This blog is named "aging suburban hipster". Truthfully though, I do not live in a suburb... at least for the time being. But where I live, I hardly consider a city. It is, at best, as second-tier city. What is a first-tier city? New York, San Francisco, Las Angeles. Even Portland, in terms of activity and happening places. What is a second-tier city? I have not lived anywhere else but the San Francisco Bay Area, but where I live now, Oakland, is a second-tier city, as is Berkeley. Third-tier is suburbia, plain and simple.
When I was younger, (18-21), I was dying to live in a real city. I had glamorous friends that moved to LA, and I was insanely jealous- they went out every night to rock shows and clubs, and substituted cocaine for sleep. I had friends that moved to San Francisco and melded seamlessly to relaxed but decidedly urban life of our local city. San Francisco, while not the largest city, is world-class nonetheless. But such cities were not for the likes of me. High rent kept me out on the practical side, and friends that stayed closer to the original nest on the social side. When I was able to creep out of suburbia, it was not a dramatic plunge into a big city... rather a slow progression from Berkeley to Oakland. At the rate I'm moving, I may move to a city sometime in my forties, or not at all.
I suppose that if I had moved to a city, my interest may be different than they are now. It could be that I would go out more, see more shows, go to bars. I don't know. It's all speculation. I suspect that things wouldn't be so different than they are now. If I had lived in San Francisco for all my twenties, maybe I would have come out to Oakland anyway. After all, there are plenty of shows and bars in Oakland (though not nearly as many as the city), and I don't frequent those much anymore these days.
Really, at this point in my life, I enjoy living where the weather is good, and I can go on a nice bike ride from my front door. This has led to extended stints of living in the suburbs- as a retreat to my parent's house, but more recently as a consideration for permanent habitation. I hate to think that that is the natural order of things- leaving suburbs for city, drinking and partying while young, tire of drinking and noise and lack of parking, move back to suburbs. There are some out there who couldn't fathom leaving city life, and I can understand. Still, to this day, I am jealous of those who dwell across the bay- a quick car ride, or a couple stops on the BART train away. I am not jealous of their cost of living (although Oakland is catching up in places), or even worse street parking, but I am envious of the feeling of living in a city. It is different. There is an entirely different spirit in Oakland and San Francisco. Broadway is quiet, empty, and forlorn. Emerging from BART onto Market Street in San Francisco, and it is bustling and alive with activity. Not that these two streets are the best and brightest in their respective cities- but the analogy holds true for the two cities in general. I like there being hundreds of restaurants to choose from at 11pm, instead of five. I like passing through multitudes of different neighborhoods and enclaves. I like the relative liveliness of a city, versus the empty streets of a city past its heyday.
I don't mean to be unfair to the city I call home. If I hated it here, I could leave- and I may, but not because I dislike Oakland. Oakland is beautiful, historic, has amazing weather, bike riding, hiking, and plenty of good post-ride taquerias. Oakland is where my friends are, and many of my memories. I have attended countless house shows, and have really had a good time of living here. But, as with most things in my life- I have to question. Is this the best life I could be living? Is there something more for me in a different place? Are there better girls in another city? Do I need or want to live in a city?
These are all considerations. I want to find answers to all of my questions, but I have little time and money to discover them all. There are always lists to be found online that claim to have the 'top ten hippest places to live' or some other nonsense. Give me the list for the top places for single, late twenties, low-income hipsters to retreat and retire to, and find success and happiness- there I will go.
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