San Francisco; my new home, and the city responsible for my new bum.

It’s been a week since my husband and I moved to the city by the bay, and I can already tell that this is going to be the perfect place for us.  San Francisco has it all; its big city feel around Union Square, charming unique neighborhoods, amazing national parks, mountains, the ocean, the list goes on.

The first few days we really got a good feel for a few of the neighborhoods we were interested in living in.  The Marina with its resident frat boys, amazing homes and gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge, was immediately crossed off the list, not because of the college life feel, but simply because it is build on landfill, and well, I’m terrified of earthquakes and falling into the ocean.  It will, however, be our goto hangout with our dog, Paya.

Pacific Heights was my favorite, with some of the most gorgeous homes and views perched high up in the hills of the city.  Ironically, this is the exact reason we decided against this neighborhood.  First, our housing budget didn’t allow for the purchase of a 10 million dollar condo.  Second, and I think most prevalent, there were the hills.  I am not even kidding when I tell you these hills are steep.  Sure it feels great when you walk up one or two.  But there would be several more of those hills, several times a day.  I don’t aspire for that good of an ass.  Also, have you ever tried parallel parking on a hill with a “grade” of more than 30%?  Yeah…..No.

Noe Valley seemed liked the obvious choice.  Dog friendly, tons of strollers, lots of sun, parks and adorable shops along 24th Street.  Unfortunately, my driving and parking skills have to improve quite a bit for me to be okay with driving up and parking on those hills!   The only way it could be done is with a private garage, and again, our budget did not allow for those multi million dollar homes.  I was promised, however, that we can revisit in a few years.  Love you honey!  Turns out, if we decided to live in Noe Valley, it would have been an absolute pain for Steve and me to get to work downtown.

Russian Hill was the little happy medium that gave us the solid bedrock, some pretty (manageable) hills to give us stunning views, and a neighborhood feel with a great foodie and shopping scene along Polk Street.  We are just a few blocks away from the famous crooked Lombard St. and blocks away from the Cow Hollow/Marina neighborhood.  It has charm, local coffee shops, and a barre studio!  There are plenty of hills, but not ridiculous; enough to lift and tone my bum without even trying!  That’s what I really call the happy medium.

In the week I’ve been in this new city, I’ve also managed to land a teaching gig!  I will be rejoining the amazing team at Equinox.  I have been teaching for Equinox off and on since 2009, and they are an absolutely incredible group of fitness professionals.  There was no question I was going to get in touch with them as soon as our move was confirmed.  As soon as I entered the 1920’s cinema turned fitness playhouse, I felt the energy and love.  I instantly clicked with the Pilates and Group Fitness managers, and cannot wait to get started, working and collaborating with them.

There are so many opportunities here in San Francisco, and I am so excited to start our life here.  There is so much energy, motivation and adventure amongst the community in San Francisco, and I can’t wait to share my Pilates experience and passion with this amazing city.