Hello, San Francisco

It seems like just yesterday was my first day of college, but actually I've been living in my own apartment for almost a month now and working at my full-time job for a couple weeks!  Here are all the updates you've been waiting for…

The Apartment

San Francisco is known for it's absurd rent and that is no rumor.  Nearly half of my salary is going towards paying for my apartment, so I'm really trying to save in other areas.  I live in the Mission Bay neighborhood, just a short walk from AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants.  There is a park nearby that has basketball, tennis, and volleyball courts, as well as a dog run, so it's really quite a sweet area with TONS of dogs.

The Job

I moved out here to work for Gap Inc.!  Specifically, I'm working for their Athleta brand.  I'm excited to work for Athleta because of the brand's dedication to sustainability and its B Corp status.  My job consists of rotating between production, inventory management, and merchandising roles for the first ten months, and then I will be continuing in a production role for the indefinite future.  This means that I basically get to communicate the designer's vision to factories and make sure that all the materials needed to produce the garments have been sourced and that cost of production is right.  Athleta works in some Fair Trade factories and I'm pumped to learn more about them and hopefully I'll have the chance to visit them someday soon!

The City

Coming from New York City, San Francisco is very different.  There are a lot more homeless in SF because the temperature stays pretty moderate all year round.  It's also so much quieter than NYC.  Maybe it's just where I live, but I pretty much never hear sirens or yelling or anything…it's a little odd.  And similarly…there are so many less people here.  Walking to work I definitely don't feel alone on the sidewalk, but there are waaaaaaay fewer people than what I would see on my commute in New York City.  On the weekend, the sidewalks are like totally empty.  I don't know where all the people are.  Kinda eery.

I have yet to really go out to eat or find some really great spots just because I am trying to save money by walking everywhere and cooking for myself.  I'll have to explore more before I can make some good local suggestions.

Also, San Francisco is colder than I expected it to be?  My family in NJ is still wearing shorts and tank tops, while I'm wearing turtlenecks and sweaters over here.  I thought it would be a bit warmer, but autumn is here and a medium-weight jacket is definitely something I need to purchase.

The People

I've lucked out so far.  There are a bunch of alumni from my school out here who have been reaching out to check in with my move and inviting me to lunches and coming over for dinners and such.  Plus, I started work with 28 other hires who are my age (or close to it!) so that's a super chill built in friend group.  Lastly, I have some good friends who are just from the Bay Area and being able to see them more frequently is such a gift.  I feel so lucky to be surrounded by so many great people and know that my family is supporting me from across the country as well.

I'm so excited to be starting my professional chapter here and can't wait to see where this adventure takes me!