My first time in the Bay was when I came to do an internship at Girls Who Code. Prior to moving there I thought I wouldn’t like it there, given how its known for being an extremely tech oriented place and I was already oversaturated by that having lived in India my whole life. It may seem counterintuitve that I dislike the tech crowd yet choose to intern at GWC. Its just that I chose GWC because it works towards closing the gender gap in technology. The gender gap part of it is what got to me and prompted me to apply. And I’m glad it did!

Bay Area has SO MUCH more to offer than what I thought. There is a lot of art and culture to be explored in the city and the FOOD IS AMAZING!!! And there are all kinds of people there (aside from tech)! I mean sure, you'll end up hearing the words IPO and Equity more often than you'd like but still, I really appreciated the diversity I experienced in a way I hadn't before. I had lived in Atlanta for a bit and Missouri for a while. Both of those places also had people of multiple races but it seemed like in these places each racial group kinda kept to themselves for the most part; as opposed to the Bay Area where people of all races mingled with each other and locals/Americans were more open to being friends with international students/expats. This could just be my experience and I do know people who live in their own-ethnicity-bubble even in the Bay Area, but I feel chances of that happening are less in San Francisco as opposed to middle America or the South. At the end of the day Your vibe attracts your tribe.

DISCLAIMER All these pictures, reviews, and recommendations are from the time I lived in the Bay which was from 2018 to 2020. Things may have changed since then…just a heads up

Favorite Food and Drink Places

As I said, my favorite thing about The Bay is the diversity, which applies to food as well. You can get good, (almost) authentic food for almost every cuisine you can think of. Here are some of my favorites and the best places to get them:

Ramen

I was first introduced to the authentic japanese ramen experience by a co-worker in Atlanta. She took us to Wagaya (more on this soon in the Atlanta blog post). Up until then I only thought of the 99 cents college student starter pack noodles when someone said ‘ramen’. I was glad to be introduced to this delicious OG ramen with rich broth and delcious pork.
Ramen in the Bay Area is on next level compared to Wagaya. Also there are so many options and restaurants to choose from

My top 3 favorites would be(in that order):

1. Ramen Dojo (San Mateo) : The best thing on the menu is the garlic pork ramen. You can adjust spice levels and add more toppings. The place usually ends up having a line at times. Its better to head on early/closer to opening time

2. Iza Ramen (San Francisco-SOMA) : This place was my go-to when I wanted to get Tsukemen (the dipping kind of ramen). I believe there are 2 locations in SF.

3. Ippudo (Berkeley, SF) : I discovered Ippudo when it had just soft launched in downtown Berkeley. Decent bowl of ramen on a rainy day.

Boba

Again, boba can be found anywhere. There was a decent boba shop even in downtown Coumbia, Missouri even(more on that one soon in my grad school blog). But again boba in the bay is next level.

My two favorites were Teaspoon for when I wanted to get something closer to me in downtown San Mateo and Boba Guys for when I went into the city. My favorite at teaspoon was the taro boba (dont get the one with the chunks!) and at Boba Guys it was strawberry matcha latte.

Boba guys also has some good eats and seasonal stuff and specials sometimes. I got a mochi muffin once and it was delicious!

Taquerias

There are many great taquerias serving tacos, burritos, and other mexican dishes all over the bay.

My favorite is the is Pancho Villa . They have the best burritos for really cheap. For example, during lunch break, my coworkers and I used to get a baby burrito which was abou $6 and any burrito could be upsized to a super for $2, so we used to get super baby burritos for ~$8, which was big enough to keep us full for the rest of the day.

Aside from the one in DT San Mateo, there is another one in SF in the mission district.

My list of other favorite resturants in the bay can be found here.

Art and Culture

San Francisco has many picturesque landmarks and neighborhoods. There are many other ‘instagrammable’ spots in the city aside from the Golden Gate. Almost every other wall is mural, especially neighborhoods such as the mission district, haight-ashbury, chinatown-to name a few. There are some good art exhibits and museums as well such as the The Contemporary Jewish Museum. If you’re in East Bay, Berkeley Art Museum is also worth checking out as it has exhibits that including Asian artifacts and works of local artists. You can get in for free if you are a plus one for a student.

Nature

Bay Area offers many places to explore nature’s scenic beauty. There are many hike trails as well as historic landmarks.

This is a photo of me and my coworkers at Sutro Baths which is sort of like a deconstructed bathhouse. The hike up to the main view was short and easy and the sunset view was breathtaking.

Other such places that I went to and enjoyed were Muir Woods and Grizzly Peak.

Year Round Perfect Weather

This is another vital part of my liking for the Bay as its the city where it neither gets too cold nor does it get too hot. There are ‘microclimates’ which is basically like it would be 10 degrees cooler in the city compared to the Peninsula/South Bay. You can dress in layerd to deal with this. I had a flannel and a jean jacket as my staple attire pretty much throughout my whole time at the Bay.

Typical Weekend in the Bay

My typical weekend while living in the Bay (aside from doing chores and adulting stuff, ofc) consisted of hanging in the Mission Dolores Park. I was an aspiring standup comedian and an open-micer at the time so I used to go there a bunch to journal, people watch, and to get inspiration for new material. There is a Whole Foods that’s less than a mile away from the park, so I could buy snacks and set up camp in dolores for a good 3-4 hours.

In the evening, I would always either have a gig to go to (at dive bars such as Delirium, Purple Onion, Tequilla Mockinbird, Bar Fluxus, to name a few) or would end up catching a comedy show in the city with a friend (or a bumble rando, lol).

There are so many good comedy clubs in the city. My favorite one for checking out local talent has been The Setup (on Hyde Street). Cobbs is pretty good too as they often have famous touring comedians doing a special there, but the club also has weekly comedy nights showcasing local talent as well.