leave the conversation with a positive feeling about themselves and about you.
Castro Photo by bkusler who has done an excellent photo essay on Stuff White People Like. Dancing Photo by amynugget.
Volvos are also acceptable for ghost riding.





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But… but.. what about Boston?
Don’t put SF on the whites….. it’s for the Gays!!!! We would love nothing more than to kick SF into the pacific and forget it ever existed
We can afford to get kicked off into the pacific, We all know we’re the largest 5th economy if it did so happen.
Yeah I’m from SoCal, specifically the Inland Empire and I love it. But if I had to choose between LA or SF, I’d choose SF any day of the week. LA is a sprawing suburb of crime, bums, fags, and nig-nogs not to mention my beaner brothers who can’t even speak English.
909 trash, please stay where you are
What the heck is a nig-nog???
Ha! I enjoyed your take on San Francisco. I feel the need to mention the fact that I enjoying visiting and would enjoying living in San Francisco for the same reasons that white people do even though I am most definitely black. I know that your blog is focused on white people. Just remember that plenty of black folks like architecture, wine, food, coastline, a well made sandwich…etc just like white people.
Coastline, sandwiches, and wine aren’t really made well in SF. The city just has a bunch of fast eats that is over priced. Trust me, i’ve tried practically every deli and resto.
You are right but if it made any reference to african americans it would be racist to some… but I guess is okay cuz white people love to be offended and lets face it if people in the world didn’t have soemthing to complain about we would all just bored and die
Hope the typo guys read this
This white guy LOVES San Francisco! The only problem is the people that live there.
“Oh man, I went to the Too Short show last night. So hyphy man, so hyphy. You should come by some time and we’ll ghost ride the Prius.”
I had no idea what this meant. Is this English?
Maybe you don’t understand because your not from the bay area?
I have to add that everyone that moves to Vermont or wants to, has a romantic desire to live on an organic farm in order to live off the land. This allows them to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. This is wonderful despite the fact that farms in Vermont have declined by 300% in the past thirty years and most farmers are poor and supported by government subsidies. However, this fact is completely unnecessary for white people, because they will build a strong “co-op” through their network of friends they met at the farmer’s market. Co-ops excite white people more than Yoga; this is an indisputable fact.
Yeah, and we also have microbreweries!! Go Otter Creek Brewing!
And that native Vermonters move out of the state to make way for liberal-urbanites to move here to live the “quaint life”.
Beware of the “wrong kind of white people” (a.k.a. “farmers” in Vermont).
When is Vermont going to make the list? We love diversity, farmer’s markets, Volvo’s, the outdoors/environment, graduate degrees; and most importantly a sense of self-importance. Vermonters like to know they have shed their former New York identities for a simpler rural identity. Despite the fact that Vermont is 98% white, it ranks at the top of the list of smugness in terms of tolerance. Mr. Lander its time my wonderful state makes it on your list.
The movie “Baby Boom” from the ’80s stars Diane Keaton as a stressed-out NYC executive who “inherits” an adorable baby girl and can’t juggle it all, so she moves to Vermont and starts an organic baby food company and starts dating Sam Shepard, the town hunk. The story is every yuppie woman’s wet dream.
This story ignores the presence of large populations of other minorities right in the middle of the city – the Mission forms a huge (and popular) section of the city that is home to Latin Americans, hipsters, and people that like sunshine. The Western Addition and Lower Haight have been known for their large concentrations of African Americans for generations.
One great thing about San Francisco is that it’s near impossible to go from A to B without going through neighborhoods that range from rich to poor and several ethnicities.
Hi Roger Udwin,
I read your comment and respectfully disagree with you.
I live in the Bay Area. San Francisco sucks….it is a shell of its former self. San Francisco was better in the 70’s and 80’s when it wasn’t elitist.
Berkeley, Oakland, and San Jose are so much better.
San Francisco is where someone goes for a concert or some other event, or venue. Many “native” San Franciscans don’t even come over here to the East Bay and it’s only 30-40 minutes by car or BART. They don’t go to San Jose either and that’s only 1 hour away. It is pathetic. San Francisco people and Marin people are in the same category: pretentious, think they’re cultured-but they’re not, and educated but still very ignorant. I have met TOO many people from San Francisco who are SCARED to come across to the other side of the bay.
As for San Francisco being diverse, that is subjective. According to the U.S. Census Bureau San Francisco is NOT diverse at all. San Francisco is unapologetically gentrified and still doing so.
Exactly. I live in San Francisco and I take this column as tongue in cheek, but he really is overestimating the whiteness of the city. The Asian population is dominant, the Latin population is growing daily, the African-American population is smaller, but still present on the East side. If by white you mean hippies then yes there are a lot of those but they all really only congregate around one or two areas.
I spent my youth in San Francisco. It was a great place to grow up and discover “who I was” But I have to admit that your article is dead on right. I hate to admit it, but as much as I love S.F., I grew up and grew out of all the cliche’s the city holds. It is still a wonderful place but now I yearn for New York.
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