San Francisco Local Custom Tips by mydreamquest

Where Many Local San Franciscans Run

Lake Merced is my favorite place to run. In exercise, especially when one wants to lose weight, it is recommended that one run or walk quickly for around 45 minutes because during the first 30 minutes, the body is only burning meat or water from the system, and, that fat is only burned with each minute afterward.

Running around Lake Merced is exactly a 45 minute task to the average athlete. I first class runner could easily get around the lake in 20-25 minutes or so. It's about a 4.5 mile (8km) run. Lake Merced is located at the southwestern corner of San Francisco. On a map it's that easily recognizable lake near the Daly City border. I used to study at San Francisco State University, so I used to walk here all the time. Many students from there run here, and occasionally you'll see Lowell High School's cross country team practicing here.

The golf course that surrounds this lake is Harding Park. If you follow golf, you saw Tiger Woods squeak by John Daly in golf overtime when the two finished 72 holes tied at the WGC American Express golf tournament when Daly missed a 3 foot putt. Funny that Harding Park is near "Daly City" and even funnier is that the nearest highway exit happens to be John Daly Boulivard. Total coincidence I think.

But anyway, Lake Merced is my favorite place to run at in San Francisco because parking is easy to find, there are many points of reference.

Website: http://www.lakemerced.org/

Expensive Cost of Real Estate

The cost of purchasing a home in San Francisco continues to sky rocket. Since I've been here in 1980, people always say, "oh the real estate market bubble is going to burst eventually." Those who said that in 1980 could have rented a 3 Bedroom 1 Bathroom 1,500 Square Foot Flat in the heart of the Castro District for $450/month (today that rent is at around $3,000-4,000/month).

This picture is of the Sea Cliff District. Here, a house will cost you anywhere from $US2 million US to $US40 million and we're talking about 5-8 Bedroom houses and maybe 1,000-3,000 square meters (2000-6000 square feet) of space.

My landlord lived here. She was smart, she purchased a house in this District when there was a high supply of houses. Now typically, a used house can receive up to 40-100 bids to purchase a house. The typical strategy is to offer the price at a lower value to attract buyers, and then, the bidding process usually results in the sale of a home about 50-100% marked up from there. If you're very lucky and stubborn you'll get the offer price.

Those who underbid for houses are ignored by Real Estate Agents. My friend who sells real estate in San Francisco told me, "when someone asks me if there are any bargain deals out there, I tell them, 'why would I want to give you the bargain and make a 3% commision off that sale, when I'd be able to purchase that myself and make 50% return on the value of the property???"

Real estate in San Francisco is mad. Currently, the lowest price for a home in San Francisco is $600k if you are verrry lucky.

Xmas in San Francisco Seasonal Events Review

If you've ever wondered what Christmas time is like in San Francisco. Well, here's an isolated J-town aurora borealis of sorts on land. SF lights up. No, it's nothing as pretty as Hong Kong's Neon lights, but it's still refreshing to see as you walk the lonely SF Streets. It's a bit like Gotham City here at night in the winter time. Everyone's inside eating, watching movies, or even working.

It's not lively in a grandiose way like NY. SF has pockets of nightlife scattered about on Lombard Street, the Castro, Noe Valley, Potrero Hill, South of Market, Union Street, and Fisherman's Wharf.

I took this picture next to Denny's in San Francisco's Japantown. Us locals call it "J-town."