Pondering A Move

I got back from my 4night/5day trip to San Francisco on Wednesday at the hideously early hour of 5.30am. Ugh, I hate the red eye, but it was the cheapest fare by far and Sara and I wanted to maximize our time in California so we took an early flight out there and a late flight back. I didn’t get much sleep on the return flight and after a strong cup of coffee I forced myself to stay awake to acclimatize to being back on East coast time thinking an early night was just the ticket, but my plan backfired as come 9pm I got a second wind and was up until midnight and then slept right through to 10am. Luckily I didn’t have to be in work; I had a lot of vacation to use up, like all of it plus two summer Fridays, so I booked the rest of the week off.

I had a fantastic time anyway, although I have to admit I was somewhat on the fence about San Francisco, as I have been there many times in the past - I realized, as I totted up the hotels I've stayed at in and around Union Square, that this recent visit was my 7th - and would have ideally preferred to go somewhere I’d never been before, but Sara suggested it and San Francisco was a better option than using up my time off staying in New York and as it turned out I am really glad she suggested it, I enjoyed the city a lot, a lot more than I have in the past, which surprised me as I’ve never felt a great love for San Francisco, well that's not strictly true. I've always liked the city, I was just never instantaneously smitten in the same way I was with New York, but after this visit San Francisco is definitely creeping it’s way into my heart. I think part of the reason is that living in NYC has begun to wear on me a little bit this past year, I think the long hours working at something that’s definitely a job rather than a career has taken it’s toll and it’s probably coloring my perspective more than a little bit. I’m also someone that craves change every few years by nature, so maybe it’s just something innate that’s driving me to consider moving on at least for a while. I’m not sure I could give up on NYC permanently, being away for 6-12months is very appealing and maybe it’s that I’m taking NYC for granted at the moment, but every time I’ve travelled to a US city in the past year I have a ‘could I live here?’ perspective. So far I’ve considered Charleston, DC, Austin and now San Francisco and I am thinking that San Francisco might well be an option, at least for a short while. There's a lot about the crunchy granola lifestyle of the west coast that appeals to me immensely. Funnily enough a recruiter emailed me about job opportunities in San Francisco today, but hmmm...too soon. I plan to be here at least another year!! In fact ideally I’d like to be wealthy enough to not have to work, have a home base in NYC, but go and experience living in other cities for 6months or so. Wouldn't that be nice to have the option to move somewhere and just enjoy living there rather than having to have a pesky job taking up all the hours of the day? I would love that. Maybe I should try and make my dream come true and throw my hat in for a share of tonight’s $333million lottery draw. It could happen, the odds are only 176million to one, but hey, someone has to win ;-)

We'll see anyway, but this view, the scent of the ocean and the nectarines alone could convince me. In fact throw in Chris Isaak and we have a deal San Francisco ;-)