Just came back from a long (Labor Day) weekend in San Francisco. It's my second hometown. Each time I return I always leave with a feeling that I need to get back in touch with my hippier/healthier self. I eat well up there (breaking bread with friends) and I walk a lot there. It's always nice to be in the cold and damp from time to time... especially since I live in environs that are hot and dry.
It's a very exciting place. The problem with living outside the city, however, is the fact that so often when we go home we never return except for work. I lived there from 1985-1989 and spent many summers there beforehand. I remind myself that I would go back in a heartbeat... but never in poverty.
I'm thinking about moving to San Francisco but I need to take a trip there first and get a feel for the place.