San Francisco, California

The place where it all began in the Summer of Love, 1967. Is it still happening here? Well almost. The Haight-Ashbury area is just a tourist attraction, and not really so cool. While Berkeley still has a lot of the old spirit and feeling. The S.F. area is way too expensive for hippies anymore, unless you own a hi-tech business!

0 thoughts on “San Francisco, California

  1. Hi people! My name’s Seo I’m from Spain and I’d really like emailing to somebody from there! I’m interested in being hippie and I’ll live in San Francisco when I’ll have 18 years old.
    So, please email me. I’m 15 years old right now.
    My email is aragorn_comarca@hotmail.com
    please email me
    peace and love!

  2. A must see if you haven’t but it’s not the 60’s so don’t expect. You can still find herb or shrooms in golden gate, but its dangerous and there’s plenty of pigs. Wild night life and people are generally more tolerant than in other major cities. Also, there’s more homeless shelters/free food here than in any other city. Found this abandoned park in the Presidio surrounded by residential and camped there a few days without any problems, fire at night and all. If you’re driving around there stop and look at the map/signs on the side of the road, I found this park on one of these road-side maps, but never found it on any other map.

  3. I currently live outside Baltimore, MD and am looking to move to the outer San Fran area (Berekely, or near Santa Cruz maybe) at the end of this summer but can’t find the right area for the right price on the internet. Studio or 1 bedroom apartment for under $625/mn. I’m the hippie/New Age/Energy Worker sort.

    Please email me if you know of any sources or good areas to check out! I want to visit CA for a few days in mid-June!

    Thanks!
    ShawnMRill@yahoo.com
    Shawn.

  4. I lived in SF during most of the 90s. It has a lot of weird trips so watch yourself till you get the hang of it, but it’s also the most incredible place to live…IF you have the megabuck$, or you can share a shoebox of a room in the slums with four other freaks, or you’re cute and in your 20s and don’t mind hooking up with a sugar daddy or two. Quite a few gays most who are pretty cool, but the Castro like the Haight is a tourist trap nowadays. Almost everyone smokes pot which is cool, but there’s way too many meth heads and the like. Too many yuppies as well, but they haven’t succeeded in sucking out all the unique character that is SF. A large diverse music and club scene, something for everyone as long as you’re over 21. I don’t recommend trying to live on the streets there, it’s possible and plenty of free food, but lots of predatory wackos and the cops will hassle you. And don’t call it Frisco, you’ll look like an idiot if you do. The locals just call it The City.

  5. Just got back from visiting San Francisco; an amazing place with a huge amount of diversity. The impression I got was that San Francisco is very liberal. However, there is an obvious difference from the “haves and have nots” but the funny thing is that they all seem to get along (for the most part). The public transit is awesome but confusing at first and the operators are rude (although the people themselves are very willing to help you out). I found the pan handlers very polite and non-aggressive. Pot was being smoked openly in Golden Gate Park and the Haight (although not what it used to be) certainly has elements of the 60’s still present. San Francisco is a beautiful looking town and very compact so it does not take you long to get from place to place. You do not need to own a car (in fact it is encouraged not to), biking or walking is easier and faster (and a lot less stressful). However, living there is expensive (a real shame, considering how wonderful this city is) and would take a strong and steady income (maybe two) simply to make ends meet and jobs do not seem all that plentiful either. In addition, there are many tourist traps and there are some seemingly unsafe areas after dark so living here would be questionable. So my advice: go visit, enjoy the sites and take it all in because San Francisco has got a lot to see and experience but living here would not be a good hippie haven (a damn shame).

  6. Dear Folks,

    Can anyone help me to find the Band menbers of a Band called ” JUNGLE”.
    They made a demonstration record back in 1969.
    The only information on the Labels are:

    “JUNGLE”

    Song titles are: HOUSE OF ROOMS
    SOMEWHERE SWEET MEMORIES
    GRAY PICNIC
    CHANGES I’M GOING THROUGH
    EARLY MORNING RISING
    SLAVE SHIP

    Record made by: “JUNGLE MUSIC CORP.” 1969
    Cat. Nr.: CO 3027

    As far as I know, this was a local San Francisco Band!
    After near 20 years of searching, you all are my last hope to find them.
    Miguel Rodriguez
    RD Records
    Switzerland
    miguel@tidalwave.de

    Thank you all in advance!
    Miguel

  7. hi,i just wanted to say that back in the very early 80’s,i lived there with my girlfriend wendy,who has passed now,back in those days,acid,pot,etc. were very available,but back then i was 23 living on the streets of SF,it was different from where i came from,& i loved my gay friends of the time,now most hv passed on b/c of AIDS or OD’s, i guess i am very lucky to be alive,have long since been gone,came up further north to santa rosa. been here almost 20yrs,oh my where hv the yrs gone? if “Reverend luke” is still around,please get in touch with me,it’s you know who with “Rubber glove incident” i’m at owlwindsong9@aol.com or owlwindsong@hotmail.com peace to everyone. owl

  8. in response to Joey Aquarius’ post, it’s true SF is not what it was but if you’re looking to get away from crack heads and gangs Oakland is about the LAST place you want to go in the entire state of Cal.

    It’s also true that SF is quite expensive nowadays – but compared to LA it’s practically cheap. The rents in SF seem quite reasonable compared to the rents in LA. A small apartment in the Haight is cheaper than in LA’s Silver Lake, which is more or less the equivalent neighborhood Down South.

  9. I just visted San Francisco and I have to say I truly loved it! The people were so nice and liberal. I loved Haight Ashbury was was very disappointed to see a Gap on the corner, but the locals told me that the window gets broken often. I would love to live by the Bay, I was much more at home there then in stifling Arizona. I can’t wait to go back this summer for the Haight Ashbury street fair!

  10. how much would a simple bachelor and/or one bedroom apartment be in around the haight/ashbury scene? just curious as to see what some options would be for hopefully moving there in a couple of years. Thinking of going to university in Berkeley and living there. I have loved the 60s ever since I was a small child and would really enjoy to be at the place where one of the most famous hippie scenes once were…

    …please write back 🙂 peace

  11. I just got done visiting SF about a week ago with my gf. She went to school at SF state, but lived all over the different districts of the city. We stayed right on Haight Street @ a bed/breakfast called the Red room. It contained a cafe downstairs with an eclectic upstairs bedroom. Parking wasn’t cool near Haight, but I managed to find parking a few blocks away. She took me to Golden Gate Park (during the day), walked past the imfamous “hippy hill” which contained not only pothead bongo hippies, but a wide variety of transients with dogs. I notice alot of transients in/around Haight have pitbulls? *shakes head*. Anyways I found the city to change dramatically from one block to the next. We walked through the mission district and then stumbled upon the Castro district. I couldn’t get over the drastic change of scenery stepping from one street to the next. I guess that is what makes SF very unique. I hit up AMOEBA records right on Haight next to the Mcdonalds. They have a ridiculous amount of cds/vinyls/etc. I could dedicate a whole other post explaining AMOEBA records. Back to my little adventure…We hit up The Castro, The Mission, we ate at some prententious italian restaurant over in North Beach. I walked by BIMBO’S 365 and noticed a huge line of peepz waiting to get in to see a comedy show. My girlfriend basically took me around the city in a local fashion versus the whole touristy telegraph hill, fishermans wharf nonsense. I had a very fun time. I felt a little uncomfortable at night walking on Haight street due to all the crackheads asking for money every other block. I didn’t really notice many pigs lurking the streets of SF but I could of just been blinded by the beauty of the city. Of course I went bar hopping, but I couldn’t even tell you what the names of these bars were. The food was amazing…I ate lots of thai food when I was there, and in the morning I had a splew of cafes to pick from. It seemed as if there were Crepe cafes on every block off Haight Street. Overall I felt a hippy vibe especially near the entrance of golden gate park where some hippy chick asked me if I wanted to buy “kindbud” I politely declined and advised her I have plenty of it at my hotel. The ambience was very laid back, mellow, chill or whatever you wanna call it. The people seemed either very rich, or very poor. The weather was beautiful during my 5 day hiatus up in SF. It wasn’t cloudy,overcast, or rainy. I can tell without a doubt SF certainly had some good history to hit back in the 60’s and 70’s but somehow lost it due to drugs, poverty, etc. I live down in San Diego, and as soon I got back into this shitty city I realized how conservative it is versus “THE CITY”. email me for your feedback or if you want to bullshit about THE CITY. jeremyxtreme@gmail.com

  12. my name is Caron and i frequently visit San Fran and everywhere in between there and northern humbolt. the love of my life got killed in sacramento in july and we had to give our dogs away that i have raised since they were born 6 years ago. I am now looking for them. they are mother and daughter and their names are molly and backer. they are the love of my life and i would do anything to know they are okay and if there is anyway i could get ahold of who has them.I got a message that river and naudis have them and are with them under the bridge in san fran by the golden gate park. please if anyone know anything please e-mail me at shawcaron@yahoo.com or caron@hipplanet.com.i would do anything to find out any info please. the original owners are caron shaw and clay dumas. we are very well know in humbolt county but i cant seem to find my dogs. they were given to Andrew from Colorodo.Thank you.

  13. I was born and raised in SF. It’s beutiful in some ways and there is alot of history there. It is a safe city as long as you stay away from certain neighborhoods and have street smarts, but if you think it’s all peace and love you will get killed. The drug scene is mostly hard core drug addicts and gang types. Do yourself a favor and try not to associate with the dopers. You can get pretty numb just walking through the fog early in the morning. The weather is crappy most of the time and really depressing. Alot of people commit suicide there. My favorate thing about the west is the independant attitude. People generaly mind their business and nobody cares about your lifestyle. This city is possibly the worst place to raise your children. THe crazy behaivior in the streets is both a source of everlasting entertainment and a disqusting symtom of a local government that is completely insane. What are you going to tell your kids when a woman covered in fecal matter starts screaming and attacking a mailbox? How about telling them about LSD, mental illness, out of control liberalisiam, and oppressive taxes? Or maybe you could teach them to roll joints like my dad did.

  14. Hey my name is Laura and I am 19 years old. I am from small town Titusville Florida. I went to Haight Ashbury for the first time two years ago to visit my dad he lives three houses down from the Ben & Jerrys that is on the corner of Haight and Ashbury! My dad is a huge Hippie he wears nothing but tye dye, greatful dead shirts he smokes a lot to say the least! Any of you whom have vistited the Haight have probably seen him He will either be standing on the corner in front of Ben & Jerrys smoking or inside the peoples cafe gettin a cup of cofee! Anyways it is a really neat place and there is a ton of diversity throughout the city. I leave this Friday to go back and visit him for a week and I am so excited. He is trying to get me to move out there, but being raised in a small town like Titusville I don’t think I would like living in a city that is that big all the time. Although it is always nice to visit! The city is wonderful and full of stuff to do I am sure that me and my best friend are going to have a blast while we are there!!

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